The PAAB’s principal role is to provide to its Members advice on the content of advertisements.

Members newspapers and magazines not only refer individual print advertisements to the PAAB for advice, but also prior to seeing their clients, sales staff, often call for advice on the advertising requirements for the respective industries or professions that their clients are members of.

Some of these advertisements in fact have already been published and are only sent to the PAAB when the publication concerned either belatedly realises that the advertisement is a potential problem or, worse still, there have been reader complaints.

The PAAB maintains a cordial and professional relationship with a number of Government and Regulatory Bodies. It is recognised by the ACCC as the peak representative industry association for the major publishers of newspapers and magazines on all advertising and related matters. It is recognised by the ACCC as the peak representative industry association for the major publishers of newspapers and magazines on all advertising and related matters.

The ACCC has referred to the PAAB as “a model of industry co-operation”. On issues of concern to the various State/Territory Fair Trading offices and the ACCC, which either directly or indirectly involve publishers, they have chosen to work with the PAAB on their resolution basis, rather than dealing with publishers individually.

The Bureau, uniquely amongst media, is a full member of the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code Council.