April 16th 2026 – The regulatory landscape never stops moving. Here’s a quick update of what has shifted recently, where to pay attention and what this means in practice.
- OAIC releases exposure draft of the Children’s Online Privacy Code
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has published an exposure draft of the Children’s Online Privacy Code, including new rules which require organisations to consider the best interests of children before collecting their personal information.
- Next Steps:
- Submissions on the draft Code are due by 5 June 2026.
- IAB Australia will make a submission to the consultation.
- The final Code will be implemented in December 2026.
- Proposed changes to gambling advertising regulations
The Prime Minister announced changes to current gambling advertising restrictions on 2 April.
- The key proposals that relate to advertising are:
- Banning gambling ads through online platforms, unless people have a logged in account, are over 18 and have the option to opt-out of gambling ads.
- Banning the use of celebrities and sports players in gambling ads, along with odds style ads targeting sports fans.
- Restricting gambling ads on broadcast television to no more than three ads each hour between 6am and 8.30pm, with a complete ban during live sport broadcasts within those hours.
- Banning gambling ads on the radio during school drop off and pick up times (8am to 9am and 3pm to 4pm).
- Next steps:
- Government will consult with stakeholders as the final drafting is formulated.
- IAB Australia will liaise with Government to push for a practical and workable solution.
- Update to advertising guidance for therapeutic goods
On 7 April the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) rewrote its guidance on what constitutes advertising for therapeutic goods.
- The legislation remains unchanged but the TGA’s guidance explains how the law will be applied.
- The guidance says that whether content will be assessed as advertising is not determined ‘by the actual intentions of the person responsible for …the content’.
- Instead, it will be classed as advertising if it ’appears to be designed or calculated to promote the supply or use’ of therapeutic goods.
- This may mean that content is classed as advertising (and subject to additional restrictions) even where the content creator does not intend it to be promotional.
- Next steps: IAB Australia will continue working with the TGA to ensure that the guidance does not lead to inadvertent consequences, such as the restriction of genuine news reporting.
Please contact Sarah Kruger (sarah@iabaustralia.com.au), our Director of Policy & Regulatory Affairs for more information on any of these topics.