Misleading conduct and what is at stake
Section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law bans misleading or deceptive conduct in trade, and section 29 bans false or misleading representations about goods and services. Neither cares how an ad was made. A generated scene that shows a feature the product lacks, a fake review or an unsupported green claim is judged on the overall impression, and small print rarely rescues it. For breaches of section 29 and similar provisions from 28 March 2026, the maximum penalty for a company is the greatest of AUD 100 million, three times the benefit obtained or, where the benefit cannot be valued, 30 per cent of turnover during the breach, and the ACCC litigates. New Zealand's Fair Trading Act 1986 takes the same approach to misleading conduct, and the Commerce Commission enforces it.
Codes, privacy and the regulators
In Australia, the AANA Code of Ethics requires advertising to be clearly distinguishable as such, which covers influencer posts and any synthetic persona a brand runs, and complaints go to Ad Standards. The Privacy Act 1988 now includes a statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy, in force since June 2025, and a children's online privacy code is due by December 2026. The December 2025 National AI Plan builds on existing law rather than a new AI act. New Zealand's Advertising Standards Authority has published a guidance note on AI, dated August 2026: no blanket labels, but disclosure where AI could change how people read an ad, such as realistic people who do not exist, a replicated voice or an altered product image, and no fake testimonials.
Upside-down seasons and two distinct markets
Christmas falls in summer, so festive content means beaches, barbecues and long evenings rather than snow, and winter campaigns run from June to August. Australia's financial year ends on 30 June, which drives end-of-financial-year sales, while Boxing Day and Black Friday are major retail events in both countries. Library imagery and generated scenes default to the northern hemisphere, so check light, clothing and plants against the month of launch. The studio's product-lock keeps the product pixel-accurate while a snowy December scene is regenerated as an Australian summer. New Zealand is not a state of Australia and dislikes being treated as one. Accents are distinct, vocabulary differs, jandals in Auckland and thongs in Sydney being the classic example, and a campaign that swaps a Sydney voice into a New Zealand ad is noticed at once.
Māori and Aboriginal culture is not a style prompt
Te reo Māori is an official language of New Zealand, and its use in brand content is common and welcome when it is correct, including macrons, and reviewed by a fluent speaker. Designs are a different matter. Kōwhaiwhai patterns, tā moko and other taonga carry specific meanings and belong to particular iwi and hapū; the Waitangi Tribunal's Wai 262 report addressed exactly this kind of cultural property, and the trade mark office consults a Māori advisory committee on marks that use Māori elements. In Australia, generating 'Aboriginal-style' art from a model is appropriation of Indigenous cultural and intellectual property. Commission Indigenous creators, follow cultural protocols, and warn audiences where content includes images or voices of people who have died.
Updated 25 September 2026 · General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current text with your legal team before relying on it.