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Name of Direction
1 Name of Direction
This Direction is the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Commercial Radio Broadcasting Services) Direction No. 1 of 2007.
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Commonwealth legislation
This direction instructs the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to consider varying licence area plans or imposing additional licence conditions on regional commercial radio licences in specified situations. Triggers include a change in who controls a licence followed within three years by a program-format change that reduces broadly appealing services, or breaches of local‑presence or local‑content obligations.
ACMA decides whether to act; affected parties are regional licence‑holders, prospective entrants and listeners. The measures may raise compliance costs for licensees and change commercial programming incentives.
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Direct links to the current provisions in Australian Communications and Media Authority (Commercial Radio Broadcasting Services) Direction (No. 1) 2007.
This Direction is the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Commercial Radio Broadcasting Services) Direction No. 1 of 2007.
This Direction commences on the day Schedule 2 of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act 2006 commences.
In this Direction:
Act means the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act 2006;
ACMA means the Australian Communications and Media Authority;
ACMA Act means the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005;
BSA means the Broadcasting Services Act 1992;
LAP means licence area plan made under subsection 26(1) of the BSA;
regional commercial radio broadcasting licence has the same meaning as in Division 5C of Part 5 of the Act; and
regional commercial radio broadcasting licensee means the licensee of a regional commercial radio broadcasting licence.
I revoke the Australian Broadcasting Authority (Revisiting Radio LAPs) Direction No. 1 of 2003.
I 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:
(a) where:
(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
(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
(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
(b) where a regional commercial radio broadcasting licensee has not complied with:
(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
(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
(iii) the local news and information and local content plan requirements specified in Division 5C of Part 5 of the Act; and
the consequences of the conduct which resulted in that non-compliance make it appropriate to consider the future planning of licences in that area.
I 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:
(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
(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.
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
This Direction is the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Commercial Radio Broadcasting Services) Direction No. 1 of 2007.
This Direction commences on the day Schedule 2 of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act 2006 commences.
In this Direction:
Act means the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act 2006;
ACMA means the Australian Communications and Media Authority;
ACMA Act means the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005;
BSA means the Broadcasting Services Act 1992;
LAP means licence area plan made under subsection 26(1) of the BSA;
regional commercial radio broadcasting licence has the same meaning as in Division 5C of Part 5 of the Act; and
regional commercial radio broadcasting licensee means the licensee of a regional commercial radio broadcasting licence.
I revoke the Australian Broadcasting Authority (Revisiting Radio LAPs) Direction No. 1 of 2003.
I 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:
(a) where:
(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
(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
(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
(b) where a regional commercial radio broadcasting licensee has not complied with:
(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
(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
(iii) the local news and information and local content plan requirements specified in Division 5C of Part 5 of the Act; and
the consequences of the conduct which resulted in that non-compliance make it appropriate to consider the future planning of licences in that area.
I 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:
(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
(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.