Kyle Sandilands Paralympics remarks breached broadcasting standards, ACMA finds

Kyle Sandilands on-air comments about Paralympic athletes ‘have no place in our society’, the media watchdog has found. See where he went too far.

Radio shockjock Kyle Sandilands has been found in breach of broadcasting standards over ‘insensitive’ remarks about Paralympic athletes.

Media watchdog the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) released its report into complaints on Tuesday and found Sandilands’ station KIIS FM had breached the code’s ‘decency provision’ twice.

Sandilands co-hosts the market leading KIIS FM breakfast show alongside Jackie O Henderson, with the show and the overall station topping the recent radio ratings survey results.

“Comments like those broadcast on this program have no place in our society, never mind on a commercial radio program,” ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said.

“Mocking participants in an event that celebrates equality and showcases the highest levels of human endeavour is beyond any reasonable measure of decency.”

Radio host Kyle Sandilands (left) breached broadcast standards and Jackie O.

ACMA received multiple complaints concerning two segments in which it was alleged contained content that was offensive and incited serious contempt and severe ridicule of people with disabilities.

During the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, that took place a year late due to Covid, Sandilands told listeners: “Have you been watching the special Olympics (sic), it is horrific some of the things. I saw some poor bloke who ran for the high jump and veered right because he was blind and landed on his arse, on the ground. Then when they were playing soccer, the blind people, I was thinking, are you joking? They’re throwing themselves on the ground like sausages to block the ball.”

Sandilands made offensive comments about Paralympic athletes, ACMA found.

Henderson laughed through the segments.

At the time, broadcaster KIIS FM defended the comments by referring to the audience’s familiarity with Sandilands’ use of “low-level coarse language that is ordinarily reserved for private conversation”.

The incident resurfaced in 2022 when Sandilands criticised fellow KIIS employees, labelling colleagues in his own public relations department “spazzes while also calling bosses and co-workers “flops”, “losers” and “dumb”. Sandilands was hugely critical of media reporting on the incident.

Disability advocate Hannah Diviney was a key voice criticising Sandilands at the time.

Disability advocate Hannah Diviney. Picture: Nikki Short

In its findings, ACMA stated Sandilands breached provisions when he “threatened a named journalist who had criticised the program”.

“Threatening and intimidating an individual is an unacceptable response to criticism and an entirely inappropriate use of broadcast media,” O’Loughlin said.

KIIS FM parent company ARN has issued a number of undertakings based on the findings.

A second censor has been employed to assist its primary censor monitor “that what is being put to air is compliant with the code of practice”.

The parent company of KIIS FM has undertaken to deliver ‘sensitivity training” to hosts, producers, censor and other relevant staff and independently assess existing controls in place to prevent further breaches of the decency requirements.