Australian Press Council

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The Australian Press Council is the self-regulatory body of the Australian print media. It was established in 1976 with two aims:

• to help preserve the traditional freedom of the press within Australia and;
• to ensure that the free press acts responsibly and ethically.

To carry out its latter function, it serves as a forum to which the public may take a complaint concerning the press. In its attempts to preserve the freedom of the press, it keeps a watching brief on developments which might impinge on such freedoms.

The Council is funded by the newspaper and magazine industries, and its authority rests on the willingness of publishers and editors to respect the Council's views, to adhere voluntarily to ethical standards and to admit mistakes publicly.

The Council consists of 22 members, representing the publishers, journalists and members of the public, and is chaired by an independent Chairman. It meets monthly, in Sydney, Australia, where it maintains a small office, headed by an Executive Secretary.

It has been criticised for being unwilling to censor its members in anything more than a minor manner when guidelines are breached by its members.

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