Billboard advertisements, some of which were among the top 10 complained-about ads of 2010, will be scrutinised by a parliamentary committee in 2011.
Four billboards, five television advertisements and one internet advert on Tuesday were named as the focus of public anger in 2010.
They dealt with sexuality and nudity, social values, discrimination and vilification, language, health and safety, the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) said.
Federal Member for Moreton, Graham Perrett, said the House of Representatives Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee, which he chairs, would look at the effectiveness of self-regulation and whether advertising reflected community standards.
Earlier this year, Mr Perrett called for a ban on offensive billboard advertising, saying it was time to "reclaim public spaces" and protect common decency.
In particular, he objected to one billboard, for an erectile dysfunction treatment, which was on a busy road and likely to be seen by children.
"I thought it crossed the bounds of decency, and I'm certainly no prude," Mr Perrett said.
"If I think it's a bit risque I'm pretty sure my mum would and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want my kids, to have to explain it to them," he told AAP.
He said it was necessary to differentiate between press, radio, television and internet advertising - where the media could be turned off or ignored - but outdoor advertising billboards were different.
"If you're driving in your car, on your way to school or in the train, you don't have a choice what you see outside your window," Mr Perrett said.
Self-regulation of advertising generally worked, he said, and there had been a change to the particular billboard about which he complained.
Mr Perrett said advertising regulation was not about never causing offence to anyone, but about meeting community standards.
The committee of four Labor and three coalition MPS would report in June, after extensive public consultation, he said.
Preliminary figures show the ASB received complaints about more than 520 advertisements in 2010, of which the board determined that in excess of 40 breached voluntary advertising standards.
Of the 10 most complained-about ads, the ASB upheld objections to three and dismissed objections to seven.
The advertisement which drew the most public ire was a television ad for the Advanced Medical Institute and featured a cookie jar on top of a cupboard. A man offers his wife an erect penis as a step.
It resulted in 220 complaints from the public. The complaints were dismissed.
