Allocation of four community radio broadcasting licences for ... - ACMA

CHAPTER 2: LEGAL FRAMEWORK
The ABA is an independent statutory authority established in 1992 under s154 of the
Broadcasting Services Act 1992 [the Act].
Objects & regulatory policy of the Act
The objects of the Act, which are set out at s3, specify the outcomes Parliament
intended from the regulation of broadcasting in Australia. They are designed to
facilitate decision-making consistent with the regulatory policy of the Act and to
guide its administration.
The objects relevant to this Report are:
12
(a) to promote the availability to audiences throughout Australia of a diverse range of
radio and television services offering entertainment, education and information;
(e) to promote the role of broadcasting services in developing and reflecting a sense of
Australian identity, character and cultural diversity;
(f) to promote the provision of high quality and innovative programming by providers
of broadcasting services.
The regulatory policy of the Act [s4] relevantly states that:
(1) The Parliament intends that different levels of regulatory control be applied across
the range of broadcasting services, datacasting services and Internet services
according to the degree of influence that different types of broadcasting services,
datacasting services and Internet services are able to exert in shaping community
views in Australia.
(2) The Parliament also intends that broadcasting services and datacasting services in
Australia be regulated in a manner that, in the opinion of the ABA:
Role of the ABA
(a) enables public interest considerations to be addressed in a way that does not
impose unnecessary financial and administrative burdens on providers of
broadcasting services and datacasting services; …
In order to achieve the objects of the Act in a way that is consistent with the
regulatory policy, the ABA has had conferred on it by Parliament [s5]:
(1)(b) …a range of functions and powers to be used in a manner that, in the opinion of
the ABA, will:
(i) produce regulatory arrangements that are stable and predictable; and