About media reform

Schedule 1 of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act 2006 came into force on 1 February, 2007. It introducd a number of key concepts relating to media ownership, including prohibitions relating to unacceptable media diversity situations and unacceptable three-way control situations. Schedule 2 of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act 2006, which contains local content protections and the repeal of cross media and foreign control rules, commenced on 4 April, 2007. The amendments made in Schedule 3 commence on 1 January, 2009. On 13 September 2007, the Local Content Investigations Report (PDF 1 mb) was tabled in Parliament.

The ACMA plays a central regulatory role under the new media laws, and is working on the areas outlined below.

Media regulation and enforcement

Register of Controlled Media Groups

A core component of the new media ownership rules is the Register of Controlled Media Groups (RCMG).

The publication of the RCMG on 27 March 2007 was the first major stage in the implementation of the new media ownership regulatory arrangements. The RCMG provides new information to industry and the community on the existence of registrable media groups in licence areas across Australia.

The RCMG lists the registered media groups in each licence area, the media operations that form part of a group and the controllers of those operations.

The Media Diversity Report is a supplementary publication to the RCMG. In addition to the registered media groups in each radio licence area, Part 1 of the Media Diversity Report includes: the ungrouped media operations; an estimate of the number of points in the radio licence area; details of those commercial television services that have indicated they pass the shared content test (described in section 61AE of the Act); and, details of the s.38A licences in each radio licence area.

Part 2 of the Media Diversity Report is designed to be a cross reference to Part 1. It identifies the media operations within each radio licence area that each person is in a position to control.

New enforcement powers

The media reform legislation gives the ACMA a range of new enforcement powers to effectively regulate the broadcasting industry. View further information about media regulation and enforcement.

Prior approval processes for media transactions

The media reform legislation established a new role for the ACMA to give prior approval for transactions which cause an 'unacceptable media diversity situation' or an 'unacceptable three-way control situation'. The ACMA retains its role in giving approval for a temporary breach of the statutory control rules.

The ACMA issued a briefing paper, Media Ownership - Applications to the ACMA in relation to certain media transactions (PDF format or Word format) for certain media transactions.

Unassigned television channels

In planning for the introduction of digital television, additional channel capacity has been set aside for uses other than free-to-air television broadcasting in most parts of Australia. In most areas, two channels have been planned and remain unassigned following the assignment of the other planned channels to incumbent broadcasters. View further information about the allocation of unassigned television channels (including guidelines for subscription and open narrowcasting services).

Industry briefing

Prior to the introduction of the new laws, the Chairman of the Australian Communications and Media Authority has written to all licensees, publishers and major stakeholders with an interest in the broadcasting sector, outlining the initial steps the ACMA proposed to take to prepare for the new regulatory landscape. View a copy of this letter (PDF 62 kb).

ACMA contacts

If you have any questions or comments about the ACMA's media reform activities, please contact the following ACMA staff.