Broadcasting Standards Authority Te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

The Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) is an independent Crown entity that oversees the broadcasting standards regime on behalf of New Zealanders. We determine complaints, oversee and develop broadcasting standards, and engage with broadcasters and the public to help people understand and apply the broadcasting standards system, our decisions and our research.

For more information see What we do.

If the programme you are complaining about was broadcast on or after 1 July 2022, you can complain to the BSA about the following issues under the new Broadcasting Standards Codebook: 

• offensive and disturbing content 
• children’s interests 
• promotion of illegal or antisocial behaviour 
• discrimination and denigration 
• balance 
• accuracy 
• privacy 
• fairness 

To help you decide which is most relevant to your concerns see our guide to choosing a standardopen_in_new. The standards are explained in more detail in the Broadcasting Standards Codebookopen_in_new.

You can also complain to us about election programmesopen_in_new, which come under a separate code.

The Broadcasting Act 1989 defines an election programme as a programme that is broadcast on TV or radio during an election period and:

• encourages or persuades, or appears to encourage or persuade, voters to vote, or not to vote, for a political party or a constituency candidate; or
• advocates support for, or opposes, a constituency candidate or political party; or
• notifies meetings held or to be held in connection with an election.

Only programmes broadcast for political parties or constituency candidates are considered election programmes, and these will usually appear as short promotional/campaign clips.

We address complaints about ‘election programmes’ on TV or radio, and decide if they breach the Election Programmes Code. These complaints can be made directly to the BSA and we deal with them via a fast-track process.

Only general elections or by-elections for MPs are covered by this Code.

The BSA also considers complaints about other programmes which may relate to the election (eg, news, current affairs, satire and comment), under normally applicable broadcasting standards. These complaints must first be made to the broadcaster, and then can be referred to the BSA if the complainant is dissatisfied with the response.

Complaints over requirements such as promoter statements, written authorisation, allocation of funding, timing of broadcasting, or expense limits are dealt with by the Electoral Commission. The Advertising Standards Authority and NZ Media Council also deal with complaints about election advertising and coverage.

For more information about who you should complain to, see our Who does what?open_in_new elections guide.

All decisions on complaints can be seen on our website hereopen_in_new.

You can find out more about the number and types of complaints in our Annual Reportsopen_in_new.

Programmes initiated by broadcasters or other third parties are not considered ‘election programmes’.

This means TV and radio programmes including news, comment, current affairs or comedy in relation to an election are not subject to the Election Programmes Code.

However, complaints about these programmes can be considered by the broadcaster under the normally applicable broadcasting standards, and then referred to the BSA if the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome.

If the item is a third party-initiated ‘election advertisement’, it may be subject to requirements under the Electoral Act. Complaints about these can be made to the Advertising Standards Authority.

It depends what your complaint is about:

• An election programme on TV or radio during the general election period: BSAopen_in_new
• An election advertisement in other media, including print, online, pamphlets or billboards: Advertising Standards Authorityopen_in_new
• A programme discussing election matters on TV or radio (or on-demand, provided it was broadcast on TV or radio): the broadcasteropen_in_new (within 20 working days)
• Discussion of election matters in editorial content (as distinct from advertising) in NZ Media Council members’ publications: NZ Media Councilopen_in_new
• Compliance with requirements such as promoter statements, written authorisation, allocation of funding, timing of broadcasting, or expense limits: Electoral Commissionopen_in_new

If in doubt, check the table in our Quick Guide here (421 KB, Pdf).

If we receive a complaint that ought to be considered by the Electoral Commission, Media Council or Advertising Standards Authority, we’ll forward your complaint to them and let you know.

The Advertising Standards Authorityopen_in_new (ASA) deals with most advertisements for products, services or organisations on TV, radio, the internet, print and billboards.

Contact the ASA by email at asa@asa.co.nz or phone 0800 234 357.

The BSA can consider complaints about ‘promos’ for upcoming programmes, but these must be sent to the broadcasteropen_in_new in the first instance.

We also consider complaints about election programmesopen_in_new (which might appear as short promotional/campaign clips for political parties or candidates, on TV or radio).

The New Zealand Media Councilopen_in_new deals with complaints about the editorial content of newspapers, including their websites, and news and current affairs content on websites of some broadcasters.

You can phone the NZMC on 0800 969 357 or email info@mediacouncil.org.nz.