Campaign advertising is paid media designed to inform, educate, motivate or change behaviour of the general public.
Campaign advertising compliance has improved. But there are still gaps in television advertising compliance, oversight of high-risk campaigns, and spend reporting.
Covered in this section:
More government advertising and communications is delivered through digital channels and social media, but legislation and guidance have not been updated.
Without adequate controls, this creates risks where publicly funded content could be reused for political purposes.
Covered in this section:
The Public Administration Act 2004 requires public sector agencies to be apolitical and act in the public interest. This applies to conduct as well as government communications and advertising.
But we found examples of conduct and government communications that did not meet these requirements.
Covered in this section:
We made 9 recommendations to address our findings. The relevant agencies have accepted 8 recommendations in full or in part and have not accepted one recommendation.
Our audit followed 2 lines of inquiry:
1. Are government advertising and communications compliant with relevant standards and legislation?
2. Do agencies monitor, understand and report on their advertising and communications spending?
To answer these questions, we examined:
The Auditor-General is an independent officer of the Victorian Parliament who is supported by the Victorian Auditor General's Office (VAGO).
We provide assurance to Parliament and the Victorian community about how effectively and efficiently public sector agencies provide services and use public money.