Frequently asked questions Ngā Pātai e Kaha Whiua Nei

You can contact Able, New Zealand’s television captioning and audio description service, which is funded by NZ On Air.

You may also wish to contact the broadcaster.

Terms and conditions of competitions are not generally something that can be dealt with under broadcasting standards. Queries are best directed to the broadcaster. 

We don't deal with reception interference or signal issues.

Radio Spectrum Management (RSM) manages the radio spectrum in New Zealand. You can contact RSM by phone on 0508 776 463 or by email at info@rsm.govt.nz.

Contact Kordia for any television signal issues, on 09 551 7000.

For problems with Freeview, contact them here.

For problems with Sky, visit their website.

We don’t deal with issues relating to the volume or sound of programmes. We suggest you direct your concerns to the broadcaster.

We don’t generally comment on whether we’ve received a complaint about a particular broadcast.

In most cases, complaints must go to the broadcaster first. You could ask the broadcaster if a programme has been complained about.

Once complaints are determined, we publish the decisions on our website.

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

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

We can’t give specific advice on whether a programme might breach standards, as this could risk pre-determining the Authority’s views if we received a complaint.

We can give general guidance about broadcasting standards and factors the Authority may consider.

All our previous decisions are published on our website. These contain guidance and you can see if we’ve considered a similar issue.

Broadcasters that make more than $500,000 in annual revenue from broadcasting in New Zealand pay a set proportion of this to the BSA. This ‘broadcasting levy’ helps fund the standards system and BSA operations.

For more information, see Broadcasting Levy.

We commission and publish research as part of our role to oversee and develop the broadcasting standards system.

Our research helps us understand community attitudes and expectations around broadcasting and to make sure our decisions reflect society’s diverse, contemporary views and opinions.

It also helps broadcasters to understand what the community thinks and how the standards apply.

Broadcasting standards do not specifically address issues of copyright. For more information about copyright law, we suggest you visit WeCreate, or the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.