EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1985 No. 339
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Communications.
Sub-section 9(1) of the Radiocommunications Act 1983 (‘the Act’) provides that, subject to section 9, the Minister may, by instrument in writing, make standards for specified devices or devices included in a specified class of devices. Under sub-section 3(1) of the Act ‘device’ means a transmitter, receiver or radiosensitive equipment but does not include a broadcasting station or a television station.
Under sub-section 9(5) of the Act, standards relating to radiocommunications transmitters may consist only of certain requirements including the performance, design, finish and construction of radiocommunications transmitters as are necessary or convenient to be made for or in relation to (amongst other things) the prevention or reduction of interference, or risk of interference, to radiocommunications.
Sub-section 9(11) of the Act provides that standards may apply, adopt or incorporate, with or without modification, any matter contained in a standard proposed or approved by the Standards Association of Australia (SAA).
Sub-section 11(1) of the Act provides that a person who, without reasonable excuse -
(a) except in accordance with a test permit, causes a sub-standard transmitter to make a radio transmission;
(b) supplies a sub-standard device; or
(c) except in accordance with a test permit, has in his possession a sub-standard transmitter,
is guilty of an offence punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 5 years, or both.
Sub-sections 9(2), 9(3) and 9(4) of the Act provide that, before making a standard or altering a proposed standard, the Minister must publish the proposed standard for comment within a set time by interested persons. However, sub-section 9(9) of the Act provides that these sub-sections “do not apply to the making of a standard if the Minister is satisfied that the making of the standard is a matter of urgency.”
The standard made by the Minister for Communications on 28 November 1985 and published as Statutory Rules 1985 No 339. adopts the SAA’s “Australian Standard 2064-1977” as modified to exclude references to microwave ovens. The purpose of this standard is to establish limits for interference caused by both
the fundamental frequency and/or any harmonic which may be generated by industrial, scientific, medical and similar equipment in which radio frequency signals are deliberately generated in the range 150 kHz to 18 GHz. Both radiated and conducted interference may be generated by such equipment and both are capable of causing severe interference to other types of electronic equipment.
The standard was made, pursuant to sub-section 9(9) of the Act, as a matter of urgency to forestall the further importation into Australia of drying equipment capable of causing dangerous radio interference. There have already been several cases of radio interference to aviation communications, having serious implications in terms of air safety, which have been traced to such drying equipment.