Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Amendment Determination 2023 (No.1) (Cth)

Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Amendment Determination 2023 (No. 1)

The Australian Communications and Media Authority makes the following determination under subsection 7(1) of the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Act 1983.

Dated: 16 June 2023

James Cameron

[signed]

Member

Cathy Rainsford

[signed]

Member/General Manager

Australian Communications and Media Authority

1  Name

This is the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Amendment Determination 2023 (No. 1).

2  Commencement

This instrument commences at the start of the day after the day it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Note:    The Federal Register of Legislation may be accessed free of charge at Authority

This instrument is made under subsection 7(1) of the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Act 1983.

4  Amendments

The instrument that is specified in Schedule 1 is amended as set out in the applicable items in that Schedule.

Schedule 1—Amendments

Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Determination 2015 (F2015L00322)

1  Part 3

Repeal the Part.

2  Schedule 2, Part 7B

Repeal the Part except for the heading, substitute:

701B  Licences

This Part applies to an area-wide licence that authorises operation of a transmitter in the following frequency bands:

(a)  the wider 26 GHz and 28 GHz bands;

(b)  the 3.4 GHz to 4.0 GHz band.

702B  Definitions

In this Part:

3.4 to 4.0 GHz band means the spectrum from 3.4 GHz up to and including 4.0 GHz.

ASMG means the Australian Spectrum Map Grid 2012, published by the ACMA and existing at the time this Part commenced.

Note:          The ASMG can be accessed on the ACMA website:  block means a grouping of HCIS cells, identified by an HCIS identifier.

Note:              In the ASMG, these blocks are identified by the terms HCIS Levels 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4. 

HCIS cell means a 20 x 15 seconds of arc cell in the ASMG, identified by an HCIS identifier.

Note:          In the ASMG, these cells are identified by the term HCIS Level 00.

HCIS identifier means a unique identifier used to describe a geographic area in the ASMG.

population of HCIS block or HCIS cell means the population for a HCIS block or HCIS cell listed in the Hierarchical Cell Identification Scheme (HCIS) - List of Population Data, published by the ACMA on its website and existing at the time this Part commenced.

Note:          The Hierarchical Cell Identification Scheme (HCIS) - List of Population Data is available on the ACMA website:  The document identifies HCIS cells and HCIS blocks using the HCIS identifiers. The population data is based on the population figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in the 2021 Census of Population and Housing.

wider 26 GHz and 28 GHz bands means the spectrum from 24.7 GHz up to and including 30.0 GHz.

703B  Calculating annual amounts of tax for population based licences

The amount of tax in respect of an area-wide licence that specifies one or more HCIS blocks or HCIS cells or a combination of both is the sum of the results of performing the following calculation for each block and cell:

(a)  the spectrum (in MHz) authorised for use by a transmitter under the area-wide licence within the block or cell; multiplied by

(b)  the base rate of tax specified in this Part for the licence; multiplied by

(c)  the population of the block or cell.

Example 1: The amount of tax for an area-wide licence that authorises the use of 50 MHz of spectrum in a frequency range in the wider 26 GHz and 28 GHz bands and is within a Level 2 HCIS block that has a population of 50,000, would be:

Amount of tax   =     50 MHz r $0.0003/MHz/pop r 50,000 population

=     $750

Example 2: The amount of tax for an area-wide licence that authorises the use of 200 MHz of spectrum in a frequency range in the wider 26 GHz and 28 GHz bands and is within a single Level 00 HCIS cell that has a population of 1,000, would be:

Amount of tax   =      200 MHz r $0.0003/MHz/pop r 1,000 population

=     $60

Example 3: The amount of tax for an area-wide licence that authorises the use of 100 MHz of spectrum in a frequency range in the 3.4 GHz to 4 GHz band and is within a single Level 0 HCIS cell that has a population of 1,000, would be:

Amount of tax   =      100 MHz r $0.0041/MHz/pop r 1,000 population

=     $410

704B  Base rates of tax for area-wide licences

(1)  The base rate of tax for an area-wide licence that authorises the operation of a transmitter in the wider 26 GHz and 28 GHz bands is $0.0003/MHz/pop.

(2)  The base rate of tax for an area-wide licence that authorises the operation of a transmitter in the 3.4 to 4.0 GHz band is $0.0041/MHz/pop.

(3)  In this section, $/MHz/pop means the unit amount, where:

$ = Australian dollars;

MHz = the bandwidth of spectrum; and

pop = the population of a HCIS block or HCIS cell or combination of both.

705B  Minimum annual amount

(1)  If the amount of tax worked out in respect of an area-wide licence using this Part is less than the minimum annual amount, the amount of tax is taken to be the minimum annual amount.

(2)  If an area-wide licence does not specify any HCIS blocks or HCIS cells, the amount of tax in respect of the area-wide licence is taken to be the minimum annual amount.

Note:          Sub-item (2) affects a small number of area-wide licences to which Part 7B may apply and which authorise the operation of transmitters in geographic areas outside the ASMG which are part of Australia (such as parts of the Torres Strait).