Commonwealth legislation

Licence Area Plan – Townsville Radio

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Commonwealth

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legislative instrument

Plain English Summary

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This instrument is the Townsville radio licence‑area plan. It allocates specific radio services (community, commercial, national and open narrowcasting) to named areas (Bowen, Palm Island, Townsville RA1–RA3) and lists frequencies, service licence numbers and transmitter specification references in schedules and attachments. It affects broadcasters and transmitter operators whose permitted services, technical parameters and service locations are defined here, because compliance with the listed schedules and attachments determines where and how each service may operate.

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What it does

This instrument is a licence area plan for radio broadcasting services for the Townsville region of Queensland, made by the Australian Broadcasting Authority under subsection 26(1) of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (see Determination cl 1). Mechanically, it does three things.

First, it prescribes which categories and numbers of radio services are to be “made available” in discrete licence areas within the Townsville plan area. The Determination lists specific allocations: for example, one community service for Bowen (cl 2), one community service for Palm Island (cl 3), four commercial, 11 national and five open-narrowcasting services for Townsville RA1 (cl 4), and further community services for other Townsville licence areas (cls 5-6). Those allocations are made for the broadcasting services bands and tied to defined licence areas shown in attachments to the Determination.

Second, it records the technical and identifying particulars for each allocated service in schedules and attachments. Each schedule (Schedules One to Five) contains tabular entries giving service category, channel/frequency, service licence number where applicable, transmitter specification number, attachment reference and “area served” (for example Schedule Three lists multiple commercial services with Service Licence Nos such as SL4168 and transmitter spec numbers TS4168502, TS4168001, TS1137995 and so on). National and open narrowcasting entries often show “N/A” for Service Licence No but include transmitter specification numbers and attachment references.

Third, it establishes how references in the plan are to be read. Clause 7 sets interpretative rules: references to a schedule or attachment are to the schedule or attachment to this plan (cl 7(a)); references to the Broadcasting Services (Technical Planning) Guidelines 2017 are to that instrument “as in force from time to time” (cl 7(b)); references to other legislative instruments are similarly dynamic (cl 7(c)); and references to other instruments or writings are to those “as in force or in existence at the time the reference was included in this plan” (cl 7(d)). The Determination also includes two notes directing readers to the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 s 10 and the Legislation Act 2003 s 13(1) for Commonwealth Act references.

Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in Licence Area Plan – Townsville Radio.

licence Area Plan — Townsville Radio

licence Area Plan – Townsville Radio

DETERMINATION

(1) The Australian Broadcasting Authority hereby makes this plan for radio broadcasting services in the Townsville area of Queensland, under subsection 26(1) of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

(2) One community radio broadcasting service is to be made available in the Bowen area described at Attachment 1.1 to this determination with the use of the broadcasting services bands. The characteristics, including technical specifications, of the service that is to be available in the area described at Attachment 1.1 are set out in Schedule One and Attachment 1.2 to this Determination.

(3) One community radio broadcasting service is to be made available in the Palm Island area described at Attachment 2.1 to this determination with the use of the broadcasting services bands. The characteristics, including technical specifications, of the service that is to be available in the area described at Attachment 2.1 are set out in Schedule Two and Attachment 2.2 – 2.4 to this Determination.

(4) Four commercial radio broadcasting services, 11 national radio broadcasting services and five open narrowcasting radio broadcasting services are to be made available in the Townsville area described at Attachment 3.1 to this determination with the use of the broadcasting services bands. The characteristics, including technical specifications, of the services that are to be available in the area described at Attachment 3.1 are set out in Schedule Three and Attachments 3.2 - 3.29 to this Determination.

(5) One community radio broadcasting service is to be made available in the Townsville area described at Attachment 4.1 to this determination with the use of the broadcasting services bands. The characteristics, including technical specifications, of the service that is to be available in the area described at Attachment 4.1 are set out in Schedule Four and Attachment 4.2 ‑ 4.3 to this Determination.

(6) Two community radio broadcasting services are to be made available in the Townsville area described at Attachment 5.1 to this determination with the use of the broadcasting services bands. The characteristics, including technical specifications, of the services that are to be available in the area described at Attachment 5.1 are set out in Schedule Five and Attachment 5.2 ‑ 5.3 to this Determination.

(7) In this plan, unless the contrary intention appears:

(a) a reference to a schedule or an attachment is a reference to a schedule or an attachment to this plan; and
(b) a reference to the Broadcasting Services (Technical Planning) Guidelines 2017 is a reference to that instrument as in force from time to time; and
(c) a reference to any other legislative instrument is a reference to that other instrument as in force from time to time; and
(d) a reference to any other kind of instrument or writing is a reference to that other kind of instrument or writing as in force or in existence at the time the reference was included in this plan.

Note 1: For references to Commonwealth Acts, see section 10 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901; and see also subsection 13(1) of the Legislation Act 2003 for the application of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 to legislative instruments.

Note 2: All Commonwealth Acts and legislative instruments are registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

(Determined by the Australian Broadcasting Authority on 30 October 1997)

SCHEDULE ONE