Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

BROADCASTING SERVICES ACT 1992 - SECT 43C

  (1)   The ACMA must ensure that, at all times on and after 1   January 2008, there is in force under section   43 a condition that has the effect of requiring the licensee of a regional commercial radio broadcasting licence to broadcast, during daytime hours each business day, at least the applicable number of hours of material of local significance.

  (1A)   A licence condition imposed as a result of subsection   (1) does not require a regional commercial radio broadcasting licensee to broadcast material on a business day included in a local content exemption period for the licensee.

Material of local significance

  (2)   The condition must define material of local significance for the purposes of the condition. If a regional commercial radio broadcasting licensee is required to comply with section   61CD, the definition of material of local significance must be broad enough to cover material that the licensee must broadcast in order to comply with that section.

Exclusion of certain licences

  (2A)   The condition does not apply to a regional commercial radio broadcasting licence that is:

  (a)   a remote area service radio licence; or

  (b)   a regional racing service radio licence; or

  (c)   allocated under subsection   40(1).

Applicable number

  (3)   For the purposes of the application of subsection   (1) to a regional commercial radio broadcasting licence, the applicable number is:

  (a)   4.5; or

  (b)   if the Minister, by legislative instrument, declares that another number is the applicable number for regional commercial radio broadcasting licences generally--the other number; or

  (c)   if:

  (i)   the Minister, by legislative instrument, declares that another number is the applicable number for a specified class of regional commercial radio broadcasting licences; and

  (ii)   the regional commercial radio broadcasting licence is included in that class;

    the other number.

Changes in licence area populations not to put persons in breach of condition

  (4)   If:

  (a)   the ACMA makes a new determination of the licence area population of a licence area or of the population of Australia; and

  (b)   as a result of the determination, a person would be in breach of the condition;

the condition continues to apply to the person as if the most recent determination under which the person was not in breach of the condition remained in force.

Sunset

  (4A)   Subsection   (4) ceases to have effect at the end of 5 years after the commencement of Schedule   4 of the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Act 2021 .

Section   43 powers etc.

  (5)   To avoid doubt, this section does not create any obligations under subsection   43(2) that would not exist apart from this section.

  (6)   Subsection   43(5) does not apply to the condition.

  (7)   This section does not limit the powers conferred on the ACMA by section   43 to impose, vary or revoke other conditions.

Definitions

  (8)   In this section:

"daytime hours" means the hours:

  (a)   beginning at 6 am each day or, if another time is prescribed, beginning at that prescribed time each day; and

  (b)   ending at 6 pm on the same day or, if another time is prescribed, ending at that prescribed time on the same day.