EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Approved by the Australian Communications and Media Authority
Broadcasting Services Act 1992
Television Licence Area Plan (Melbourne) Variation 2020 (No. 1)
Authority
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) has made the Television Licence Area Plan (Melbourne) Variation 2020 (No. 1) (the instrument) under subsection 26(2) of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (the Act).
Subsection 26(2) of the Act provides that the ACMA may, by legislative instrument, vary a licence area plan.
Purpose and operation of the instruments
Television licence area plans (TLAPs) are made under subsection 26(1B) of the Act and allot channels for particular broadcasting services and, where relevant, identify time frames for the clearance of spectrum through channel allotment end dates. TLAPs also determine the number, category and characteristics of television broadcasting services that are to be made available for allocation in particular areas of Australia using the broadcasting services bands (the BSBs).
The instrument is intended to amend the channel allotment end dates for the community television broadcasting service in Melbourne.
A provision-by-provision description of the instrument is set out in the notes at Attachment A.
The instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003 (the LA).
Documents incorporated by reference
The instrument does not incorporate any documents by reference.
Consultation
Consultation was not undertaken in respect of the instrument for the following reasons.
Community television broadcasting services that transmit in the BSBs are authorised to operate radiocommunications transmitters by a transmitter licence issued under section 102 of the Radiocommunications Act 1992 (the Radcoms Act) and a channel allotment in a TLAP. Transmitter licences for the Melbourne community television broadcasting service were due to cease to have effect on 30 June 2020, in accordance with the Radiocommunications (Duration of Community Television Transmitter Licences) Determination 2018 (Determination), made under subparagraph 103(4A)(c)(ii) of the Radcoms Act. The Determination sets the date after which a transmitter licence for a community television broadcasting service ceases to have effect. The channel allotment end dates specified in the Television Licence Area Plan (Melbourne) 2012 for the Melbourne community television broadcasting service were aligned with the Determination, such that those channel allotments were set to cease on 30 June 2020.
On 29 June 2020, the Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts made the Radiocommunications (Duration of Community Television Transmitter Licences) Determination 2018 (Amendment No. 1 of 2020) (Amendment Determination) which amended the Determination to extend the period for which the two transmitter licences for the Melbourne community television broadcasting service remain in force, until 30 June 2021. As the Minister has exercised his power to keep the transmitter licences in force until 30 June 2021, the ACMA considers that it must provide spectrum as required under Part 3 of the BSA to enable the licensees to continue to transmit in the BSBs.
As the instruments must take effect before 1 July 2020 for the licensees to continue in operation lawfully, and the Amendment Determination was not made until 29 June 2020, the ACMA considered that it would not be reasonably practicable to undertake consultation. The services are already in operation and the ACMA’s decision in extending the channel allotment end dates forms a small but necessary regulatory step, with minimal impact, in line with the Amendment Determination.
Regulatory impact assessment
The ACMA considered whether a regulatory impact analysis process was required and formed the view that the changes effected by the instruments were machinery matters that would not have more than a minor regulatory impact. The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) has determined that variations to established licence area plans that are unlikely to have more than a minor regulatory impact are exempt from OBPR clearance. Therefore, no further regulatory impact analysis is required. (OBPR reference 13301).
Statement of compatibility with human rights
Subsection 9(1) of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 requires the rule-maker in relation to a legislative instrument to which section 42 (disallowance) of the LA applies to cause a statement of compatibility with human rights to be prepared in respect of that legislative instrument.
The statement of compatibility set out below has been prepared to meet that requirement.
Overview of the instrument
The instrument varies the Television Licence Area Plan (Melbourne) 2012. The variations amend the channel allotment end dates for transmitter licences for community television broadcasting services in the Melbourne licence area. Those ends dates have been extended by 12 months.
Human rights implications
The ACMA has assessed whether the instrument is compatible with human rights, being the rights and freedoms recognised or declared by the international instruments listed in subsection 3(1) of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 as they apply to Australia.
Having considered the likely impact of the instrument and the nature of the applicable rights and freedoms, the ACMA has formed the view that the instrument does not engage any of those rights or freedoms. The ACMA notes that the Amendment Determination is the substantive instrument that extends the ability of community television broadcasting services to operate radiocommunications transmitters in the BSBs, and that the statement of compatibility for the Amendment Determination addresses how that instrument engages particular rights and freedoms.
Conclusion
The instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any further human rights issues.
Attachment A
Notes to the Television Licence Area Plan (Melbourne) Variation 2020 (No. 1)
Section 1 Name
This section provides for the instrument to be cited as the Television Licence Area Plan (Melbourne) Variation 2020 (No. 1).
Section 2 Commencement
This section provides for the instrument to commence on the day it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Section 3 Authority
This section identifies the relevant statutory provision that authorises the making of the instrument, namely subsection 26(2) of the Act.
Section 4 Amendments
This section provides that the Television Licence Area Plan (Melbourne) 2012 (Registration No. F2012L02431) is varied as set out in Schedule 1 to the instrument.
Schedule 1 Amendments
Item 1
This item replaces the dates in column 3 of table 3.2 at clause 2 in Schedule 3 to the Television Licence Area Plan (Melbourne) 2012, amending the channel allotment end dates for the Melbourne community television service to 30 June 2021.