A production quote can promise a finished advertisement without promising to manage every step required before it reaches television. Internal creative approval, external classification and delivery to the intended broadcaster are different states. Agree which work is included before treating “final video supplied” as the end of the commission.
This guide concerns a specific destination, not every business video. ClearAds' current FAQ says television commercials and infomercials on Australian commercial free-to-air networks require classification before airing. Do not apply that statement as a universal rule for online advertising or every other television service. Have the campaign owner confirm the actual destination and applicable process.
Identify the endpoint in the proposal
Ask whether the supplier is producing approved creative files only or also coordinating the relevant classification submission and delivery. Either scope can be reasonable when the remaining work has an authorised owner.
A buyer with an agency already managing classification may need production to prepare specified materials and respond to agreed changes. Another buyer may need that coordination included in the proposed commission. The distinction should be visible before comparing apparently equivalent quotes.
Do not ask a supplier to guarantee an external decision. Ask what work it will undertake, which inputs it requires, how it will communicate the outcome and what remains outside its responsibility.
Separate early advice from the final decision
ClearAds offers a precheck of material such as scripts, concepts or offline edits. Its FAQ distinguishes that guidance from final approval: a precheck does not provide a ClearAds number for the finished advertisement.
If early advice is proposed, establish the purpose and owner of that step. Who prepares the material? Who receives and interprets the response with the appropriate specialists? Who approves any consequent change to the production brief?
Keep the state visible. “Submitted for precheck”, “feedback received” and “changes agreed” should not be shortened to an ambiguous “approved”. The buyer still needs to know which version was considered and what later work remains.
A precheck also should not become an undocumented promise of unlimited redevelopment. Ask how changes affecting the production scope will be assessed before further work proceeds.
Prepare for the actual final submission
ClearAds' process description identifies submission of the finished advertisement with its script, vision and supporting material for claims. The responsible applicant should confirm the current requirements for the particular advertisement rather than rely on a generic checklist as a complete application.
Commercially, the important question is whether the required inputs have owners. Production may hold the finished vision, while the business holds evidence supporting a claim and the agency coordinates submission. Someone needs to reconcile those inputs with the exact version being submitted.
Do not leave an unresolved evidence question for the editor to solve through more persuasive wording. The business and relevant advisers must establish what can be supported. If a claim changes, ask which script, graphics, narration or other materials also need updating.
Use a final-version status chain
Complete this record with the production, campaign and submission owners. Use actual documents or references rather than a single tick labelled “cleared”.
| Stage | Evidence to record | Responsibility to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Intended destination | Named placement and applicable process confirmed | Campaign or media owner |
| Internal creative approval | Exact version, claims and permitted uses approved | Authorised business and creative reviewers |
| Precheck, if commissioned | Material reviewed, feedback and unresolved questions | Named applicant and relevant advisers |
| Final submission | Identified advertisement and required supporting materials | Person authorised to submit |
| External outcome | Actual classification reference, response and conditions | Person receiving and communicating the decision |
| Delivery | Matching master and destination requirements | Appointed delivery provider and recipient |
| Acceptance or hold | Receipt/status confirmation and outstanding issue | Campaign owner coordinating the relevant parties |
The chain does not replace specialist advice or the broadcaster's process. It makes the purchased work and unresolved states understandable to the buyer.
Keep changes connected to their classification status
A request to alter an ending, offer or line of text may arrive after a version has been approved. Do not assume the previous external reference automatically follows the new edit. ClearAds' FAQ states that a revision to an approved advertisement requires a new ClearAds number.
Ask the responsible applicant what the actual change requires. Keep the revised creative, its internal approval and its external status linked. Avoid leaving several near-identical files in a delivery folder with no indication of which has the appropriate current reference.
The production agreement should explain how additional version work and submission coordination will be assessed. That is different from promising a standard revision allowance or treating every change as a simple export.
An illustrative commissioning gap
A fictional business commissions an advertisement for a planned commercial free-to-air television placement. This is not a Live Images booking or advice approving any particular advertisement.
The production proposal ends with a finished master. The buyer assumes “finished” includes the external classification process; the supplier understands that an agency will manage it. No agency has accepted that work.
The status chain identifies the gap before production begins. The buyer obtains a defined arrangement for submission coordination, supporting evidence, responses to review and delivery responsibilities. The resulting scope does not guarantee approval, but it no longer relies on an unnamed party.
Later, a requested wording change is treated as a version change requiring assessment—not silently substituted into a file associated with an earlier decision.
Confirm delivery without confusing it with media placement
Ask the intended recipient what it needs and how acceptance will be confirmed. A file transfer, an external classification and an agreed advertising placement should remain distinguishable in the campaign record. Do not infer that one party has completed another's work because the video itself looks final.
Live Images' services page says advertising needs its own brief. It does not establish a television-commercial classification or broadcast-delivery offer. Enquire about production suitability with the intended destination and existing agency arrangements, and confirm the appropriate providers before committing. Classification coordination is a defined service task, not a guarantee of legal compliance, broadcast acceptance or campaign results.
Prepared with AI assistance for Live Images. Planning guidance is general; suitability and production scope must be agreed for your project.