{"id":"F2005B02486","name":"Australian Communications Authority (HPON Transmitter Licences) Direction No. 1 of 2001","slug":"australian-communications-authority-hpon-transmitter-licences-direction-no-1-of-2001","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":32793,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2005B02486-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Australian Communications Authority (HPON Transmitter Licences) Direction No. 1 of 2001","content":"![](image.001.png)\n\nAustralian Communications Authority (HPON Transmitter Licences) Direction No. 1 of 2001\n\nas amended\n\nmade under subsection 12 (1) of the\n\nAustralian Communications Authority Act 1997\n\nThis compilation was prepared on 30 September 2005 \ntaking into account amendments up to Australian Communications Authority (HPON Transmitter Licences) Direction No. 1 of 2001 (Amendment No. 1 of 2002)\n\nPrepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing, \nAttorney-General’s Department, Canberra\n\nContents\n\n1 Name of Direction \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Definitions\n\n4 Direction — renewal of HPON radio Licences\n\n5 Direction — period of renewal of HPON radio licences\n\n5A Direction — interim period of issue and renewal of HPON radio licences\n\n6 Application to ABA when acting as delegate of ACA\n\nNotes\n\n1 Name of Direction \\[see Note 1\\]\n\nThis Direction may be cited as the Australian Communications Authority (HPON Transmitter Licences) Direction No. 1 of 2001.\n\n2 Commencement\n\nThis Direction commences on 1 March 2001.\n\n3 Definitions\n\nIn this Direction:\n\n> ABA means the Australian Broadcasting Authority.\n\n> ACA means the Australian Communications Authority.\n\n> broadcasting services bands spectrum has the same meaning as in the BSA.\n\n> BSA means the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.\n\n> HPON radio licence means a transmitter licence issued under section 100 of the Radcom Act which authorises the operation of a transmitter:\n\n(a) for the provision of an open narrowcasting radio service in a part of \nthe broadcasting services bands which is, at the time the licence is issued, available for allocation under a section 34 open narrowcasting determination; and\n\n(b) at a maximum power which exceeds:\n\n(i) if the transmitter is operated in a residential area — 1 watt;\n\n(ii) if the transmitter is operated in a non-residential area — 10 watts.\n\n> open narrowcasting radio service has the same meaning as in the BSA.\n\n> open narrowcasting service has the same meaning as in the BSA.\n\n> Radcom Act means the Radiocommunications Act 1992.\n\n> section 34 open narrowcasting determination means any determination under subsection 34 (1) of the BSA, under which the ABA has determined that a specified part or parts of the radiofrequency spectrum is or are available for allocation, for a period or periods specified by the ABA, to providers of open narrowcasting services.\n\n> transmitter means a radiocommunications transmitter within the meaning of the Radcom Act.\n\n> transmitter licence has the same meaning as in the Radcom Act.\n\n4 Direction — renewal of HPON radio Licences\n\nThe ACA must not refuse to renew an HPON radio licence under section 130 of the Radcom Act on the basis of a general policy that such licences should be issued under a price-based allocation system determined under subsection 106 (1) of the Radcom Act.\n\n5 Direction — period of renewal of HPON radio licences\n\nSubject to section 5A, where the ACA decides to renew an HPON radio licence under section 130 of the Radcom Act, the ACA must, subject to subsection 103 (3) of the Radcom Act, specify a period under subsection 103 (2) of the Radcom Act that ends at the same time as the period specified by the ABA under the relevant section 34 open narrowcasting determination, or the relevant part of that determination.\n\n5A Direction — interim period of issue and renewal of HPON radio licences\n\nWhere the ACA decides, before 1 July 2002, to:\n\n(a) issue an HPON radio licence under section 100 of the Radcom Act; or\n\n(b) renew an HPON radio licence under section 130 of the Radcom Act;\n\nthe ACA must specify, under subsection 103 (2) of the Radcom Act, a period for the licence ending no later than 30 June 2002.\n\n6 Application to ABA when acting as delegate of ACA\n\nTo avoid doubt, this Direction also applies to the ABA in its capacity as delegate of the ACA under section 238 of the Radcom Act.\n\n> Notes to the Australian Communications Authority (HPON Transmitter Licences) Direction No. 1 of 2001\n\n> Note 1\n\n> Note: The Australian Communications Authority (HPON Transmitter Licences) Direction No. 1 of 2001 (in force under subsection 12 (1) of the Australian Communications Authority Act 1997) as shown in this compilation is amended as indicated in the Tables below.\n\n> Note: Under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, which came into force on 1 January 2005, it is a requirement for all non-exempt legislative instruments to be registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.\n\n> Note: > Note: Table of Instruments\n\n| Title | Date of notificationin Gazette or FRLI registration | Date ofcommencement | Application, saving ortransitional provisions |\n| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |\n| Australian Communications Authority (HPON Transmitter Licences) Direction No. 1 of 2001 | 31 Jan 2001 (see Gazette 2001, GN 4) | 1 Mar 2001 | |\n| Australian Communications Authority (HPON Transmitter Licences) Direction No. 1 of 2001 (Amendment No. 1 of 2002) | 6 Mar 2002 (see Gazette 2002, GN 9) | 6 Mar 2002 | — |\n\n> Note: > Note: Table of Amendments\n\n```html\n

ad. = added or inserted am. = amended rep. = repealed rs. = repealed and substituted

Provision affected

How affected

S. 5 .................

am. 2002 No. 1

S. 5A ................

ad. 2002 No. 1

\n```","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The instrument’s scope was altered by later amendment: Table of Amendments records s.5 was amended and s.5A was added by Australian Communications Authority (HPON Transmitter Licences) Direction No. 1 of 2002. Those changes introduce the interim expiry rule and modify renewal-period requirements (see Table of Amendments and s.5A)."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to multiple Acts and provisions: Radiocommunications Act 1992 (sections 100, 103, 130, 106, 238) and Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (section 34) (see definitions and ss.4–6).","Defined technical scope for affected licences (HPON radio licence) hinging on channel type (open narrowcasting) and power thresholds for residential (1 W) and non-residential (10 W) areas (see s.3 definition of HPON radio licence).","Operational constraint on regulator discretion: ACA ‘must not refuse’ renewals for a specified policy reason (s.4), which narrows a typical administrative choice.","Timing and transitional rules: requirement to align licence end-dates with ABA determinations (s.5) plus an interim end-date cutoff for licences issued or renewed before 1 July 2002 (s.5A).","Delegation effect: Direction expressly applies to the ABA when acting as ACA’s delegate (s.6), creating layered administrative responsibility.","Reliance on externally specified periods (ABA’s section 34 determinations) creates coupling between two decision-makers and potential coordination/compliance burden (s.5)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Direction prevents the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) from refusing to renew certain higher-power open‑narrowcast transmitter licences (HPON radio licences) merely because it prefers to allocate those licences by price-based methods. It requires renewal terms to finish when the ABA’s related section 34 open‑narrowcasting determination ends, sets a short interim expiry date for licences issued or renewed before 1 July 2002, and also applies when the ABA acts as the ACA’s delegate."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains focused on its original purpose: directing the ACA on how to issue and renew HPON radio licences. The 2002 amendment added a temporary transitional provision (section 5A) with an expiry date, but this did not expand the scope beyond the original intent of managing these specific licences during a period of regulatory transition."},"complexity_factors":["10 defined terms in section 3, several cross-referencing other Acts (Radiocommunications Act 1992, Broadcasting Services Act 1992)","Nested conditional logic in section 5A (date-limited, applies only to decisions before 1 July 2002)","Requires understanding of delegated authority (section 6) and the relationship between ACA and ABA","References to specific subsections of other Acts (sections 100, 103, 106, 130, 238 of Radcom Act; section 34 of BSA)","Technical threshold definitions (1 watt residential/10 watts non-residential power limits)"],"plain_english_summary":"This Direction tells the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) how to handle licences for **high-power open narrowcasting (HPON) radio transmitters** — basically, community or special-interest radio stations that broadcast with more power than a backyard setup but aren't full commercial stations.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Stops the ACA from refusing to renew these licences** just because it wants to switch to an auction or fee-based system (section 4).\n- **Sets the renewal period** to match whatever timeframe the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) has allocated for that spectrum (section 5).\n- **Created a temporary rule** (now expired) that any licences issued or renewed before 1 July 2002 had to end by 30 June 2002 — this was a transitional measure while the system was being sorted out (section 5A).\n- **Makes sure the rules also apply** when the ABA is acting on behalf of the ACA (section 6).\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Community radio stations and other narrowcasters using higher-power transmitters (over 1 watt in residential areas, over 10 watts elsewhere).\n- The ACA (now ACMA) and ABA (also now part of ACMA) when making licensing decisions.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis protected existing community and narrowcast radio operators from being kicked off air or forced into expensive auction systems during a period of regulatory change. It ensured continuity for these services while the government figured out long-term spectrum arrangements."},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/australian-communications-authority-hpon-transmitter-licences-direction-no-1-of-2001","history":"/api/acts/australian-communications-authority-hpon-transmitter-licences-direction-no-1-of-2001/history","analysis":"/api/acts/australian-communications-authority-hpon-transmitter-licences-direction-no-1-of-2001/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/australian-communications-authority-hpon-transmitter-licences-direction-no-1-of-2001/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/australian-communications-authority-hpon-transmitter-licences-direction-no-1-of-2001/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/australian-communications-authority-hpon-transmitter-licences-direction-no-1-of-2001/documents"}}