EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Approved by the Australian Communications and Media Authority
Broadcasting Services Act 1992
Variation to Licence Area Plan – Horsham (Radio) – 2017 (No.1)
Authority
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) had made the variation to Licence Area Plan – Horsham (Radio) – 2017 (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 instrument
The ACMA prepares licence area plans (LAPs) under subsection 26(1) of the Act. LAPs determine the number and characteristics, including technical specifications, of broadcasting services that are to be available in particular areas of Australia with the use of the broadcasting services bands.
The Australian Broadcasting Authority made the Licence Area Plan – Horsham (Radio) – December 1997 (F2005B00811) on 13 December 2001.
It is referred to in this explanatory statement as “the Horsham LAP”.
The instrument varies the characteristics, including technical specifications, of radio broadcasting services specified in the Horsham LAP by:
- changing the technical specifications of the existing Horsham ABC Parliamentary News Network/News Radio (PNN) service to reflect actual operating conditions;
- changing the technical specifications of the two planned national radio broadcasting services at Horsham to reduce the maximum operating power;
- making spectrum available for an in-fill FM transmitter at Ararat for the Horsham 3WM commercial radio broadcasting service;
- making spectrum available for an in-fill FM transmitter at Nhill for the Horsham 3WM commercial radio broadcasting service; and
- making spectrum available for an in-fill FM transmitter at Hopetoun for the Horsham 3WWM commercial radio broadcasting service.
The ACMA does not intend the instrument to alter any existing substantive rights and obligations, except as set out above. The instrument also updates some transmitter site nominal locations, Australian Map Grid references for transmitters and advisory notes for commercial and community radio broadcasting services where required, and makes minor changes to the Horsham LAP for drafting consistency. However, these updates do not reflect changes to the ways in which these services are provided.
Further details regarding the instrument are set out at Attachment A.
Documents incorporated by reference
The instrument incorporates the Broadcasting Services (Technical Planning) Guidelines 2007 which is a disallowable instrument made by the ACMA under section 33 of the Act. As permitted by subparagraph 14(1)(a)(ii) of the Legislation Act 2003 (the LA), that legislative instrument is incorporated as in force from time to time.
This document may be accessed at www.legislation.gov.au
The instrument also incorporates areas defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in its Census of 6 August 1996. As permitted by paragraph 14(1)(b) of the LA, these areas are incorporated as in force at the day the instrument commenced. The areas defined in the Census of 6 August 1996 may be accessed, free of charge, in historical Census data and products published on the ABS website www.abs.gov.au.
Consultation
Before the instrument was made, the ACMA was satisfied that consultation was undertaken to the extent appropriate and reasonably practicable, in accordance with section 17 of the LA.
On 9 June 2016 the ACMA published a draft variation instrument, together with a discussion paper, on the ACMA website inviting public comment. The ACMA also wrote to the commercial radio broadcasting licensees and other broadcasting licensees in the Horsham licence areas and adjacent radio licence areas to advise them of the proposed changes to the Horsham LAP and to invite comment.
Consultation closed on 8 July 2016 and the ACMA received two submissions.
Regulatory impact assessment
The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR), in a guidance note titled “Carve-outs” (available here: https://www.dpmc.gov.au/resource-centre/regulation/carve-outs-guidance-note), has established a “carve-out” for variations to LAPs where those variations are unlikely to have more than a minor regulatory impact (OBPR reference number: 13301). A carve-out is a standing agreement between OBPR and a government agency which sets aside the requirement for a preliminary assessment to be sent to OBPR for certain types of proposed regulatory change. The ACMA has formed the opinion that the instrument falls within the terms of the carve-out with OBPR reference number 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, under subsection 26(2) of the Act, the Horsham LAP. The variations add new, or change existing, characteristics, including technical specifications, of certain radio broadcasting services that are specified to be available in the Horsham RA1 and the Horsham RA2 licence areas. These changes are in order to improve the coverage of those services and/or to improve the accuracy of site location. Minor changes have also been made to improve drafting consistency.
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.
Conclusion
The instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.
Attachment A
Notes to the Variation to Licence Area Plan – Horsham (Radio) – 2017 (No.1)
Section 1 Name
This section provides for the instrument to be cited as the Variation to Licence Area Plan – Horsham (Radio) – 2017 (No.1).
Section 2 Commencement
This section provides for the instrument to commence at the start of the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
The Federal Register of Legislation may be accessed at www.legislation.gov.au.
Section 3 Authority
This section identifies the provision of the Act that authorises the making of the instrument, namely subsection 26(2) of the Act.
Section 4 Variation
This section varies the Horsham LAP as set out in paragraphs (a) to (f).
Paragraph 4(a) renames the Horsham LAP as the Licence Area Plan – Horsham Radio.
Paragraph 4(b) amends the heading on the title page of the Horsham LAP so that it reads “Licence Area Plan – Horsham Radio”.
Subparagraph 4(c)(i) amends the heading on the first page of the Horsham LAP so that it reads “Licence Area Plan – Horsham Radio”.
Subparagraph 4(c)(ii) numbers each of the paragraphs on the first page of the Horsham LAP under the heading “Licence Area Plan – Horsham Radio” as clauses (1), (2) and (3) consecutively.
Subparagraph 4(c)(iii) omits clauses (1), (2) and (3) and substitutes new clauses (1), (2), (3) and (4).
The new clause (1) explains that the plan is for radio broadcasting services in the Horsham area of Victoria and is made under subsection 26(1) of the BSA.
The new clause (2) reflects the substitution of the word “determination” with the word “plan” in the clause and the addition of the new Attachments 1.10, 1.12 and 1.15 which denote the new in-fill transmitters at Ararat, Nhill and Hopetoun for commercial radio broadcasting services in the Horsham LAP.
The new clause (3) reflects the substitution of the word “determination” with the word “plan” in the clause.
The new clause (4) will ensure that a reference to a schedule or an attachment includes a reference to a schedule or attachment as amended from time to time and clarifies that references to other legislative instruments in the plan are taken to be references to those instruments as in force from time to time. References to other writing in the plan are taken to be references to that writing as in existence at the time the writing was incorporated into the plan.
Paragraph 4(d) removes from the Horsham LAP all text occurring after Clause (4) but before Schedule One. This material was originally included for reference only and is no longer considered relevant or necessary.
Paragraph 4(e) replaces Schedules One and Two in the Horsham LAP. These Schedules set out the details of the national, commercial, community and open narrowcasting radio broadcasting services that are to be available on particular frequencies in the Horsham RA1 and Horsham RA2 licence areas.
In particular, the Schedules provide the technical specification numbers for each transmitter to be used by the services in the licence areas, and specify the attachments which contain the technical specification for each of those transmitters.
Paragraph 4(f) omits all attachments and substitutes new Attachments 1.1 to 1.21 and 2.1 and 2.2.
The new Attachment 1.1 contains the definition of the Horsham RA1 licence area in terms used by the ABS in the 1996 Census.
The new Attachments 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8 and 1.9 contain the technical specifications for transmitters for the national radio broadcasting services at Horsham and Nhill.
The new Attachments 1.10, 1.11 and 1.12 contain the technical specifications for the transmitters for the commercial radio broadcasting service under Service Licence number SL 4159 to be available at Ararat, Horsham and Nhill in the Horsham RA1 licence area.
The new Attachments 1.13, 1.14, 1.15 and 1.16 contain the technical specifications for the transmitters for the commercial radio broadcasting service under Service Licence number SL 10308 to be available at Horsham, Ararat, Hopetoun and Nhill in the Horsham RA1 licence area.
The new Attachments 1.17, 1.18, 1.19, 1.20 and 1.21 contain the technical specifications for the transmitters for the open narrowcasting radio broadcasting services to be available at Ararat, Stawell, Warracknabeal, Horsham and St Arnaud.
The new Attachment 2.1 contains the definition of the Horsham RA2 licence area in terms used by the ABS in the 1996 Census.
The new Attachment 2.2 contain the technical specifications for the transmitter for the community radio broadcasting service under Service Licence number SL 1150779 to be available in Horsham in the Horsham RA2 licence area.
Minor amendments to the descriptions of nominal locations of transmitter sites, to Australian Grid references and advisory notes have been made in some of the Attachments. In each case the information has been updated to better reflect current operations or for ease of reference only. These amendments do not signify a change to the planned performance of the relevant transmitter.