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(a) the purpose of this Instrument is, pursuant to subsection 43B(1A) of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, to impose additional conditions on a relevant regional commercial radio broadcasting licence; and

(b) those conditions create obligations on the person who holds the licence.

PART 2 TERMS USED IN THIS INSTRUMENT

5 Definitions

In this Instrument:

Act means the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

broadcast hours means the actual hours broadcast in the licence area in relation to the licence.

former licensee means a person who holds a relevant regional commercial radio broadcasting licence immediately prior to a trigger event occurring for that licence.

licensee means a person who holds a relevant regional commercial radio broadcasting licence after a trigger event has occurred for that licence.

metropolitan licence area means:

(a) a licence area in which is situated the General Post Office of the capital city of:

(i) New South Wales; or

(ii) Victoria; or

(iii) Queensland; or

(iv) Western Australia; or

(v) South Australia; or

(b) the licence area known as Western Suburbs Sydney RA1.

regional licence area means a licence area that is not a metropolitan licence area.

relevant period means the period beginning on the date a trigger event for the licence occurs and ending 24 months later.

relevant regional commercial radio broadcasting licence means a commercial radio broadcasting licence that has a regional licence area other than a remote area service radio licence, a regional racing service radio licence or a licence allocated under subsection 40(1) of the Act.

staff includes individuals engaged as independent contractors.

staffing levels means any one of the following:

(a) the number of full time equivalent staff employed; or

(b) the number of total staff hours worked; or

studios and other production facilities means any on-air studios or production booths that are used to compile commercial radio programs, but does not include equipment used for such purposes.

Note The following terms used in this Instrument are defined in the Act and have the same meaning as in that Act: the ACMA, commercial radio broadcasting licence, licence, licence area, regional racing service radio licence [see section 8AF], remote area service radio licence, trigger event [see Division 5C of Part 5].

6 Definition of existing level of local presence

(1) existing level of local presence means:

(a) the staffing levels determined by subsection (2); and

(b) the use of the studios and other production facilities determined by subsection (3).

(2) For paragraph (1)(a), staffing levels are determined by calculating the average monthly staffing levels in the licence area of the former licensee in relation to the licence over the three month period ending on the Saturday before the day on which the trigger event occurred.

(3) For paragraph (1)(b), the use of studios and other production facilities is determined by calculating the number of average monthly broadcast hours produced by the former licensee using studios and other production facilities in the licence area. The number of average monthly broadcast hours produced is to be calculated over the three month period ending on the Saturday before the day on which the trigger event occurred.

PART 3 LICENCE CONDITIONS

7 Licensee must maintain existing level of local presence after trigger event

A licensee must maintain at least the existing level of local presence in the licence area in relation to the licence throughout the relevant period.

Note For transitional provisions see clause 16 of Schedule 1 to the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Regional Commercial Radio) Act 2012 and clause 13 of Schedule 2 to that Act.

8 Reporting to the ACMA

Reporting after a trigger event

(1) A licensee must report on the existing level of local presence in the statement given to the ACMA pursuant to paragraph 61CF(1)(b) of the Act.

Reporting at end of relevant period

(2) A licensee must, within 3 months after the end of a relevant period, give the ACMA a report about the licensee’s compliance with section 7 during that relevant period.

9 Records

(1) A person holding a relevant regional commercial radio broadcasting licence must make records sufficient to calculate details of the studios and other production facilities and staffing levels in the licence area in relation to the licence.

(2) A person holding a relevant regional commercial radio broadcasting licence must retain records sufficient to calculate the existing level of local presence.

(3) A person holding a relevant regional commercial radio broadcasting licence must provide the ACMA with access to all records kept under this section at the ACMA’s written request.

(4) Records made under subsection (1) must be kept for a period of 6 months, unless subsection (5) applies.

(5) After a trigger event has occurred for a relevant regional commercial radio broadcasting licence, records made under subsection (1) must be kept by a licensee for a period of 3 years.

(6) A licensee must comply with any additional directions made by the ACMA about the keeping of records for the purposes of this Instrument.

PART 4 MEASURING COMPLIANCE

10 Measuring compliance with section 7

(1) For staffing levels, the existing level of local presence is maintained if, at the conclusion of each relevant period, there has been no material reduction in the average monthly staffing levels in the licence area in relation to the licence for that relevant period or part thereof, compared with the staffing levels determined by subsection 6(2) in respect of one of (a), (b) or (c) of the definition of staffing levels in section 5.

Note For the avoidance of doubt, the comparison made for the purposes of this subsection must compare only one of (a), (b), or (c) of the definition of staffing levels in section 5 with the corresponding measure determined by subsection 6(2). For example, the number of average monthly staff hours worked over the relevant period must be compared with the number of average monthly staff hours worked in the licence area of the former licensee in relation to the licence over the three month period ending on the Saturday before the day on which the trigger event occurred.

(2) For studios and other production facilities, the existing level of local presence is maintained if at the conclusion of each relevant period there has been no material reduction in the number of average monthly broadcast hours produced during that relevant period or part thereof, using studios and other production facilities in the licence area, when compared with the number of average monthly broadcast hours produced using studios and other production facilities determined by subsection 6(3).

Note 1 For subsection (2), the studios and other production facilities used do not necessarily have to be the studios and production facilities of the former licensee but they must be located in the licence area. Licensees should note that if they share studios or other production facilities with other persons holding a regional commercial radio broadcasting licence, this fact may be relevant in determining whether a person is in a position to control 2 or more licences [see clause 2(5)(a) of Schedule 1 to the Act].

Note 2 In determining what constitutes a “material reduction” in each circumstance, the ACMA will have regard to relevant standards published by the Australian Accounting Standards Board and any other considerations it regards as relevant.

PART 5 REVIEW

11 The ACMA may conduct a review at any time

The ACMA may review the operation and scope of this Instrument at any time. The review can be commenced following a request by the Minister, a licensee or any other person affected by the condition. The ACMA can also conduct a review without any request from any person.

Note

1. All legislative instruments and compilations are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments kept under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. See http://www.frli.gov.au.

Federal Register of Legislation - Australian Government