Australia has joined the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), a “partnership of government and industry content classification authorities from around the world,” to classify online and mobile games.
Mobile and online games are currently exempt from the Australian Classification Board’s classification system.
“Participating online storefronts that use the IARC tool require game developers to obtain certification by completing a questionnaire about the content of their games,” read a press release from the Minister for Justice, the Hon Michael Keenan MP. “The IARC tool then assigns games with local classifications for each member country or region based on standards set by the relevant authorities.
“The use of this tool will help keep the National Classification Scheme up to date with the pace of growth of mobile and online games.”.
Participating storefronts will start displaying Australian classifications to help inform purchasers of the contents of each title.
“As part of the trial, the Classification Board will audit a large number of classifications made by the IARC tool to ensure they reflect the Australian community’s expectations and standards.
“The Board also has the power to revoke classifications made by the IARC tool if it decides it would have given the game a different classification,” the press release stated.
The IARC tool will be trialed for twelve months.
The news comes as a result of amendments made by the Government last year to the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 that allowed for the approval of classification tools for video games.
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