AUSTRALIAN Penthouse
THE BEST OF FORUM LETTERS
THE GIRLS OF PENTHOUSE
PENTHOUSE FORUM
PENTHOUSE LETTERS
PENTHOUSE VARIATIONS
Judging from previous submissions it looks like each issue is produced in two versions. The aim is to get an Unrestricted rating and a Category 1 rating.
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PENTHOUSE FORUM VOLUME 38 NO- 1 JANUARY 2008
A 138 page Original version was rated Category 2 on January 8th 2008. A 140 page Modified version was rated Category 1 on March 13th 2008.
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PENTHOUSE LETTERS VOLUME 26 NO 1- JANUARY 2008
A 112 page Original version was rated Category 2 on January 8th 2008. A 104 page Modified version was rated Category 1 on March 14th 2008.
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PENTHOUSE VARIATIONS VOLUME 30 NO- 1- JANUARY 2008 (138 Pages)
A 138 page Original version was rated Category 2 on January 8th 2008. A Modified version was rated Category 1 on March 13th 2008.
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THE BEST OF FORUM LETTERS VOLUME 20 NO- 6
A 126 page Original version was rated Category 2 on January 8th 2008. A 124 page Modified version was rated Category 1 on March 7th 2008.
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THE GIRLS OF PENTHOUSE VOL 31 NO 6 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008
An 84 page Original version was rated Category 2 on January 31st 2008. A 78 page Modified version was rated Category 1 on March 5th 2008
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AUSTRALIAN Penthouse
In December 2005 PENTHOUSE began to use the newly introduced Serial Classification option offered by the OFLC.
This gave the magazine a 24 month classification.
AUSTRALIAN PENTHOUSE FEBRUARY 2006 (said to be
UNRESTRICTED) - SERIAL CLASSIFICATION - 24 MONTHS Publication (Magazine)
Classification Unrestricted (M15+) Consumer Advice M - not recommended for
readers under 15 years.
Category Serial Classification
Version Duration
Date of Classification 19 December 2005
Author NOT SHOWN
Publisher PENTHOUSE MEDIA GROUP
Production Company NOT SHOWN
Country of Origin AUSTRALIA
Applicant HORWITZ PUBLICATIONS
File Number L05/1410
Classification Number 4251015D
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The following information from the OFLC website explains how a Serial Classification works.
What is a Serial Classification Declaration?
Under the national classification scheme, only a submittable publication requires classification. A submittable publication is one that is likely to be restricted to adults because it:
contains depictions or descriptions likely to
cause offence to a reasonable adult,
is unsuitable for a minor to see or read, or
is likely to be refused classification.
A submittable publication, whether local or imported, must be classified before
it can be displayed for sale.
From 1 December 2005, the OFLC is providing a new way to apply for classification of publications. If the Classification Board issues a Serial Classification Declaration for your publication, you will be able to apply the classification rating (and conditions, if applicable) granted to a single issue of that publication to all future issues released within a set period of time (see below). In other words, you can submit a current sample of your publication and on the basis of the content, the Classification Board may issue you with a Declaration that all future issues of that publication carry the same classification, until the Declaration expires.
The object of a Serial Classification Declaration is to allow you to publish/distribute your title without submitting it again for the duration of the Declaration. You may either submit a new issue of your publication on which the Board may base its decision to grant a Declaration, or use one of the last three issues you have had classified by the Board as the basis for a Declaration.
You must, however, ensure that any and all issues of the title published under a Declaration do not exceed the classification granted by the Board. If you do exceed the classification granted under the Declaration, the Board must revoke the Declaration and you will be required to submit each issue for individual classification.
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In May 2007 the Unrestricted issue ran into problems with the Classification Board.
Penthouse in fight over genitals. News.com.au 07.06.07
PENTHOUSE, Australia's biggest-selling adult magazine, may be forced to submit all its future editions for approval by censors after a ruling that it has "emphasised genitals" in its latest issue.
The troublesome pictures include “a depiction of two breast naked females standing with their breasts pressed against one another” and an indiscreet depiction of genitals, according to documents obtained by NEWS.com.au.
Penthouse has said the pictures that were deemed too obscene by the Office of Film and Literature Classification are identical to previously published images.
The magazine's editor Ian Gerrard has said he was puzzled by the attention from OFLC scrutineers.
“Images in previous issues were nearly identical, but this is the first time it’s happened to us,” Mr Gerrard has said.
Mr Gerrard has said the restrictions on what can appear in the “weaker” newsstand editions of Australian Penthouse are decided by the magazine and the regulator.
“We have to avoid 'genital emphasis' in our images, which we’re quite stringent about. We look at images published in the past which were approved by the OFLC… as a kind of template.”
Mr Gerrard has said he suspects that published extracts from a controversial book written by euthanasia campaigner Philip Nitschke may have led to the decision.
“(The book) delivers a scathing attack on Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock,” Mr Gerrard has said.
Mr Ruddock has said the matter has nothing to do with the excerpts.
“I am advised that the content in question is not the extract from the Nitschke article,” Mr Ruddock has said.
“But in any event, this is a matter for the classification board, which is an independent statutory body.”
The board's director Donald McDonald has said the board is still considering the matter.
Documents show the censorship board formed a “preliminary view” that three images inside the magazine and an advertisement on the back cover breached the classification guidelines.
“The rear cover contains a depiction of two breast naked females standing with their breasts pressed against one another… the cover is not suitable for public display as it contains depictions of sexualised nudity,” Mr McDonald said in the documents.
He said the other images depicted genitals indiscreetly or as the focus of the photographs.
According to the regulator’s website, if a magazine publishes content that was deemed to have exceeded its classification, the publishers would be forced to submit each issue for individual classification.
Under the current contract between the regulator and Australian Penthouse, approval for the “M” classification was granted for two years.
The magazine had to agree to several undertakings to allow it to publish without seeking approval for each edition.
Mr Gerrard said if his appeal against the decision failed, it could cost the magazine at least $30,000 extra per edition in costs.
He has until July 15 to appeal against the decision.
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Exit International
www.exitinternational.net
20th May 2007
Australian Penthouse runs Peaceful Pill Handbook Extracts
In a move designed to challenge the excesses of the “Supernanny” Australian state Australian Penthouse has published extracts of the banned The Peaceful Pill Handbook in its June Edition.
As editor Ian Gerrard says, Penthouse is no stranger to censorship. "We're an adult magazine and I think we should talk about adult issues.
"The banning of Philip Nitschke’s (book) has deprived us of yet another choice, pre-emptively silenced yet another debate and stripped away another human right"
Exit congratulates Penthouse for their courage