EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Authority of the Australian Communications and Media Authority
Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Aeronautical Licence) Amendment
Determination 2006 (No. 1)
Radiocommunications Act 1992
Legislative Provisions
Paragraph 107(1)(f) of the Radiocommunications Act 1992 (the Act) allows the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to determine, by written instrument, conditions applicable to particular types of apparatus licences.
A Determination made under paragraph 107(1)(f) is a disallowable instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Purpose
The Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Aeronautical Licence) Amendment
Determination 2006 (No. 1) (the Amendment) amended the Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Aeronautical Licence) Determination No. 1 of 1997 (the Aeronautical LCD) to support the introduction of a new licensing option, the aeronautical licence (aeronautical assigned system station). The Amendment established licensing conditions for the new option.
The related Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Amendment
Determination 2006 (No. 2) and Radiocommunications (Charges) Amendment
Determination 2006 (No. 1) established the taxes and charges payable for the new licence option.
Background
The operation of radiocommunications equipment authorised by an apparatus licence is subject to:
- conditions specified in the Act, including an obligation to comply with the Act;
- a condition that any radiocommunications device operated under the licence must comply with all the standards applicable to it;
- applicable conditions specified in the Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Apparatus Licence) Determination No. 1 of 1997 and any other determinations made by ACMA under paragraph 107(1)(f) of the Act;
- conditions specified in the licence; and
- any further conditions imposed by ACMA under section 111 of the Act.
Under paragraph 107(1)(f) of the Act, ACMA may determine, by written instrument, conditions relating to a particular type of apparatus licence. These instruments are known as Licence Conditions Determinations (LCDs). LCDs contain the generic conditions particular to various radiocommunications licence types and licensing options, including details of any common frequencies or frequency bands, permitted power levels, type of communications permitted, persons with whom the licensee is permitted to communicate, callsign usage and any other relevant transmission parameters. Conditions applicable to the Amendment are specified in the Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Apparatus Licence) Determination 2003 and the Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Aeronautical Licence) Determination No. 1 of 1997.
Any other conditions which apply to an individual licence but are not included in the LCD, are printed on the licence under the heading ‘Special Conditions’.
Issues
An aeronautical apparatus licence authorises the operation of aeronautical stations where it is necessary that such stations are registered for frequency interference management purposes. Aeronautical stations include fixed, mobile and hand held equipment used for purposes such as air traffic control, airport fire or maintenance services and company communications.
Such licences can be either ‘assigned’, each with their own specified frequency (eg. company frequency), or ‘non-assigned’ covering operation on the common group of aviation frequencies.
Prior to the introduction of the amendment to the Aeronautical LCD, networks of aeronautical stations needed to hold an aeronautical licence, either assigned or non-assigned, for each station in the network. The new arrangements allow networks to authorise all related aeronautical stations under one aeronautical licence (assigned system), eventually replacing two existing licensing options (aeronautical assigned and aeronautical non-assigned) with one option.
The amendment to the Aeronautical LCD will also ensure that a frequency assignment record is registered for all fixed stations and certain high powered mobile stations. The majority of the aeronautical stations previously authorised by an aeronautical non-assigned apparatus licence will continue to be authorised under the associated Radiocommunications (Aircraft and Aeronautical Mobile Stations) Class Licence 2006.
The amendment to the Aeronautical LCD also clarified the requirements for operators of aeronautical stations to hold qualifications. Operator qualifications are issued by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) for aircraft and aeronautical station operators and are mandatory where aviation safety is concerned.
Consultation
ACMA consulted the Office of Regulation Review (ORR) who advised that a Regulation Impact Statement was not required for the amendment to the Aeronautical LCD (ORR ID: 7931). ORR noted that proposed amendments have a beneficial impact on the aeronautical community.
AirservicesAustralia and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority were directly consulted. Public consultation was undertaken. Two comments were received; both were favourable with some additional minor changes suggested.
The Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Aeronautical Licence) Amendment
Determination 2006 (No. 1) commenced the day after registration.
Details of the Determination are set out in Attachment 1.
ATTACHMENT 1
Notes about instrument
1) Section 1 Name of Determination
Section 1 provides for the name of the Determination as the Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Aeronautical Licence) Amendment Determination 2006 (No. 1).
2) Section 2 Commencement
Section 2 provides that the Determination commences on the day after registration.
3) Section 3 Amendment of the Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Aeronautical Licence) Determination No.1 of 1997
Section 3 provides that Schedule 1 of the Determination amends the Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Aeronautical Licence) Determination No.1 of 1997.
Schedule 1 Amendments
4) Section 1, including the note
Item [1] substitutes the entire section 1, including head and note, to reflect current drafting standards for the italicisation of the names of instruments.
5) Section 2
Item [2] amends the numbering of section 2 to allow for the insertion of another subsection 2 (2) (see Item [5]).
6) Paragraph 2 (b)
Item [3] amends paragraph 2 (b) to allow for the insertion of a new paragraph to refer to the conditions applicable to the new licence option, the aeronautical assigned system station. (See Item [4].)
7) After paragraph 2 (b)
Item [4] inserts new paragraph 2 (1) (c) to reference the conditions applicable to the aeronautical licence (aeronautical assigned system station).
8) Section 2
Item [5] inserts new subsection 2 (2) to provide for an order of precedence to apply where conditions specified in a licence are inconsistent with conditions specified in the subject determination.
9) Section 3, after definition of “aero club”
Item [6] inserts definitions for new terms used in the Determination. Among other things, these include aeronautical assigned system which is a system of one or more associated aeronautical stations operating on an assigned frequency.
10) Section 3, after definition of “aeronautical licence (aeronautical non assigned station)”
Item [7] inserts definitions for new terms used in the Determination. This includes aeronautical station which, for the purposes of this Determination, means a station operating in the aeronautical mobile service other than:
(a) an aircraft station or an earth station;
(b) whether or not the station is located on an aircraft.
11) Section 3, definition of “common traffic advisory frequency”
Item [8] omits the definition of a term no longer used in the Determination. This term relates to services provided by AirservicesAustralia and is not required in this ACMA instrument.
12) Section 3, definition of “mandatory traffic advisory frequency”
Item [9] omits the definition a term no longer used in the Determination. This term relates to services provided by AirservicesAustralia and is not required in this ACMA instrument.
13) Section 3, definition of “UNICOM services”
Item [10] substitutes a definition of “UNICOM” for the definition of “UNICOM services” to better reflect the wording of the Determination.
14) Section 3, Note
Item [11] substitutes the note to update the appropriate references for the definitions of other expressions used in this Determination.
15) Subsection 6 (1)
Item [12] substitutes subsection 6 (1) to reflect revised operational requirements for communications between aeronautical stations. This removes the restrictions on which aeronautical stations may communicate with each other but limits such communications to operational or emergency matters.
16) Paragraph 6 (2) (c)
Item [13] substitutes paragraph 6 (2) (c) to include a reference to an additional service, a Certified Air/Ground service provided at some aerodromes which was not included in the Aeronautical LCD.
17) Section 7
Item [14] substitutes Section 7 and inserts a new section 7A.
Section 7 reflects revised operational requirements for communications between aeronautical stations and aircraft stations and provides that such communications are restricted to operational and emergency matters. It exempts AirservicesAustralia, CASA and providers of UNICOM or Certified Air/Ground services from this restriction.
Section 7A requires operators of aeronautical stations to hold certain qualifications in accordance with CASA requirements.
18) Section 8, heading
Item [15] substitutes the heading “Station identification” to better reflect the section’s content.
19) Paragraph 8 (a)
Item [16] omits certain acronyms and inserts other acronyms to reflect changes to the name of the applicable regulator.
20) After Part 3
Item [17] inserts new Part 3A to include conditions for a new licensing option, the aeronautical assigned system licence.
Section 10A refers to the conditions relating to the operation of an aeronautical assigned system station.
Section 10B provides for the frequencies that may be used, including some frequencies for search and rescue only.
21) Schedule 1, after item 6
Item [18] inserts an additional standard applicable to radiocommunications devices operating in the aeronautical radio service.
22) Schedule 2, Part 2, Item 9
Item [19] substitutes Item 9 of Schedule 2 to delete references to certain types of operation which are part of the service provided by AirservicesAustralia and not relevant to this Aeronautical LCD. It substitutes another type of operation, airshows, which were not previously included in this Determination.