Broadcasting Services (Exempt Digital Transmission Areas) Determination (No. 2) 2013

Administered by Department of Communications and the Arts

Legislation au F2013L00818 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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Explanatory Statement

 Broadcasting Services Act 1992

Broadcasting Services (Exempt Digital Transmission Areas) Determination (No. 2) 2013

 

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy

Purpose

The Broadcasting Services (Exempt Digital Transmission Areas) Determination (No. 2) 2013 (the Determination) is made by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy under subclause 21A(2) of Schedule 4 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (BSA).

The Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of section 5 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

The purpose of the Determination is to determine that specified areas within the coverage areas corresponding to the Brisbane TV1, Geraldton TV1, Kalgoorlie TV1, Regional Queensland TV1, Remote and Regional WA TV1 and Western Zone TV1 licence areas are exempt digital transmission areas, in relation to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

The detail of each specified area, including indicative maps, is set out in the attachment.

The broad effect of the Determination is to exempt the ABC from requirements, imposed by the National Television Conversion Scheme 1999 (NTCS), or an implementation plan, to transmit services in digital mode in the exempt digital transmission areas. It will also exempt the ABC from the requirement to submit an implementation plan relating to the exempt digital transmission areas.

Background 

Subclause 21A(2) of Schedule 4 to the BSA allows the Minister, upon application from a national broadcaster (the ABC or SBS), to determine that a specified area within a coverage area is an “exempt digital transmission area” in relation to that national broadcaster.  

 

Similarly, subclause 9A(2) of Schedule 4 to the BSA allows the Minister, upon application from a commercial television broadcasting licensee, to determine that a specified area within the licence area is an exempt digital transmission area in relation to that licence.

 

The effect of a determination under subclause 21A(2) is to exempt the national broadcaster from the obligation to comply with the NTCS (and/or an approved implementation plan), to the extent that the NTCS or plan requires that broadcaster to transmit a national television broadcasting service in digital mode in the exempt digital transmission area. In addition, the national broadcaster is not required to submit an implementation plan that relates to the exempt digital transmission area, in accordance with clause 20 of Schedule 4 to the BSA.

There are a number of transmission sites operated by national and commercial broadcasters that provide analog television services to populations of 500 people or fewer. There are also a number of analog transmission facilities from which not all national and commercial television broadcasting services (generally available in the licence area) are transmitted. 

Clauses 9A and 21A of Schedule 4 to the BSA recognise that digital conversion of these more marginal broadcasting transmission sites is not always practical, or necessary, given the introduction of free-to-air satellite national and commercial digital television services (including commercial television broadcasting licences allocated under section 38C of the BSA).

There are certain criteria that must be met before the Minister can determine an area to be an exempt digital transmission area. The applicant must not already provide their television services in digital mode in the proposed exempt digital transmission area and, before making a determination, the Minister must be satisfied that:

  • fewer than 500 people reside in the specified area (paragraphs 9A(3)(b)(i) for commercial and 21A(3)(b)(i) for national); or
  • the area is an underserviced area (paragraphs 9A(3)(b)(ii) and 21A(3)(b)(ii)) – an underserviced area is defined in subclauses 9A(5)-(9) and 21A(5)-(9), noted below.

In addition, commercial television broadcasting services must be provided in the specified area under a section 38C licence (the Viewer Access Satellite Television service) (paragraph 9A(3)(c)) or, in the case of an exempt digital transmission area for a national broadcaster, national television broadcasting services must be provided in the coverage area with the use of a satellite (paragraph 21A(3)(c)).  Alternatively, the Minister may be satisfied that viewers in the proposed exempt digital transmission area have another way through which they can, or will be able to, access digital television (paragraphs 9A(3)(c)(ii) and 21A(3)(c)(ii)).

In considering whether there are fewer than 500 people residing in a specified area, subclauses 9A(4) and 21A(4) require that the Minister have regard to the latest resident population statistics published by the Australian Statistician. 

An area is an underserviced area if the specified area does not have coverage of one or more of the commercial television or national television services that are generally provided in the licence area (or corresponding ABC or SBS coverage area) in analog mode or digital mode. For the purposes of this assessment, analog retransmissions are disregarded, however, digital retransmission services must be taken into consideration.

In making the Determination, the Minister has formed the following view with regard to the specified exempt digital transmission area:

  • the ABC is the only broadcaster operated analog television service provided from the Argyle transmission site, and the area within a 40km radius of the Argyle transmission site is an underserviced area;
  • fewer than 500 people reside within a 10km radius of the Bayulu transmission site;
  • the area within a 40km radius of the Condingup/Howick transmission site does not have coverage of SBS, Golden West Network or WIN analog services, and that area is an underserviced area;
  • fewer than 500 people reside within a 30km radius of the Eneabba transmission site, the ABC is the only analog television service transmitted from the Eneabba transmission site; and that area is an underserviced area;
  • fewer than 500 people reside within 20km of the Moore transmission site;
  • fewer than 500 people reside within a 50km radius of the Salmon Gums transmission site, the ABC is the only analog television service available within 50km radius of the Salmon Gums transmission site and that area is an underserviced area; and
  • commercial and national television broadcasting services are currently provided in each of the specified areas under the Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST) scheme.  

Details of the accompanying determination are set out in Attachment A.

Consultation

 The ABC and the ACMA have been consulted in the preparation of the Determination in order to determine whether each specified area met the statutory criteria.


STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Broadcasting Services (Exempt Digital Transmission Areas) Determination (No. 2) 2013

This Determination is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the Determination

The effect of the Determination is to exempt the ABC from requirements imposed by the national television conversion scheme (and/or an implementation plan) to transmit television services in digital mode in the specified areas. The Determination also exempts the ABC from the requirement to submit an implementation plan relating to the exempt digital transmission areas.

Human rights implications

Australia is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (the ICCPR), one of the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. Article 19(2) of the ICCPR protects freedom of expression, including the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, and the means of their dissemination. Article 15(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the ICESCR) protects the right of everyone to take part in cultural life.

Access to free-to-air television services is relevant to the enjoyment of these rights and freedoms.

While the measures will exempt certain broadcasters from requirements to transmit in digital mode in specified areas, people in those areas have (or will have) alternative access to national and commercial television services delivered by satellite. 

Based on this, this Determination is compatible with the rights protected by Article 15(1) of the ICESCR and Article 19(2) of the ICCPR.


Attachment A

Notes on Clauses

Clause 1 provides that the name of the Determination is the Broadcasting Services (Exempt Digital Transmission Areas) Determination (No. 2) 2013.

Clause 2 provides that the Determination takes effect on the day it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

Clause 3 is a definitions clause.

Clause 4 is the main operative clause.

Subclause 4.1 provides that certain specified areas within the Brisbane TV1, Geraldton TV1, Kalgoorlie TV1, Regional Queensland TV1, Remote and Regional WA TV1, and Western Zone TV1 licence areas are exempt digital transmission areas, in relation to the ABC. The specified areas are outlined in the table following subclause 4.1.

Specifically, the effect of subclause 4.1 is to determine that, for the purposes of clause 21A of Schedule 4 to the BSA:

  • The area within a 40km radius of the Argyle Transmission Site (as defined in clause 3) that is within the coverage areas corresponding to the Remote and Regional WA TV1  and Western Zone TV1 licence areas is an exempt digital transmission area in relation to the ABC;
  • The area within a 10km radius of the Bayulu Transmission Site (as defined in clause 3) that is within the coverage areas corresponding to the Remote and Regional WA TV1  and Western Zone TV1 licence areas is an exempt digital transmission area in relation to the ABC;
  • The area within a 40km radius of the Condingup/Howick Transmission Site (as defined in clause 3) that is within the coverage areas corresponding to the Remote and Regional WA TV1, Western Zone TV1 and Kalgoorlie TV1 licence areas is an exempt digital transmission area in relation to the ABC;
  • The area within a 30km radius of the Eneabba Transmission Site (as defined in clause 3) that is within the coverage areas corresponding to the Remote and Regional WA TV1, Western Zone TV1 and Geraldton TV1 licence areas is an exempt digital transmission area in relation to the ABC;
  • The area within a 20km radius of the Moore Transmission Site (as defined in clause 3) that is within the coverage areas corresponding to the Brisbane TV1 and Regional Queensland TV1 licence areas is an exempt digital transmission area in relation to the ABC; and
  • The area within a 50km radius of the Salmon Gums Transmission Site (as defined in clause 3) that is within the coverage areas corresponding to the Remote and Regional WA TV1, Western Zone TV1 and Kalgoorlie TV1 licence areas is an exempt digital transmission area in relation to the ABC.

 

The specified areas are illustrated in the maps at Attachment B. The maps identify the location of each transmission site and the area within the specified distance of that site. The exempt digital transmission areas are illustrated in blue.

 


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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.