EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Select Legislative Instrument 2007 No. 297
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts
Broadcasting Services Act 1992
Broadcasting Services (Hours of Local Content) Regulations 2007
The Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (the Act) provides for the regulation of broadcasting, datacasting and online services. Subsection 217(1) of the Act provides that the Governor- General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted to be prescribed by the Act, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
In 2006 the Government made a number of significant changes to the framework regulating the Australian broadcasting and media sector, including amending foreign and cross media ownership restrictions and introducing a range of countervailing safeguards to provide ongoing protection for local content.
Section 43C of the Act is one such local content safeguard. It provides for the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to impose a licence condition on regional commercial radio licensees requiring them, from 1 January 2008, to broadcast a minimum level of material of local significance during daytime hours on business days.
Subsection 43C(8) provides a number of definitions for the purpose of the section, including a definition of “daytime hours”. Daytime hours currently span from 6:00am to 6:00pm each day, but the definition provides for the Governor General to prescribe times for the beginning and end of daytime hours.
Division 5C of Part 5 of the Act imposes minimum service standards on regional commercial radio broadcasting licensees in circumstances where a “trigger event” has occurred (see below). Section 61CA of the Act provides a definition of “prime-time hours” for the purposes of Division 5C. Prime-time hours currently span from 6:00am to 10:00am each day, but the definition provides for the Governor General to prescribe times for the beginning and end of prime-time hours.
The purpose of the Regulations is to prescribe:
- that “daytime hours” for the purposes of section 43C of the Act begin at 5:00am and end at 8:00pm each day; and
- similarly, that “prime-time hours” for the purposes of Division 5C of Part 5 of the Act begin at 5:00am and end at 8:00pm each day.
The Government considered it desirable that the span of “daytime hours” for the purpose of section 43C be extended from 6:00am - 6:00pm to the new span of 5:00am - 8:00pm. This amendment will ease the compliance burden on licensees by accommodating existing coverage patterns and business practices.
A second safeguard aimed at providing protection for local content on radio in regional areas is contained in Division 5C of the Act. That Division imposes minimum service standards on regional commercial radio broadcasting licensees in circumstances where a “trigger event” has occurred. A trigger event occurs when there is a transfer of a regional commercial radio licence, when a licence becomes part of registrable media group or when there is a change in controller of a registrable media group (see section 61CB).
The minimum service standards require the licensee to provide content including local news and weather bulletins, local community service announcements and emergency warnings. Local news and weather bulletins must be broadcast during prime-time hours on at least five days during the week.
Inconsistency between local content obligations (arising under the section 43C licence condition) and minimum service standard obligations (arising from trigger events under Division 5C) create the potential for undue regulatory burden. Material that is broadcast in order to meet the minimum service standards imposed by the ‘trigger event’ provisions is also expected to be able to be counted towards the section 43C local content requirement. Inconsistency between the hours in which both minimum quotas must be met would create an undesirable regulatory burden.
Consequently, the Government considered it desirable that the definition of “prime-time hours” be consistent with the definition of “daytime hours”.
The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
The ACMA, in preparing its Local Content Levels Investigation Report as required by the Minister’s Broadcasting Services (Local Content on Regional Commercial Radio) Direction No. 1 of 2006, received 16 submissions on behalf of 147 regional commercial radio broadcasting licences, representing 66 per cent of licences.
Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.
The Regulations commenced on the day after they were registered.
ATTACHMENT
Details of the Broadcasting Services (Hours of Local Content) Regulations 2007
Regulation 1 – Name of Regulations
Regulation 1 provides that the name of the Regulations is the Broadcasting Services (Hours of Local Content) Regulations 2007.
Regulation 2 – Commencement
Regulation 2 provides that the Regulations commence on the day after they are registered.
Regulation 3 – Definition
Regulation 3 provides that “Act” for the purposes of the Regulations means the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.
Regulation 4 – Prescribed daytime hours (Act s 43C)
Regulation 4 prescribes times for the beginning and end of the definition of “daytime hours” in subsection 43C(8). Regulation 4 prescribes the beginning as 5am each day and the end as 8pm each day.
Regulation 5 – prescribed prime-time hours (Act s 61CA)
Regulation 5 prescribes times for the beginning and end of the definition of “prime-time hours” in section 61CA. Regulation 5 prescribes the beginning as 5am each day and the end as 8pm each day.