Television Licence Fees Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 1) (Cth)

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Television Licence Fees Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 1)1

Statutory Rules 2000 No. 2772

I, WILLIAM PATRICK DEANE, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following Regulations under the Television Licence Fees Act 1964.

Dated 11 October 2000

WILLIAM DEANE

Governor-General

By His Excellency’s Command

RICHARD ALSTON

Minister for Communications, Information Technology

and the Arts

1Name of Regulations

 These Regulations are the Television Licence Fees Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 1).

2Commencement

 These Regulations commence on gazettal.

3Amendment of Television Licence Fees Regulations

Schedule 1 amends the Television Licence Fees Regulations.

Schedule 1Amendments

  

(regulation 3)

[1]Regulation 1

substitute

Part 1Preliminary

1Name of Regulations

 These Regulations are the Television Licence Fees Regulations 1990.

[2]After subregulation 2 (1)

insert

  • (2)

    Examples included in these Regulations are provided to show how the substantive provisions are intended to operate, but they do not override those provisions.

[3]After regulation 2

insert

Part 2Rebate Schemes A and B

[4]Subregulation 2A (1)

omit

These Regulations make

insert

This Part makes

[5]Subregulation 2A (4)

omit

[6]Subregulation 6 (6), notes after examples 1, 2 and 3

omit

[7]After regulation 10

insert

11Acceleration of rebates through unused credit amounts

  • (1)

    Despite any provision in this Part, a licensee who has an unused credit amount under this Part may use the amount as a rebate against fees payable under section 6, 6A or 6B of the Act for any other licence that is held by the licensee for the same service area or licence area as the licence in relation to which the unused credit amount arose.

  • (2)

    The licensee must use the unused credit amounts under this regulation before seeking a rebate under Part 3 in any financial year.

    Part 3Digital conversion rebate scheme

12Purpose

 This Part establishes a rebate scheme to assist holders of commercial television broadcasting licences for regional licence areas (excluding remote licence areas and the remote parts of remote and regional licence areas) that existed on 9 May 2000 to convert their commercial television broadcasting services from analog to digital mode.

13Definitions

 In this Part:

CTC scheme means the commercial television conversion scheme formulated by the ABA under subclause 6 (1) of Schedule 4 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

digital conversion rebate means the rebate under this Part. 

digital service means a commercial television broadcasting service that is transmitted in digital mode and approved by the ABA, other than a test transmission.

fee means a fee payable under section 6, 6A or 6B of the Act.

financial period, for a regional licensee, means a financial year or any other accounting period approved by the ABA for the regional licensee under subsection 205B (2) of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

first financial year, for a digital service, means the financial year when the digital service commences.

regional licence means a commercial television broadcasting licence for a regional licence area within the meaning of clause 2 of Schedule 4 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (excluding remote licence areas and the remote parts of remote and regional licence areas) that existed on 9 May 2000.

regional licensee means a person who holds a regional licence or regional licences. 

14When regional licensee becomes entitled to claim rebate

  • (1)

    A regional licensee becomes entitled to claim a digital conversion rebate of fees for a regional licence in a financial year if the licensee starts to transmit a digital service under the regional licence:

    • (a)

      on a date in the period from 1 July to 31 December (inclusive) in that year; and

    • (b)

      in accordance with the CTC scheme. 

  • (2)

    A regional licensee becomes entitled to claim a digital conversion rebate of fees for a regional licence in a financial year if, in relation to the regional licence, there is an implementation plan in force that:

    • (a)

      is approved by the ABA; and

    • (b)

      allows the licensee to start to transmit a digital service on a date in the period from 1 January to 30 June (inclusive) in that year. 

  • (3)

    A regional licensee becomes entitled to claim a digital conversion rebate of fees for a regional licence in a financial year if:

    • (a)

      the ABA has approved the transmission of a digital service, under Division 11 of Part A of the CTC scheme, before the start of the simulcast period for the regional licence area; and

    • (b)

      the approval authorises transmission of the service in the financial year; and

    • (c)

      the approval has not been revoked.

Note 1 Under subclause 6 (3) of Schedule 4 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, the ABA must determine the date, being a date during the period beginning on 1 January 2001 and ending immediately before 1 January 2004, when a regional licensee must start to transmit a digital service. However, the ABA may allow, under Division 11 of Part A of the CTC scheme, a regional licensee to start to transmit a digital service before the date determined by the ABA under subclause 6 (3) of Schedule 4 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

Note 2 Under clause 9 of Schedule 4 to theBroadcasting Services Act 1992, the CTC scheme must make provision for requiring holders of commercial television broadcasting licences to prepare, and submit to the ABA, 1 or more implementation plans relating to digital transmission of their service or services. 

15Amount of rebate and carry forward

  • (1)

    A regional licensee for a regional licence area in an item in Schedule 1 is entitled to the digital conversion rebate mentioned in column 5 of the item for the first financial year, and for each subsequent financial year, up to the total entitlement mentioned in column 6 of that item. 

  • (2)

    However, if the rebate would be more than the fees payable on the 31 December occurring during the financial year:

    • (a)

      the licensee is not entitled to the excess; and

    • (b)

      the excess may be claimed as a digital conversion rebate against the fees for the licence in the subsequent financial year or years, up to the total entitlement. 

  • (3)

    Despite any provision in this Part, a regional licensee is not entitled to a digital conversion rebate under subregulation (1) or paragraph (2) (b) after 31 December 2012. 

16Effect of change of licensee

  • (1)

    The digital conversion rebate that may be claimed in relation to a licence in accordance with Schedule 1 remains the same despite a change in the holder of the licence.  

  • (2)

    To avoid doubt, the rebate that may be claimed in relation to a licence that is subject to apportionment under regulation 17 or 18 remains the same despite the sale or transfer of the licence.

17Amount of rebate — apportionment for certain licences in regional Victoria

  • (1)

    For purposes of the digital conversion rebate, the rebate and total entitlement in item 3 (regional Victoria licence area) of Schedule 1 are worked out on the basis that 1 of the licensees holds 2 licences. 

  • (2)

    The licensee that holds 2 licences is entitled to a digital conversion rebate of $1 700 000 for the first financial year, and for each subsequent financial year, up to the total entitlement of $13 600 000, apportioned as a percentage between the 2 licences (licence1 and licence2) in accordance with the following formulas:

where:

Total earnings means Y1 + Y2. 

Y1 means the annual gross earnings of the licensee from licence 1 for the most recent financial period.

Y2 means the annual gross earnings of the licensee from licence 2 for the most recent financial period.

18Amount of rebate — apportionment for certain licences in Western Australia

  • (1)

    This regulation applies for the purposes of working out the rebate in item 9 (remote and regional Western Australia) of Schedule 1.

  • (2)

    If 3 licences are held by 3 licensees that are controlled by the same person (within the meaning of Schedule 1 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992), each of the 3 licensees is entitled to a portion of the digital conversion rebate of $1 840 000 for the first financial year, and for each subsequent financial year for the licence (licence 1, licence 2 or licence 3) held by that licensee, apportioned as a percentage in accordance with the following formulas:

where:

Total earnings means Y1 + Y2 + Y3. 

Y1means the annual gross earnings of the licensee from licence 1 for the most recent financial period.

Y2 means the annual gross earnings of the licensee from licence 2 for the most recent financial period.

Y3means the annual gross earnings of the licensee from licence 3 for the most recent financial period.

  • (3)

    The 3 licensees are together entitled to a total rebate entitlement of $14 720 000. 

 

19Suspension of rebate

  • (1)

    This regulation applies if a regional licensee:

    • (a)

      becomes entitled to a digital conversion rebate in a financial year because of regulation 14; but

    • (b)

      does not start to transmit a digital service on the date determined, or approved, by the ABA.

  • (2)

    The ABA may suspend the entitlement of the regional licensee to a digital conversion rebate for the financial year.

  • (3)

    In deciding whether to suspend the entitlement of the regional licensee, the ABA must consider:

    • (a)

      the reasons given by the licensee for its failure to start to transmit a digital service on the date determined, or approved, by the ABA; and

    • (b)

      any other matters that the ABA considers relevant.

  • (4)

    The suspension of an entitlement under this regulation must:

    • (a)

      be in writing; and

    • (b)

      set out the findings on material questions of fact, refer to the evidence or material on which those findings are based and give the reasons for the suspension. 

  • (5)

    Application may be made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of the suspension of entitlement. 

    Schedule 1Digital conversion rebates

      

    (regulation 15)

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

Column 4

Column 5

Column 6

Item

Regional licence area

No. of regional licensees

No. of regional licences in regional licence area

Maximum rebate entitlement per financial year for each regional licensee ($m.)

Total rebate entitlement for each regional licensee ($m.)

1

Northern New South Wales

3

3

1.70

13.60

2

Southern New South Wales

3

3

1.70

13.60

3

Regional Victoria

3

4

1.70

13.60

4

Regional Queensland

3

3

1.70

13.60

5

Mildura/ Sunraysia

2

2

0.10

0.80

6

Tasmania

2

2

0.83

6.64

7

Darwin

2

2

0.41

3.28

8

Griffith and Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area

2

2

0.07

0.56

9

Remote and regional Western Australia

2

4

1.84

14.72

10

Mount Gambier/ South East

1

1

0.34

2.38

11

Riverland

1

1

0.06

0.48

12

Broken Hill

1

1

0.06

0.48

13

Spencer Gulf

1

1

0.34

3.06

Notes

1. These Regulations amend Statutory Rules 1990 No. 3, as amended by 1991 No. 79; 1992 No. 448; 1996 No. 323.

2. Notified in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette

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