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

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- evidence that the applicant is appropriately structured to facilitate the access
and participation of the community represented by it;
- evidence of the extent to which the applicant currently meets the needs of the
community interest identified in the application;
- evidence of the extent to which the applicant will meet the needs of the
community interest identified in the application in the future.
In relation to the meaning of 'future needs', the ABA has taken into account s91 of
the Act, which deals with the circumstances in which the ABA must renew
community broadcasting licences. Section 91 provides:
(1) Subject to subsection (2), if the ABA receives an application [for renewal of a
licence] under section 90, the ABA must, by notice in writing given to the licensee,
renew the licence for a period of 5 years.
(2) The ABA must refuse to renew a community broadcasting licence if the ABA
decides the subsection 83(2) [the suitability provisions] applies to the licensee.
(3) The ABA is not required to conduct an investigation or a hearing into whether a
licence should be renewed.
The effect of s91 is that the ABA must renew community broadcasting licences
except in the circumstances set out in s91. The ABA notes that pursuant to clause
9(2) of Part 5 of Schedule 2 of the Act, it is a condition of a community broadcasting
licence that:
(b) the licensee will continue to represent the community interest that it represented at
the time the licence was allocated;
(c) the licensee will encourage members of the community that it serves to participate
in:
(i) the operations of the licensee in providing the service;
(ii) the selection and provision of programs under the licence …
Nevertheless, the ABA has considered the extent to which applicants are likely to
meet the perceived needs of the communities that they claim to represent for period
beyond the five year terms of the licences.
Section 84(2)(d): capacity of the applicant to provide the proposed service
Before allocating a licence, the ABA must also be satisfied that an applicant has the
capacity to provide the proposed service. It will become clear in the assessment of
the applicants that there were a number of applicants who could demonstrate that
their particular community interest was not well served, or indeed was not served at
all by existing broadcasters, but they did not have the requisite capacity to provide
their proposed service.