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Community radio
Print this pageCommunity broadcasting is established in Parts 6 and 6A of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (BSA). Under the terms of the BSA, planning for new community radio licences and all licence allocations for community radio are the responsibility of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
Community broadcasting licences are granted for a period of five years on the basis of the comparative merit of the applicants in accordance with the criteria set out in Section 84 of the BSA. Where broadcasting spectrum is available, temporary community broadcasting licences are awarded to suitable applicants wishing to establish a community broadcasting service for periods of up to twelve months. These licences do not entitle holders to exclusive use of the frequency.
The community broadcasting sectors expansion has been rapid. The first radio station began broadcasting in 1972. There were 24 licensed community radio stations in 1978, 79 in 1998, and there were 358 licensed stations throughout Australia by December 2006. Thirty-eight aspirant broadcasting groups were also operating on a temporary basis.
By 2006, 104 community broadcasting stations were producing 1800 hours of ethnic community broadcasting each week. Six of these were full-time ethnic stations. There were 106 Indigenous community radio stations, including 22 full-time, three aspirant and more than 80 remote Indigenous radio services, under the Remote Indigenous Broadcast Services. RIBS was formerly known as the Broadcasting for Remote Aboriginal Communities Scheme (BRACS). There were 15 dedicated Radio for the Print Handicapped (RPH) services, and 35 full-time religious radio stations. There were also many generalist stations and those with a focus on youth, senior citizens, arts, fine music, and other specialist interests.
There were also two types of narrowcasting serviceshigh powered open narrowcasting (HPON) and low powered open narrowcasting (LPON) services. These services must be limited in some way, for example by being targeted at a special interest group, limited location, limited period of transmission or by providing programs of limited appeal.
By July 2006, 245 open narrowcasting services had been allocated licences.
FROM: Figures provided by the Licensing Section of Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), December 2006.
Related Links
The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) is the national representative organisation for community broadcasters.
The Community Broadcasting Foundation (CBF) is an independent non-profit funding agency that solicits and distributes funds for the maintenance and development of community broadcasting in Australia.
CBOnline provides an online presence for community stations and online resources for community broadcasters. It showcases sector activities and initiatives and places an emphasis on promoting and informing the general public about its dynamic and diverse nature and the integral role community broadcasting plays in supporting community life in Australia.
The Community Broadcasting Database (CBD) is an online database through which information on the activities and operations of community stations can be collected and is the first initiative of its kind in the sector. Up to date, concrete information on the sector's status and progress is vital at both sector and station level.
The McNair Ingenuity Community Radio National Listener Survey contains the results of a large-scale survey of the Australian population conducted in 2006, in order to measure the size of the audience of community radio throughout Australia. The Department contributed to the Survey via the Community Broadcasting Foundation Ltd (CBF).
- Document ID: 8421 |
- Last modified: 8 August 2008, 3:34pm