EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Authority of the Australian Communications and Media Authority
Radiocommunications (Qualified Operators) Amendment Determination 2008
(No. 1)
Radiocommunications Act 1992
Legislative Basis
The Radiocommunications (Qualified Operators) Amendment Determination 2008 (No. 1) (the Amendment Determination) is made under Section 119 of the Radiocommunications Act 1992 (the Act).
Section 119 of the Act provides that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) may determine, by written instrument, that persons operating transmitters under certain classes of licence specified in the instrument must be qualified operators. This determination is the Radiocommunications (Qualified Operators) Determination 2005 (the Principal Determination).
The Amendment Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Background
Following changes made to the ITU Radio Regulations at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) in relation to the Amateur Service, the former Australian Communications Authority (ACA) carried out a Review of Amateur Service Regulation in Australia (the Review). The findings of the Review were released in Outcomes of the Review of Amateur Service Regulation[1] (the Review Outcomes) in May 2004.
A key Review Outcome was the decision to consolidate Amateur licence options. Due to the removal of the ITU requirement for Morse code qualifications, a number of existing Amateur licence options became unnecessary. Accordingly, the five existing licence options were replaced with a new, three-tier licensing arrangement:
- Amateur licence (amateur advanced station), which replaced the Unrestricted, Intermediate and Limited licences;
- Amateur licence (amateur standard station), which replaced the Novice and Novice Limited licences; and
- Amateur licence (amateur foundation station), a new “entry-level” licence option.
These licensing options were provided for by the Principal Determination, the
Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Amateur Licence) Amendment Determination 2005 (No. 1) and the Radiocommunications (Interpretation) Amendment Determination 2005 (No. 2). To facilitate a transition period, the superseded licence options were retained in the Principal Determination when the new licence options were introduced in 2005. This transition period has now elapsed.
The transition period also raised an issue with the operation of Amateur Repeater and Amateur Beacon stations. At present, Amateur Repeater and Amateur Beacon stations may be operated by any Amateur qualified operator (i.e. those holding an Amateur Advanced, Amateur Standard or Amateur Foundation licence). However, Foundation licensees are not sufficiently qualified to operate amateur repeater or beacon stations.
Purpose
The Amendment Determination amends Section 4 of the Principal Determination in order to:
1) remove reference to Amateur licence options that were superseded in 2005; and
2) provide for appropriate qualifications for the operation of amateur repeater stations and amateur beacon stations.
Consultation
The ACA conducted extensive consultation with the Amateur community throughout the Review process. The discussion paper A Review of Amateur Service Regulation was released in August 2003. The discussion paper addressed changes made by the ITU to the Radio Regulations in relation to Amateur Radio, explored future options for the Amateur Service in Australia and invited comments from interested persons. The ACA also held public meetings in 10 cities around Australia as part of the public consultation process. Over 700 people attended the meetings and over 1300 submissions were received in response to the discussion paper.
The findings of the Review – including the reforms endorsed by the ACA, which incorporated the comments made in the submissions – were published in the Review Outcomes in May 2004. The Review Outcomes are largely supported by the Amateur community. Further consultation was conducted with the Amateur community (through the Wireless Institute of Australia) during the process of drafting the Amendment Determination.
The Amendment Determination has no compliance cost on industry and no effect on competition. This is because the Amateur service is a “hobby” service. Use of the bands is either recreational or educational and generates no revenue for licensees. The changes are facilitative rather than prohibitive and only affect existing and prospective Amateur licence holders. Further, some changes are machinery and have no impact on industry or Amateur licence holders.
For this reason ACMA’s Best Practice Regulation Coordinator decided that the determination was minor and machinery in nature and a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) and Business Cost Calculator (BCC) Report were not required. The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) was consulted as a part of this process (ACMA Reference: 034)
Notes On The Instrument
Section 1 Name of Determination
Section 1 provides that the Amendment Determination is the Radiocommunications (Qualified Operators) Amendment Determination 2008 (No. 1).
Section 2 Commencement
Section 2 provides that the Amendment Determination commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Section 3 Amendment of Radiocommunications (Qualified Operators) Determination 2005
Section 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Radiocommunications (Qualified Operators) Determination 2005.
Schedule 1 Amendments
Item [1] Paragraphs 4(1)(c) to 4(1)(k)
Item [1] makes two amendments to the Principal Determination. These are:
- Paragraphs 4(1)(c), 4(1)(d), 4(1)(e), 4(1)(f) and 4(1)(h) are being removed. These paragraphs refer to superseded Amateur licence options. Reference to these licence options is no longer necessary; and
2. Paragraphs 4(1)(c)(i) and 4(1)(c)(ii) are being inserted. Previously, any person holding an Amateur licence was authorised to operate an Amateur repeater or Amateur beacon station. These paragraphs will restrict the operation of Amateur repeater and Amateur beacon stations to persons holding appropriate qualifications. This recognises the fact the operation of Amateur repeater or Amateur beacon stations requires an appropriate level of proficiency.
[1] This document is available from the following URL: http://www.acma.gov.au/webwr/aca_home/ licensing/radcomm/amateur_review/amateur_review_outcome.pdf