Silent Hill f's has not actually been banned in Australia.
The Australian ratings board has been known to refuse to rate games fairly regularly, with the likes of South Park: The Stick of Truth and Wasteland 3 having to be edited to release in the country. While it has calmed down in recent years with the introduction of the R18+ rating in 2013, some games like Sludge Life and Hotline Miami 2 are still unavailable in Australia. It looked like Silent Hill f would be the next game to join the list, but it seems like that was a mistake.
In a statement to GamesRadar+, a spokesperson from the Classification Board told us, "Silent Hill f is not currently classified as ‘Refused Classification’ in Australia." The game's page on the Australian Government website has been removed, implying it was mistakenly posted in the first place.
So as it currently stands, Silent Hill f isn't banned in Australia. However, this does not mean it's in the clear. While the game no longer has a 'Refused Classification" rating, the Australian Classification Board hasn't given it a different rating either. There's still a chance the game can be refused classification later down the line. The spokesperson from the Classification Board told us that "a classification decision will be published to the National Classification Database ahead of the game’s release."
One of the themes that often lead to bans with the Australian Classification Board is drug use. Wasteland 3 and Fallout 3 both had to have edits over the use of drugs in-game. While it doesn't necessarily mean a ban is going to happen, It's worth noting that the Steam page for Silent Hill f mentions "drug-induced hallucinations."
Banned or not, it looks like Silent Hill f is going to be pretty unsettling, with Konami urging players, "If you feel uncomfortable at any point while playing, please take a break."
