{"id":"F2012L00206","name":"Radiocommunications (Spectrum Licence Limits) Direction No. 2 of 2012","slug":"radiocommunications-spectrum-licence-limits-direction-no-2-of-2012","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":142578,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2012L00206-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Radiocommunications (Spectrum Licence Limits) Direction No. 2 of 2012","content":"![Commonwealth Coat of Arms](image.001.png)\n\nRadiocommunications (Spectrum Licence Limits) Direction No. 2 of 2012\n\nas amended\n\nmade under subsection 60(10) of the\n\nRadiocommunications Act 1992\n\nThis compilation was prepared on 14 December 2012 \ntaking into account amendments up to Radiocommunications (Spectrum Licence Limits) Direction No. 2 of 2012 (Amendment No. 1 of 2012)\n\nPrepared by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, Canberra\n\nContents\n\n1 Name of Direction \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n2 Commencement \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n3 Interpretation\n\n4 Direction – 2.5GHz band\n\nNotes\n\n1 Name of Direction \\[see Note 1\\]\n\nThis Direction is the Radiocommunications (Spectrum Licence Limits) Direction No. 2 of 2012.\n\n2 Commencement \\[see Note 1\\]\n\nThis Direction commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.\n\n3 Interpretation\n\n(1) In this Direction:\n\n> ACMA means the Australian Communications and Media Authority.\n\n> Act means the Radiocommunications Act 1992.\n\n> associate, in relation to a person, means:\n\n(a) for a body corporate:\n\n(i) a director or secretary of the body; or\n\n(ii) a related body corporate; or\n\n(iii) a director or secretary of a related body corporate; or\n\n(v) an individual who controls at least 15% of the voting power or holds at least 15% of the issued shares in the body; or\n\n(b) for an individual:\n\n(i) the individual’s spouse; or\n\n(ii) the individual’s de facto partner within the meaning given by the Acts Interpretation Act 1901; or\n\n(iv) a body corporate in which the individual controls at least 15% of the voting power or holds at least 15% of the issued shares; or\n\n(v) a body corporate of which the individual is a director or secretary; or\n\n(vi) a body corporate that is related to a body corporate of which the individual is a director or secretary; or\n\n(c) for any person – any other person (other than the ACMA) who has a relevant agreement with the person that:\n\n(i) is for the use by a party to the agreement of spectrum licensed to either of those parties under a spectrum licence for a part of the spectrum referred to in the re‑allocation declaration; or\n\n(ii) relates to the acquisition of a spectrum licence for a part of the spectrum referred to in the re‑allocation declaration.\n\n> carrier has the same meaning as in the Telecommunications Act 1997.\n\n> designated area means the area to which the re‑allocation declaration applies, as described in subsection 4(2) of the re‑allocation declaration.\n\n> public mobile telecommunications service has the same meaning as in the Telecommunications Act 1997.\n\n> re‑allocation declaration means the Radiocommunications (Spectrum Re‑allocation) Declaration No. 2 of 2011.\n\n> related body corporate has the meaning given by the Corporations Act 2001.\n\n> relevant agreement means an agreement, arrangement or understanding:\n\n(a) whether formal or informal or partly formal and partly informal; and\n\n(b) whether written or oral or partly written and partly oral; and\n\n(c) whether or not having legal or equitable force and whether or not based on legal or equitable rights,\n\nother than a Roaming Services Agreement or an agreement between carriers provided for by or under the Telecommunications Act 1997 or Part XIC of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.\n\n> Roaming Services Agreement means an agreement between carriers for the principal purpose of enabling end-users of public mobile telecommunications services supplied by one carrier to use public mobile telecommunications services supplied by another carrier, in geographic locations where the first-mentioned carrier’s public mobile telecommunications services are not available.\n\n> specified group of persons means an applicant for a spectrum licence and all of the associates of the applicant.\n\n(2) In this Direction, each frequency band includes all frequencies that are greater than the lower frequency, up to and including the higher frequency.\n\n(3) For this Direction, 2 or more specified groups of persons having 1 member in common are taken to be 1 specified group of persons.\n\n4 Direction – 2.5GHz band\n\n(1) I direct that the ACMA must determine procedures under subsection 60(1) of the Act that impose limits that ensure that, as a result of the allocation of spectrum licences under Subdivision B of Division 1 of Part 3.2 of the Act, no person or specified group of persons may use more than:\n\n(a) 40MHz of spectrum available in the designated areas in the frequency band 2500MHz to 2570MHz; and\n\n(b) 40MHz of spectrum available in the designated areas in the frequency band 2620MHz to 2690MHz.\n\n> Notes to the Radiocommunications (Spectrum Licence Limits) Direction No. 2 of 2012\n\n> Note 1\n\n> Note: The Radiocommunications (Spectrum Licence Limits) Direction No. 2 of 2012 (in force under subsection 60(10) of the Radiocommunications Act 1992) as shown in this compilation is amended as indicated in the Tables below.\n\n> Note: > Note: Table of Instruments\n\n| Title | Date of FRLI registration | Date ofcommencement | Application, saving ortransitional provisions |\n| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | ------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |\n| Radiocommunications (Spectrum Licence Limits) Direction No. 2 of 2012 | 8 Feb 2012 (see F2012L00206) | 9 Feb 2012 | |\n| Radiocommunications (Spectrum Licence Limits) Direction No. 2 of 2012 (Amendment No. 1 of 2012) | 14 Dec 2012 (see F2012L02473) | 14 Dec 2012 | — |\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. 3.................

am. 2012 No. 1

\n```","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The compiled instrument shows Amendment No.1 of 2012 altered s.3 (Interpretation). Because s.3 defines who counts as an associate and what agreements are 'relevant', that amendment changes which persons or groups are captured by the numeric limits and therefore alters the practical scope of the Direction (see Table of Amendments entry referencing s.3)."},"complexity_factors":["Broad, detailed definition of 'associate' in s.3 (covers directors, related bodies corporate, significant shareholders, spouses/de facto partners, bodies controlled by individuals, and parties to 'relevant agreements') increases aggregation and ownership-tracing complexity.","Aggregation rule in s.3(3) (two or more specified groups with one member in common are treated as one group) complicates counting and triggers broader grouping effects.","Procedural discretion for ACMA: s.4(1) directs ACMA to determine procedures under subsection 60(1) of the Act — this delegates method-design, eligibility checks and enforcement mechanisms to the regulator rather than prescribing them.","Cross-references to other instruments and Acts (the re‑allocation declaration; Telecommunications Act 1997 definitions like 'carrier' and 'public mobile telecommunications service'; Corporations Act 2001 for 'related body corporate'; and exclusions referencing Part XIC of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010) increase legal interdependencies and interpretation work.","Definition of 'relevant agreement' (s.3) is wide (formal/informal, written/oral, with limited exclusions) which raises evidentiary and compliance burdens for applicants and ACMA when determining connections that trigger aggregation.","Numeric rule is straightforward (40 MHz limits in two bands) but implementing it requires frequency-accounting rules (s.3(2) includes end-points) and mapping to the 'designated areas' from the re‑allocation declaration.","Amendment history: the compilation notes Amendment No.1 of 2012 affected s.3, meaning definitions changed post-enactment and require tracking of which text applies (administrative complexity).","Compliance costs sit primarily with applicants/associates (must identify and disclose relationships and agreements) while enforcement and procedural design costs sit with ACMA (s.4(1))."],"plain_english_summary":"This Direction requires the ACMA to make allocation procedures so that, when spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band is reallocated under the stated re-allocation declaration, no person or specified group may acquire or use more than 40 MHz in 2500–2570 MHz and 40 MHz in 2620–2690 MHz in the designated areas. It applies to applicants for those spectrum licences and their associates and matters because it caps how much of those mobile-spectrum ranges a single party or connected group can obtain in the allocation process."},"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":"The legislation remains focused on its original purpose: setting spectrum holding limits for the 2.5GHz band auction. The single amendment (No. 1 of 2012) modified the interpretation section but did not expand the scope beyond the original 2.5GHz band re-allocation."},"complexity_factors":["11 defined terms in section 3, several of which cross-reference other Acts (Telecommunications Act 1997, Corporations Act 2001, Acts Interpretation Act 1901, Competition and Consumer Act 2010)","Nested definition of 'associate' with three sub-categories (body corporate, individual, general) and multiple limbs within each","Complex anti-avoidance provision in section 3(3) treating overlapping groups as single entities","Requires understanding of external instruments: the Radiocommunications (Spectrum Re-allocation) Declaration No. 2 of 2011 and the underlying Radiocommunications Act 1992 framework","Technical frequency band specifications (2500-2570MHz and 2620-2690MHz) requiring domain knowledge","Exclusion of certain agreements (Roaming Services Agreements, carrier agreements under specific legislation) from the definition of 'relevant agreement'"],"plain_english_summary":"This ministerial direction tells the communications regulator (ACMA) to design auction rules for re‑allocated 2.5GHz mobile spectrum that prevent any single company or linked group from controlling more than 40MHz of key 4G/5G airwaves. It defines associates broadly to stop workaround schemes.\n\nIt affects telcos bidding, ACMA’s auction design, and ultimately consumers by preserving competitive access to scarce spectrum and reducing the risk of market concentration."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/radiocommunications-spectrum-licence-limits-direction-no-2-of-2012","history":"/api/acts/radiocommunications-spectrum-licence-limits-direction-no-2-of-2012/history","analysis":"/api/acts/radiocommunications-spectrum-licence-limits-direction-no-2-of-2012/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/radiocommunications-spectrum-licence-limits-direction-no-2-of-2012/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/radiocommunications-spectrum-licence-limits-direction-no-2-of-2012/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/radiocommunications-spectrum-licence-limits-direction-no-2-of-2012/documents"}}