Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) A commercial television broadcasting licence for a regional licence area is subject to the condition that, if:
(a) the licensee broadcasts a local news program in the licence area; and
(aa) the licensee has not previously broadcast the program in the licence area; and
(b) the licence area is wholly or partly included in the licence area of a licence allocated under section 38C;
the licensee of the regional commercial television broadcasting licence must:
(c) provide the local news program to the licensee of the section 38C licence for broadcast by the section 38C licensee; and
(d) do so:
(i) simultaneously with the broadcast of the program by the licensee of the regional commercial television broadcasting licence; or
(ii) as soon as practicable after the broadcast of the program by the licensee of the regional commercial television broadcasting licence.
(2) A program must be provided under subsection (1) by transmitting it in digital mode (within the meaning of Schedule 4).
(3) If:
(a) apart from this subsection, a commercial television broadcasting licensee for a regional licence area (the regional licensee ) is required by subsection (1) to provide a program to the licensee of a commercial television broadcasting licence allocated under section 38C; and
(b) the regional licensee believes, on reasonable grounds, that the broadcasting of a part of the program in any jurisdiction in the licence area of the section 38C licence could result in the section 38C licensee:
(i) committing an offence; or
(ii) becoming liable to a civil penalty; or
(iii) breaching an order or direction of a court; or
(iv) being in contempt of court;
subsection (1) has effect as if the program did not include that part of the program.
(3A) If:
(a) apart from this subsection, a commercial television broadcasting licensee for a regional licence area (the regional licensee ) is required by subsection (1) to provide a program to the licensee of a commercial television broadcasting licence allocated under section 38C; and
(b) the regional licensee believes, on reasonable grounds, that the broadcasting of the program in any jurisdiction in the licence area of the section 38C licence could result in the section 38C licensee:
(i) committing an offence; or
(ii) becoming liable to a civil penalty; or
(iii) breaching an order or direction of a court; or
(iv) being in contempt of court;
subsection (1) does not apply to the program.
(3B) A commercial television broadcasting licence for a regional licence area is subject to the condition that, if:
(a) the licensee broadcasts a local news program in the licence area on 2 or more occasions; and
(b) the licence area is wholly or partly included in the licence area of a licence allocated under section 38C;
the licensee of the regional commercial television broadcasting licence will take reasonable steps to ensure that the licensee of the regional commercial television broadcasting licence does not, on more than one occasion, provide the program to the section 38C licensee for broadcast by the section 38C licensee.
(6) This section does not apply to a commercial television broadcasting licence allocated under subsection 40(1).
(7) In this section:
"local news program" means:
(a) a program that consists solely of local news and/or local weather information; or
(b) a program:
(i) that consists primarily of local news and/or local weather information; and
(ii) the remainder of which consists of other news and/or other weather information;
but does not include:
(c) a short segment, or a headline update, that is broadcast for the sole or primary purpose of promoting another program; or
(d) a short segment, or a headline update, that repeats news content that has previously been broadcast by the licensee concerned.
"metropolitan licence area" means a licence area in which is situated the General Post Office of the capital city of:
(a) New South Wales; or
(b) Victoria; or
(c) Queensland; or
(d) Western Australia; or
(e) South Australia;
but does not include the licence area of a commercial television broadcasting licence allocated under section 38C.
"regional licence area" means a licence area that is not a metropolitan licence area, but does not include:
(a) the licence area of a commercial television broadcasting licence allocated under section 38C; or
(b) a licence area specified in column 3 of the table in subsection 38C(1).