Governance - Licensing

Contents

  1. Community Broadcasting Licenses
  2. Music Licenses

Community Broadcasting Licences 

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is a statutory authority within the federal government portfolio of Communications and the Arts tasked with overlooking most elements of Australia's media and communications legislation. The ACMA is Australia's regulator for the internet, radiocommunications, telecommunications and broadcasting, including community broadcasting. 

The ACMA offers community broadcasting licences for allocation when they are made available in a licence area plan. Licence area plans (LAPs) determine the number and characteristics of the broadcasting services available in particular areas of Australia. 

Allocation of Temporary Community Broadcasting Licences 

Before undertaking any merit-based allocation of a long-term licence, ACMA may allocate non-renewable temporary community radio licences to eligible broadcasters for up to 12 months. These temporary community broadcasting licences (TCBLs) provide access to available spectrum ahead of, but without affecting the outcome of, the allocation of long-term broadcasting service licences. 

Temporary community broadcasting licence guidelines 

Community broadcasting licence transfer guidelines 

Allocation of Long-Term Community Broadcasting Licences 

The ACMA assesses applications for available long-term community radio and community television broadcasting licences on a merit basis. 

In deciding whether to allocate a licence to an applicant, the ACMA takes into account: 

  • the extent to which the proposed service would meet the existing and future needs of the community within the licence area 

  • the nature and diversity of the interests of that community 

  • the nature and diversity of other broadcasting services (including national broadcasting services) available within that licence area 

  • the capacity of the applicant to provide the proposed service 

  • the undesirability of one person being in a position to exercise control of more than one community broadcasting in the same licence area 

  • the undesirability of the Commonwealth, state or territory or a political party being in a position to exercise control of a community broadcasting licence. 

After the successful applicant has been notified, it is a condition on the licence that the licensee commences providing the service within one year of being allocated the licence or a longer period as notified by the ACMA. 

Community broadcasting licences remain in force for five years. 

Renewal of a Community Broadcasting Licence 

If your station is a permanently licensed community broadcaster, you will have to complete a licence renewal every five years. 

The ACMA will remind a station to renew their licence 13-14 months prior to the expiration of that licence. The due date for this application is exactly 12 months prior to the expiration of the licence. The Broadcasting Services Act 1992 requires that applications to renew a community radio broadcasting licence must be made between 6 and 12 months before the licence is due to expire.

When a renewal application is received, the ACMA conducts an assessment and investigation of the licence. This may take up to 12 months. The Broadcasting Services Act 1992 was amended in 2002 so that, in deciding whether to renew a licence, the ACMA can take into account the same matters that it took into account when allocating the licence (outlined above). 

ACMA Licence Renewal 101

The ACMA will send you a letter 14 months before your licence is due to expire, reminding you to submit a licence renewal application. If you need to check your licence expiry date at any time you can look up your licence on the ACMA Register.

From January 2026, this reminder letter will include instructions to fill in either:

The correct application form will be included in the reminder letter.

Most licensees will need to complete the B66a application, with some being selected to complete the B66b form. The selection of licensees to complete the B66b form is at the ACMA’s discretion and may consider, for example, a licensee’s compliance history.

In either case, the ACMA may request additional information or supporting documentation.  

For licensees who complete the B66a application form, the ACMA will assess only essential information, such as:

  • the licensee’s registration status
  • confirmation that the service will continue to operate under with the relevant technical specifications.

For licensees who complete the B66b application form, the ACMA will assess:

  • the extent to which the service meets the community’s current and future needs
  • the nature and diversity of interests in the community
  • the extent to which the service provides material that is significant to the local community
  • other broadcasting services in the same licence area, including national services
  • whether the applicant is able to provide the proposed service.

Key things to note:

  • Applications for the renewal of community radio broadcasting licences must ideally be made twelve months before the licence is due to expire. This means if your licence expires on 1 July 2023, the application form is due on 1 July 2022.
  • The legislation permits you to submit the application until 26 weeks prior to the licence expiring. However, it’s better if you submit it much earlier so the ACMA has enough time to review your licence and get back to you with any questions.
  • The form does not apply to remote Indigenous broadcasting licencees or temporary community radio broadcasting licencees. 

Tips for preparing and completing your application:

  • Keep a folder on your computer called 'Licence Renewal' and continually save things there like your financial statements and AGM minutes. This will save you a lot of time during the application process.

  • Complete all questions. Any incomplete fields are likely to delay the assessment of your application.

  • Supporting documents should be labelled with reference to the relevant question.

  • Completed forms and documents should be scanned and emailed to [email protected] 

Licence renewal checklist of documents all stations need to provide:

  • A copy of your most recent weekly program schedule, showing the applicable dates

  • Current constitution or articles of association and certificate of registration

  • Diagram or description of the organisation structure, showing the board/management committee and committees/subcommittees, as well as staff and volunteer positions 

  • Your most recent approved AGM minutes 

  • Membership application form, showing membership categories and schedule of membership fees

  • Your most recent audited financial statements or unaudited if not required to audit

Plan ahead! Five-year plan for an easy licence renewal

The licence period for permanent community radio licensees lasts for five years. Here are some tips to help you keep on top of the process, and help you plan ahead for your renewal.

Five years before expiry:

  1. Policies - Make sure you have the policies in the list above and make them publicly available. If you need help, contact the CBAA.
  2. Community engagement - See Code 3 Guidance material. Engage with your community to find out what they want from your radio station through regular activities such as:
    • community surveys
    • outside broadcasts
    • focus groups
    • building and maintaining connections with other community organisations in the licence area

Two years before expiry:

  1. Save everything in one place. Make a folder on your computer called 'Licence Renewal' and continually save things that you will need for your application there, including:
    • your financial statements
    • your AGM minutes
    • a record of community engagement activities
    • copies of your policies
    • a list of proposals for new programs your station has received and notes on whether they were approved or broadcast. 

This will save you a lot of time during the application process. 

14 months before expiry:

  1. Start your application. At or around 14 months is when you should get a notification from the ACMA informing you of when your licence renewal form is due. Read through the allocated form and understand what you need to do. Call the CBAA for assistance. 

12 months before expiry:

  1. Submit your application. Submit it on time so that the ACMA can follow up with you if further work is required. If you are struggling with your application, you can call the ACMA to ask for help, and the CBAA for assistance. 

FAQs 

Our station can’t find our last licence renewal application from five years ago. Can I ask ACMA to send me a copy of it?

The short answer is - not really. Privacy considerations mean that it is very difficult for ACMA to provide you with your previous application. It’s important to keep your records at your station in a manner that is easy for future managers and committee members to access.

Can we leave one staff member to complete our licence renewal application on their own?

It is best not to leave one individual to complete the application form on their own. It is your whole station’s responsibility to complete the licence renewal application. One person might be the lead person responsible, but a team makes light work!

When is the latest we should submit our licence renewal form?

Ideally twelve months prior to the expiry of your licence. The absolute latest you should submit your form is nine months prior to expiry. While you can submit up until 26 weeks prior to the licence expiry date, it is not recommended. You risk missing the deadline as it does not provide the ACMA with enough time to review the licence application and come back to you with questions. We strongly advise that you submit twelve months prior to the expiry of your licence.

Related resources for renewing a community broadcasting licence:

A licence renewal is a great opportunity to review your station’s governance and ensure that your organisation is set up to deliver the best outcome for your community. Below are some additional resources to help you.

Music Licenses 

For community radio stations, both PPCA and APRA AMCOS play a role in the licensing and royalty collection process for broadcast music, but their areas of focus and the rights they represent are different. The PPCA licence covers the use of recorded music, while the APRA AMCOS licence covers the use of musical compositions. Obtaining blanket licences from them means that stations don’t have to seek individual permissions for different pieces of music they broadcast. 

PPCA

Community radio stations need to obtain a licence from the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) to play recorded music. The PPCA collects licensing fees from the radio stations for the public performance and broadcast of recorded music. These fees are then distributed as royalties to the copyright owners, including artists and record labels. These fees are collected and paid on your behalf by CBAA and calculated at 0.8% of annual revenue with a 50% discount due to being a CBAA member. The PPCA offer the broadcast licence (for music on air) and the simulcast licence (for online streaming) currently there is no finalised on demand licence (for podcasts or recorded shows) available to community radio stations.  

APRA AMCOS

Community radio stations also need to obtain a licence from Australasian Performing Right Association and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (APRA AMCOS) for the public performance of musical works, which includes the compositions and lyrics of songs. APRA AMCOS represents the rights of songwriters. The fees collected by APRA AMCOS are distributed as royalties to the songwriters and music publishers. The CBAA is not involved with the collection of APRA AMCOS fees. 

Copyright 

Copyright is a legal right that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights to its use and distribution, usually for a limited time, with the intention of enabling the creator (e.g. the composer of a song or the author of a book) to receive compensation for their intellectual effort. It is a form of intellectual property and dictates rights includes reproduction of the work, derivative works (for example, cover songs), distribution, public performance and "moral rights" such as attribution.

In Australia, copyright law is contained in the Copyright Act 1968 and is automatically applicable to all creative works, regardless of the format in which they are recorded.

Community broadcasters generally need permission to broadcast material protected by copyright, such as music. Rather than needing to approach each individual rightsholder, this permission can be obtained via two licenses: one from APRA AMCOS and one from the PPCA.

The reason that you need to hold two licenses is because there are at least two copyrights in most recordings and music videos. 

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