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Examples of censorship in Australia

Television

• Programs classified R cannot be shown on broadcast television, not even after midnight.
• The BBC production of "Queer as Folk", which was shown on BBC Channel 4 in 1999, cannot be shown on broadcast television in Australia, because it is was given an R classification. The program currently being shown in Australia is the American remake.

Film

• Baise Moi

  This film was granted an R classification in 2001, and was reviewed by David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz on the Movie Show (SBS) in early 2002. After complaints from and lobbying by the usual suspects (who almost without exception had not seen the film), the federal Attorney General Daryl Williams made a classification appeal, and the film was banned.

  To summarise:

  The Movie Show's David Stratton:	2.5 stars
  The Movie Show's Margaret Pomeranz:	3 stars
  Australian federal government:	BANNED

• Ken Park

  This film by Larry Clark was to be shown at film festivals in Sydney and Melbourne in 2003, but was refused classification (i.e. banned). On Thursday 3 July 2003, policed stopped a screening of Ken Park in Balmain organised by the group Free Cinema. This group included The Movie Show's Margaret Pomeranz, Media Watcher David Marr, and film critic Julie Rigg.

Video (both VHS and DVD)

• Despite the being available for sale in the ACT, NT, New Zealand, the United States, and just about all of Europe, X-rated videos cannot lawfully be sold in any Australian state. It is worth noting that possession of X-rated videos is lawful in the states, and that they are available by mail order from Canberra, highlighting the silliness of the ban.
• The guidelines for X-rated videos were further tightened in 2000, banning videos of many lawful acts between consenting adults. These include videos of a host of harmless fetishes, including bondage and discipline. Your taxpayer dollars hard at work.