EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Approved by the Australian Communications and Media Authority
Broadcasting Services Act 1992
Variation to Licence Area Plan – Karratha (Radio) – 2017 (No.1)
Authority
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) has made the Variation to Licence Area Plan – Karratha (Radio) – 2017 (No. 1) (the instrument) under subsection 26(2) of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (the Act).
The ACMA may, by legislative instrument, vary (LAPs) under subsection 26(2) of the Act.
Purpose and operation of the instrument
The ACMA prepares 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 – Karratha (Radio) – June 1996 (F2005B01252) on 21 June 1996 and varied it on 22 May 2003.
It is referred to in this explanatory statement as “the Karratha LAP”.
The instrument varies the characteristics, including technical specifications, of radio broadcasting services in the Karratha area of Western Australia by:
- making spectrum available to facilitate a conversion of the 6KA AM commercial radio broadcasting service at Karratha to FM transmission;
- making spectrum available for an FM in-fill transmitter for the 6KA service at Roebourne as part of the proposed conversion process of the 6KA AM service to an FM transmission; and
- varying the technical specifications of the FM in-fill transmitter for the 6RED service at Roebourne to match the technical specifications of the Roebourne in-fill transmitter for 6KA.
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.
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 legislative 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), the Broadcasting Services (Technical Planning) Guidelines 2007 are incorporated as in force from time to time. The Broadcasting Services (Technical Planning) Guidelines 2007 can be accessed, free of charge, at: www.legislation.gov.au.
The instrument also incorporates areas defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in its Census of 5 August 2001. 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 5 August 2001 are available, free of charge, from the ABS website at: http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/historicaldata?opendocument&navpos=281.
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 4 November 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 Karratha licence area and adjacent radio licence areas to advise them of the proposed changes to the Karratha LAP and to invite comment.
Consultation closed on 2 December 2016 and the ACMA received eight submissions, which were taken into account before a decision was made to make the instrument.
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 Karratha LAP. The variations add new, or change existing, characteristics, including technical specifications, of certain radio broadcasting services in the Karratha RA1 licence area. These changes are in order to improve the coverage of those services and/or to clarify transmitter site locations.
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 – Karratha (Radio) – 2017 (No.1)
Section 1 Name
This section provides for the instrument to be cited as the Variation to Licence Area Plan – Karratha (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.
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 Karratha LAP as set out in paragraphs (a) to (g).
Paragraph 4(a) renames the Karratha LAP as the “Licence Area Plan – Karratha Radio”.
Paragraph 4(b) amends the heading on the title page of the Karratha LAP so that it reads “Licence Area Plan – Karratha Radio”.
Subparagraph 4(c)(i) amends the heading on the first page of the instrument so that it reads “Licence Area Plan – Karratha Radio”.
Subparagraph 4(c)(ii) numbers each of the paragraphs on the first page of the instrument under the heading “Licence Area Plan – Karratha Radio” as clauses (1) and (2).
Paragraph 4(d) omits clauses (1) and (2) and substitutes new clauses (1) to (3).
The new clause (1) explains that the plan for radio broadcasting services in the Karratha area of Western Australia is made under subsection 26(1) of the BSA.
The new clause (2) reflects the number of national, commercial and open narrowcasting radio broadcasting services to be available in the area described at Attachment 1.1 to the plan with the use of the broadcasting services bands. The characteristics, including technical specifications, of the services that are to be available in the areas described at Attachment 1.1 are set out in Schedule One and Attachments 1.2 – 1.14 to the plan.
The new clause (3) ensures 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 are taken to be references to that writing as in existence at the time the writing was incorporated into the plan.
Subparagraph 4(e)(i) removes from the Karratha LAP the heading “SCHEDULE” immediately after clauses (1) to (3).
Subparagraph 4(e)(ii) removes from the Karratha LAP all the text occurring after the heading “SCHEDULE” and before Schedule One. This material was originally included for reference only and is no longer considered relevant or necessary.
Paragraph 4(f) replaces Schedule One with a new Schedule One in the Karratha LAP. This Schedule set out the details of the national, commercial and open narrowcasting radio broadcasting services that are to be available on particular frequencies in the Karratha RA1 licence area.
In particular, the Schedule provides the technical specification numbers for each transmitter to be used by the services in the licence area, and specifies the attachments which contain the technical specification for each of those transmitters.
Paragraph 4(g) omits all attachments and substitutes new Attachments 1.1 to 1.14.
The new Attachment 1.1 contains the definition of the Karratha RA1 licence area in terms used by the ABS in the 2001 Census.
The new Attachments 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6 contain the technical specifications for transmitters for the national radio broadcasting services at Karratha, Dampier and Roebourne.
The new Attachments 1.7, 1.8 and 1.9 contain the technical specifications for the transmitters for the commercial radio broadcasting services under Service Licence number SL 10337 to be available at Karratha and Roebourne in the Karratha RA1 licence area. Attachment 1.7 provides that the transmitter with specification number TS10001792 ceases to be available for service licence number S10337 28 days after the first day on which the service provided under service licence number S10337 is transmitted by transmitter TS1138067.
The new Attachments 1.10 and 1.11 contain the technical specifications for the transmitters for the commercial radio broadcasting services under Service Licence number SL 10009 to be available at Karratha and Roebourne in the Karratha RA1 licence area.
The new Attachment 1.12 contains the technical specifications for a transmitter for the open narrowcasting service to be available at Karratha in the Karratha RA1 licence area.
The new Attachment 1.13 contains the technical specifications for a transmitter for the open narrowcasting service to be available at Dampier in the Karratha RA1 licence area.
The new Attachment 1.14 contains the technical specifications for a transmitter for the open narrowcasting service to be available at Roebourne in the Karratha RA1 licence area.
Minor amendments to the descriptions of nominal locations of transmitter sites, to Australian Map Grid references and advisory notes have been made in some of the Attachments. These amendments do not signify a change to the planned performance of the relevant transmitter.