Community advocates, victim survivors and health organisations have welcomed the Australian Communications and Media Authority's (ACMA) recommendation to close a loophole allowing alcohol advertising during televised sport, within children's viewing hours.
However, there are concerns an industry-led code review will fail to meet community expectations.
ACMA's review, released today, found alcohol marketing contributes to harm, including domestic, family and sexual violence, and that existing rules expose large amounts of children to alcohol ads. It also found major sporting events expose hundreds of thousands of children to alcohol advertising, including almost half a million children who watched the 2025 AFL Grand Final.
The regulator has called on commercial TV broadcasters to close the sports loophole, which allows alcohol ads at any time on weekends and public holidays.
FARE CEO, Ayla Chorley said ACMA had recognised the undeniable evidence and need for change.
"We welcome ACMA's recommendation to close the sports advertising loophole, which has allowed alcohol companies to reach children and families during some of Australia's most watched sporting events. This is a significant acknowledgment that the current rules are not providing adequate protections for the community," she said.
"Importantly, ACMA's findings align with the recent federal parliamentary inquiry into the health impacts of alcohol and other drugs, which recommended the Australian Government establish a mandatory alcohol advertising and marketing framework. The evidence is mounting that voluntary, fragmented rules are no longer sufficient to protect our communities from harm."
"The most significant gap in this review is ACMA's decision not to implement a mandatory Program Standard. ACMA has acknowledged the evidence, identified the failures in the current framework and recognised the ongoing exposure of children to alcohol advertising. Yet the proposed solution remains another industry-led code review, Ms Chorley added.
"If voluntary industry regulation had worked, ACMA would not have found the problems it has identified today. Australians deserve independent, enforceable protections that put health ahead of alcohol industry profits."
Polling released earlier this year showed 3 in 4 Australians want to see less alcohol advertising on television.
FARE Lived Experience Advisor Kym Valentine said enacting stronger rules would protect children's wellbeing and give parents greater confidence that family viewing environments are safe.
"Closing the sports loophole is important because it helps challenge the normalisation of alcohol as central to sport, celebration and social identity. These are messages that can contribute to harmful drinking cultures," she said.
"While advertising restrictions cannot prevent domestic, family and sexual violence on their own, reducing ads can help support broader prevention efforts by reinforcing community standards that prioritise safety, respect and healthy relationships."
Canberra parent William Spaul has advocated to close the sports loophole for several years. He said he often has to reduce his son's time watching sport on TV due to alcohol ads.
"It is pleasing that ACMA has concluded that the permission for alcohol ads during sports programs should be removed and has acknowledged that ACMA could act to remove it, should Free TV Australia not do so. Much more also needs to be done to reduce harm from alcohol ads and use," Mr Spaul said.
The Alcohol and Drug Foundation CEO Dr Erin Lalor AM said alcohol advertising plays a powerful role in shaping drinking behaviours and influencing children and young people's attitudes towards alcohol.
"That's why it's important to reduce children and young people's exposure to alcohol advertising, especially in the activities they love, like sport," she said.
"Reducing alcohol advertising in sport would help keep the focus on what's really important - our families, communities, and connecting with others while watching the sports that we love.
"We strongly welcome ACMA's recommendation to close this loophole, which exposes children to even more alcohol ads. We urge Free TV Australia to act and extend the proposed changes to digital channels."
The findings come on the same day that FARE-commissioned research from the Burnet Institute has highlighted the growing burden of serious alcohol-related liver disease in Victoria, including among younger Australians and women.
"Today we are confronting new evidence of serious alcohol-related illness alongside the continuing toll of violence against women. ACMA's own report recognises that alcohol contributes to domestic, family and sexual violence and that advertising can increase alcohol consumption and high-risk alcohol use," Ms Chorley said.
"These harms are not abstract. They are experienced by people and families across Australia, and they demand prevention measures that put community safety ahead of commercial convenience."
