{"id":"F2007L00573","name":"Australian Communications and Media Authority (Commercial Radio Broadcasting Services) Direction (No. 1) 2007","slug":"australian-communications-and-media-authority-commercial-radio-broadcasting-services-direction-no-1-","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":63931,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2007L00573-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Name of Direction","content":"## 1 Name of Direction\n\nThis Direction is the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Commercial Radio Broadcasting Services) Direction No. 1 of 2007.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Commencement","content":"## 2 Commencement\n\nThis Direction commences on the day Schedule 2 of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act 2006 commences.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"part","heading":"Definitions","content":"## 3 Definitions\n\nIn this Direction:\n\nAct means the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act 2006;\n\nACMA means the Australian Communications and Media Authority;\n\nACMA Act means the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005;\n\nBSA means the Broadcasting Services Act 1992;\n\nLAP means licence area plan made under subsection 26(1) of the BSA;\n\nregional commercial radio broadcasting licence has the same meaning as in Division 5C of Part 5 of the Act; and\n\nregional commercial radio broadcasting licensee means the licensee of a regional commercial radio broadcasting licence.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"part","heading":"Revocation","content":"## 4 Revocation\n\nI revoke the Australian Broadcasting Authority (Revisiting Radio LAPs) Direction No. 1 of 2003.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"part","heading":"Direction —ACMA to consider whether to exercise its power to vary a LAP","content":"## 5 Direction –ACMA to consider whether to exercise its power to vary a LAP\n\nI direct ACMA under section 14 of the ACMA Act to consider whether to exercise its power in section 26(2) of the BSA to vary the relevant LAP so as to include one or more additional commercial radio broadcasting licences in the following circumstances:\n\n(a) where:\n\n(i) a person who was not in a position to exercise control of an existing commercial radio broadcasting licence that is a broadcasting services bands licence has become, at any time after this Direction, a person in a position to exercise control of the licence; and\n\n(ii) during the three year period following the change in control referred to in paragraph (a)(i) above, the program format of the service provided under the licence has changed from one of broad general appeal to one of more limited appeal; and\n\n(iii) the change in format has resulted in a reduction in the number of commercial radio broadcasting services that are of broad appeal in the relevant licence area; or\n\n(b) where a regional commercial radio broadcasting licensee has not complied with:\n\n(i) a licence condition of the kind referred to in section 43B of the Act, which relates to maintaining the existing level of local presence, that ACMA has imposed under section 43 of the BSA and that is in force; or\n\n(ii) a licence condition of the kind referred to in section 43C of the Act, which relates to broadcasting at least the applicable number of hours of material of local significance during daytime hours each business day, that ACMA has imposed under section 43 of the BSA and that is in force; or\n\n(iii) the local news and information and local content plan requirements specified in Division 5C of Part 5 of the Act; and\n\nthe consequences of the conduct which resulted in that non-compliance make it appropriate to consider the future planning of licences in that area.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"part","heading":"Direction —ACMA to consider whether to exercise its power to impose additional licence conditions","content":"## 6 Direction –ACMA to consider whether to exercise its power to impose additional licence conditions\n\nI direct ACMA under section 14 of the ACMA Act to consider whether to exercise its power in section 43(1) of the BSA to impose on a regional commercial radio broadcasting licence additional licence conditions that provide for minimum service standards for local news and information, local content plans and local presence requirements consistent with Subdivisions B and C of Division 5C of Part 5 and section 43B of the Act, where:\n\n(a) the licensee of that licence has changed the program format of the service provided under the licence from one of broad general appeal to one of more limited appeal; and\n\n(b) the change in format has resulted in a reduction in the number of regional commercial radio broadcasting services that are of broad appeal in the relevant licence area.","sortOrder":5}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Direction does not expand ACMA's statutory powers; it directs the regulator to consider exercising existing powers under the Broadcasting Services Act (to vary LAPs under s26(2) and to impose licence conditions under s43(1)) in specified circumstances. It replaces an earlier ABA Direction (revoked at section 4) and narrows ACMA's triggers for review to particular events (format change after control change and failures to meet local-content/presence requirements). In short, the instrument changes regulatory focus and process rather than the substantive scope of the law; it stays within the original purpose of implementing and operationalising the media-ownership amendments rather than growing the legislation beyond that intent."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument (6 substantive sections) with focused scope","6 defined terms in the Definitions section (Act, ACMA, ACMA Act, BSA, LAP, regional commercial radio broadcasting licence/licensee)","Cross-references to multiple external statutes and provisions (Broadcasting Services Act 1992: s26(2), s43(1), s43B, s43C, Division 5C; ACMA Act s14; Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act 2006 Schedule 2 commencement)","Two separate directed considerations (vary LAP; impose licence conditions) with overlapping but distinct triggers","Nested conditional logic in section 5(a): change of control + three-year window + program-format shift + resulting reduction in number of broad-appeal services","Multiple alternative triggers in section 5(b) involving non-compliance with different statutory requirements (s43B, s43C, Division 5C)","Ambiguous, qualitative thresholds (e.g. 'broad general appeal' vs 'more limited appeal', 'appropriate to consider') increasing interpretive complexity","Revocation of a prior direction (s4), requiring readers to check historical guidance if relevant"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this Direction does (mechanically)\n\n- Revokes the earlier ABA Direction about revisiting radio licence area plans (Direction No. 1 of 2003) (see section 4).\n- Directs the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to consider using two existing statutory powers when specified events happen:\n  - Vary a licence area plan (LAP) under section 26(2) of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (BSA) so as to include one or more extra commercial radio licences, where certain format or compliance events have reduced the number of services \"of broad appeal\" in a licence area (Direction, section 5).\n  - Impose additional licence conditions under section 43(1) of the BSA that set minimum local service standards (local news/information, local content plans, local presence), where a licensee has changed format in a way that reduces the number of broad-appeal regional services in the licence area (Direction, section 6).\n\n**Who this affects\n\n- Regional commercial radio licensees: they can be the subject of additional licence conditions and may face increased local-service scrutiny if they change program format or fail to meet local content/presence obligations (Direction, sections 5–6).\n- Potential new entrants: ACMA is asked to consider adding licences to an LAP when the number of broad-appeal services has fallen (Direction, section 5).\n- ACMA (the regulator): the Direction requires ACMA to consider (i.e. re-assess) exercising its existing statutory powers in specified circumstances (Direction, sections 5–6).\n\n**Why it matters (stated purpose and immediate effect)\n\n- The Direction instructs ACMA to watch for two kinds of changes that may reduce the availability of broadly appealing commercial radio services in regional areas: (A) changes in control followed by a program-format shift to narrower appeal; and (B) failure by a regional licensee to meet statutory or licence local-content/presence requirements (Direction, section 5).\n- Where those circumstances arise, ACMA must consider whether to change planning (add licences to an LAP) or to impose licence conditions to secure minimum local service standards (Direction, sections 5–6).\n\n**Analyst's note on mechanics, incentives and trade-offs\n\n- Source of authority: The Direction does not create new powers; it instructs ACMA to consider using powers it already has under the BSA (s26(2) to vary LAPs; s43(1) to impose licence conditions) (Direction, sections 5–6). It therefore changes the regulator's priorities and triggers for action rather than changing statutory authority.\n\n- Who decides and how discretionary it is: ACMA retains discretion. The Direction requires ACMA to \"consider whether to exercise\" its powers — it does not compel a particular outcome. The relevant tests (for example, whether it is \"appropriate to consider the future planning of licences\") are fact-sensitive and leave scope for judgment (Direction, section 5(b)).\n\n- Economic incentives for licensees: A licensee that changes format from \"broad general appeal\" to \"more limited appeal\" within three years of a change in control (Direction, section 5(a)(i)–(iii)) may trigger ACMA scrutiny. That creates incentives for licensees to: (a) keep broadly appealing formats if they want to avoid intervention; (b) document compliance with local-content and local-presence requirements; or (c) accept the risk of new licences or additional licence conditions.\n\n- Compliance costs and competitive effects: If ACMA imposes additional licence conditions (Direction, section 6), affected licensees will incur compliance costs to meet minimum local news/hours and local presence requirements (Direction, section 6). Adding licences to an LAP increases the number of competitors in a licence area, which can dilute incumbents' market shares and revenues; new entrants capture concentrated benefits (additional licences), while the cost of regulation is borne by incumbent licensees and applicants.\n\n- Implementation risks and legal uncertainty: The Direction relies on qualitative concepts such as \"broad general appeal\" vs \"more limited appeal\" and whether consequences of non-compliance make it \"appropriate\" to consider planning changes (Direction, section 5). Those terms are not defined in the Direction itself, so ACMA (and affected parties) face uncertainty and potential disputes about the factual thresholds that trigger review. That raises litigation and administrative-review risk.\n\n- Opportunity costs for the regulator: ACMA must allocate staff and resources to assess format changes, control changes and compliance with local-content requirements. That diverts regulatory capacity from other functions.\n\n- Scope for stakeholder influence: Because the Direction makes ACMA's review contingent on specific events and compliance findings, local stakeholders (competitors, community groups, advertisers) may be incentivised to lodge complaints or provide evidence to prompt ACMA consideration. The Direction thus creates a routinised path for intervention requests.\n\n**Sections to note for readers who want the exact triggers**\n- Revocation of prior Direction: section 4.\n- Circumstances requiring ACMA to consider varying an LAP: section 5 (see in particular s5(a)(i)–(iii) and s5(b)(i)–(iii)).\n- Circumstances requiring ACMA to consider imposing additional licence conditions: section 6.\n\n**Bottom line**: The Direction narrows ACMA's attention to specific events (control changes followed by format narrowing, and failures to meet local-content/presence obligations) and asks the regulator to consider using existing statutory powers to add licences to licence-area plans or to impose minimum local-service licence conditions. The practical effects are increased regulator scrutiny, possible additional compliance obligations for regional licensees, and a mechanism by which reduced numbers of broadly appealing services can lead to additional licences or stricter conditions (Direction, sections 5–6)."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Direction appears tightly scoped to its original purpose. It was made specifically to accompany the 2006 media ownership reforms and targets the exact concerns those reforms raised: protecting regional radio diversity and local content when ownership consolidates. The two directions (reviewing licence area plans and imposing additional conditions) directly address the risks identified in the enabling legislation without expanding into unrelated areas."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple nested conditions in section 5(a) requiring a three-part test (change of control + format change + reduction in broad appeal services)","Cross-references to at least 5 different Acts/Divisions (Broadcasting Services Act 1992, ACMA Act 2005, Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act 2006, plus specific sections and Divisions within those Acts)","Defined terms section with 6 definitions, some circular or referring to external legislation ('regional commercial radio broadcasting licence has the same meaning as in Division 5C of Part 5 of the Act')","Two distinct but related triggering mechanisms in section 5 (paragraphs (a) and (b)) with different remedial considerations","Technical terminology requiring external knowledge ('licence area plan', 'broadcasting services bands licence', 'position to exercise control', 'local presence requirements')"],"plain_english_summary":"This ministerial direction tells ACMA to step in to protect regional radio: to review licence-area planning and consider imposing extra licence conditions when a regional station shifts from broad-appeal to niche programming or fails its local-staff, office or local-content commitments.  \n\nIt affects regional commercial broadcasters, ACMA, and regional communities — acting as a safeguard after 2006 media‑ownership changes to prevent loss of general‑interest stations and local news/services."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/australian-communications-and-media-authority-commercial-radio-broadcasting-services-direction-no-1-","history":"/api/acts/australian-communications-and-media-authority-commercial-radio-broadcasting-services-direction-no-1-/history","analysis":"/api/acts/australian-communications-and-media-authority-commercial-radio-broadcasting-services-direction-no-1-/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/australian-communications-and-media-authority-commercial-radio-broadcasting-services-direction-no-1-/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/australian-communications-and-media-authority-commercial-radio-broadcasting-services-direction-no-1-/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/australian-communications-and-media-authority-commercial-radio-broadcasting-services-direction-no-1-/documents"}}