

Both schedules state that it is the intention of the Parliament that the schedules are ‘not to apply to the exclusion of a law of a State or Territory to the extent to which that law is capable of operating concurrently’. Inconsistency of Commonwealth and state lawsġ5.42 Where the power to legislate is held concurrently by the Commonwealth and the states, as it is under most of the heads of power on which a Classification of Media Content Act would rely, questions involving inconsistency of laws may arise.ġ5.43 Section 109 of the Constitution provides that when ‘a law of a State is inconsistent with a law of the Commonwealth, the latter shall prevail, and the former shall to the extent of the inconsistency, be invalid’.ġ5.44 Schedules 5 and 7 of the Broadcasting Services Act expressly provide for concurrent operation of state and territory laws.

Table: International comparison of film classifications.
