The works were of naked girls aged about four upwards, onto which she painted penises. They were a comment on gender stereotyping, a theme that has long concerned Hood. All the images of girls were photographs in freely available publications. ''In our culture we see them by the thousands on magazine covers,'' she says. ''We see 12-, 13-, 14-year-old children in make-up and sexualised … I'm not talking about Playboy, I'm talking about fashion magazines.''

Which is why Hood is concerned at the present focus on the depiction of children in art. Her case is outlined in The Art Censorship Guide, just published by the National Association for the Visual Arts. It is a reminder that action against artists has a long history in Australia. But Hood's decision to change her art practice is one many artists are facing in the wake of the Bill Henson controversy, according to NAVA's executive director, Tamara Winikoff.

The introduction a year ago of Australia Council guidelines for working with children has increased the pressure on artists to steer away from contentious subjects. ''It's meant that people who may not have taken any notice have now become self-conscious,'' Winikoff says. ''It means that the critical role that art can play is being silenced.''

NAVA's guide argues that the visual arts are the prime target for censors and zealots. It provides information about threats to artistic freedom and how to deal with them, outlining the existing laws, the role of key bodies including the Classification Board, and provides advice on what to do if the police call. The 100-page guide encourages artists to speak up if a work is censored or restricted or if an artist is intimidated. The Australia Council is currently reviewing its protocols and their effect on artists, and their impact on the creation, exhibition and distribution of art involving children.

Winikoff has called for their scrapping, describing them as unnecessary. No Australian artist has been found guilty of exploiting or harming children within their art practice as far as NAVA is aware. Existing laws are adequate and the protocols are having a ''chilling effect'' on the making and distributing of images of children, Winikoff says.

''Perfectly legitimate images of children are disappearing from the public domain because everybody is too nervous,'' she says. ''But the laws really are comprehensive, although there are differences state to state. ''It would be better if there was some co-ordination … But what the Australia Council is trying to do is going beyond the laws.'' Under the protocols, artists working with naked children must ensure that parents understand the nature of the artwork.

In some cases, images of full or partly nude children taken over the past 25 years now need to be reviewed by the Classification Board before they can go on view. Artists unable to contact a parent to obtain permission may need to have the work reviewed by the board.

Winikoff says the protocols add an administratively unjustified level of difficulty and cost to the industry, and provide no real benefit to the community or to the welfare of children. The Australia Council's chief executive, Kathy Keele, wants to determine whether there is evidence of self-censorship among artists. ''We want to know if it is having a chilling effect at all on creative work,'' she says.

''We'll do that by looking at how many applications we've received and whether that's declined in any way. But the problems with that is we never really got many involving children in art anyway.'' The protocols were introduced last January and require all grant recipients - individuals and organisations - to adhere to them or lose their funding.

''They are not intended to stop controversial work but rather provide guidelines for artists, similar to those already existing for other professions working with children,'' Keele says. The council will also speak to arts organisations and exhibitors to discuss the effects of the protocols. The review, which will be conducted by the council's executive director of arts funding, Libby Christie, is expected to be completed by the end of next month and be publicly available in March. Submissions can be made online; they close on February 5.