Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

BROADCASTING AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (DEREGULATION) ACT 2015 - SCHEDULE 6

Broadcasting Services Act 1992

1   Section   130ZK

Insert:

"channel" means a continuous stream of programs.

"channel provider" has the meaning given by section   130ZKA.

"incidental matter" means:

  (a)   advertising or sponsorship matter (whether or not of a commercial kind); or

  (b)   a program promotion; or

  (c)   an announcement; or

  (d)   a hosting; or

  (e)   any other interstitial program.

"part-channel provider" has the meaning given by section   130ZKB.

2   After section   130ZK

Insert:

130ZKA   Definition of channel provider

    For the purposes of this Part, a channel provider , in relation to a subscription television service provided by a subscription television licensee, is a person who:

  (a)   packages a channel (which may include programs produced by the person); and

  (b)   supplies the licensee with the channel;

where, apart from any breaks for the purposes of the transmission of incidental matter, the channel is televised by the licensee on the service.

130ZKB   Definition of part - channel provider

    For the purposes of this Part, a part - channel provider , in relation to a subscription television service provided by a subscription television licensee, is a person who:

  (a)   assembles a package of programs (which may include programs produced by the person); and

  (b)   supplies the licensee with the package;

where:

  (c)   the package constitutes a significant proportion of the program material that is televised by the licensee on the service; and

  (d)   there is no channel provider in relation to the service.

130ZKC   Supply of channel or package

    For the purposes of this Part, a person is taken to have supplied a channel or a package to a subscription television licensee if the channel or package is supplied by the person to the licensee:

  (a)   directly; or

  (b)   indirectly through one or more interposed persons.

3   Paragraph 130ZUA(3)(c)

Repeal the paragraph, substitute:

  (c)   be made in the period:

  (i)   commencing on 1   July in the financial year immediately before the eligible period specified in the application; and

  (ii)   ending on the first 31   March in the eligible period specified in the application.

4   Subsections   130ZV(1) to (4)

Repeal the subsections, substitute:

Annual captioning targets

  (1)   If a subscription television licensee provides a subscription television service in a financial year, the licensee must ensure that the percentage worked out using the following formula is not less than the annual captioning target for the service for the financial year:

where:

"total captioned hours" means the total number of hours of television programs transmitted on the service during the financial year for which a captioning service was provided.

"total program hours" means the total number of hours of television programs transmitted on the service during the financial year.

  (2)   For the purposes of this section, the annual captioning target for a subscription television service for a financial year is:

  (a)   for the financial year beginning on 1   July 2014--the applicable percentage set out in the following table; and

  (b)   for a later financial year--the lesser of:

  (i)   the annual captioning target for the service for the previous financial year plus an additional 5%; and

  (ii)   100%.

Note:   For example, the annual captioning target for the financial year beginning on 1   July 2015 for a category A subscription television movie service is 80% (75% plus an additional 5%).

Modified formula for subscription television sports services

  (3)   If, in relation to a financial year:

  (a)   a subscription television licensee provides a subscription television sports service; and

  (b)   the percentage worked out using the formula in subsection   ( 1) for the service is at least two - thirds of the annual captioning target;

the licensee is taken to have satisfied the requirement in subsection   ( 1) for the service for the financial year if the percentage worked out using the following formula is not less than the annual captioning target:

where:

"relevant sports services" means all subscription television sports services provided by the licensee that televise channels supplied by the same channel provider, other than:

  (a)   services to which subsection   130ZV(1) does not apply during the financial year because of subsection   130ZX(7); and

  (b)   services to which an exemption order or target reduction order under section   130ZY applies for the financial year.

"total captioned hours on relevant sports services" means the total number of hours of television programs transmitted on relevant sports services during the financial year for which a captioning service was provided.

"total program hours on relevant sports services" means the total number of hours of television programs transmitted on relevant sports services during the financial year.

5   At the end of section   130ZV

Add:

Exclusion for new subscription television service

  (6)   This section does not apply to a subscription television service until the financial year beginning on the first 1   July that is at least 1 year after the service commenced , if the service predominantly consist s of programs not transmitted in Australia before th at commencement .

6   Subsection   130ZVA(2)

Omit "more than 6, but fewer than 8,", substitute "7".

7   Paragraph 130ZY(2)(c)

Repeal the paragraph, substitute:

  (c)   be made in the period:

  (i)   commencing on 1   July in the financial year immediately before the eligible period specified in the application; and

  (ii)   ending on the first 31   March in the eligible period specified in the application.

8   Subsection   130ZYA(2)

Repeal the subsection, substitute:

Subscription television broadcasting and narrowcasting services

  (2)   The subscription television licensee who provides the service must ensure that the percentage worked out using the following formula is not less than the reduced annual captioning target for the service for the financial year:

where:

"total captioned hours" means the total number of hours of television programs transmitted on the service during the financial year for which a captioning service was provided.

"total program hours" means the total number of hours of television programs transmitted on the service during the financial year.

9   Section   130ZZ

Before "If", insert "(1)".

10   At the end of section   130ZZ

Add:

  (2)   Subsection   ( 1) does not apply if:

  (a)   the program when previously transmitted was supplied by a channel provider or part - channel provider; and

  (b)   the program when transmitted as mentioned in paragraph   ( 1)(a) was not supplied by that channel provider or part - channel provider.

11   After subsection   130ZZA(2)

Insert:

  (2A)   In determining a standard under subsection   ( 1), the ACMA must consider the differences (including time constraints for live content) between providing captioning services for:

  (a)   live television programs and pre - recorded television programs; and

  (b)   wholly live or wholly pre - recorded television programs and television programs that include both live and pre - recorded program material.

  (2B)   Subsection   ( 2A) does not authorise the ACMA to determine that a lower quality (within the meaning of subsection   ( 2)) of captioning service is acceptable for a kind of program or program material.

12   After subsection   130ZZA(7)

Insert:

  (7A)   A failure by a licensee or broadcaster to comply with a standard determined under subsection   ( 1) is to be disregarded to the extent to which the failure is attributable to significant difficulties of a technical or engineering nature for the licensee or broadcaster, which it could not reasonably have foreseen.

15   Section   130ZZD

Repeal the section, substitute:

130ZZD   Record - keeping

  (1)   This section applies to each of the following (a responsible person ):

  (a)   a commercial television broadcasting licensee;

  (b)   a national broadcaster;

  (c)   a subscription television licensee that is a body corporate.

Note:   For compliance, see clause   7 of Schedule   2 (for commercial television broadcasting licensees), clause   10 of Schedule   2 (for subscription television broadcasting licensees) and clause   11 of Schedule   2 (for subscription television narrowcasting licensees).

  (2)   A responsible person must, in a form approved in writing by the ACMA, make:

  (a)   written records sufficient to enable the responsible person's compliance with Division   2 or 3 to be readily ascertained; and

  (b)   audio - visual records sufficient to enable the responsible person's compliance with Divisions   4 and 5 to be readily ascertained.

  (3)   A written record must be retained in the responsible person's custody for at least 90 days after the responsible person's report under section   130ZZC in relation to the financial year to which the record relates is given to the ACMA .

  (4)   An audio - visual record must be retained in the responsible person's custody:

  (a)   for at least 30 days after the day the program to which the record relates was broadcast; or

  (b)   if, before the end of those 30 days, the responsible person becomes aware that a complaint has been made under Part   11 about captioning of the program--for at least 90 days after the day the program was broadcast.

  (5)   A responsible person must, without charge, make available to the ACMA on request any records retained by the responsible person under this section (whether or not the minimum period for retaining the records has passed).

16   Subsection   130ZZE(1)

Omit "2015", substitute "2016".

16A   Subsection   130ZZE(3)

Omit "2016", substitute "2017".

17   Application of amendments

(1)   The amendment of section   130ZV of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 made by item   4 of this Schedule applies in relation to the financial year in which this item commences and later financial years.

(2)   The amendment of section   130ZV of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 made by item   5 of this Schedule applies to subscription television services that a subscription television licensee commences to provide in the financial year in which this item commences or in any later financial year.

(3)   The amendments of section   130ZZ of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 made by this Schedule apply to the transmission of a television program as mentioned in paragraph   130ZZ(1)(a) as amended by this Schedule, regardless of whether the previous transmission was before, on or after the day this item commences.

(4)   The amendment of section   130ZZA of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 made by item   12 of this Schedule applies in relation to failures that occur on or after the day this item commences.

(6)   The amendment of section   130ZZD of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 made by this Schedule applies in relation to the financial year in which this item commences and later financial years.

18   Transitional provision--standards under section   130ZZA

The ACMA must review, and vary as appropriate, any standards made under section   130ZZA of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 , having regard to subsection   130ZZA(2A) of that Act as inserted by this Schedule. The ACMA must do so within 12 months of the commencement of the subsection.