Licence fees for commercial broadcasters

We have fees for commercial broadcasters. These fees are called commercial broadcasting taxes.

We have currently suspended these fees for a 12-month period to provide temporary relief to broadcasters. Refer to the ’12-month suspension of commercial broadcasting tax’ section below for more information.

Outside of the suspension period, these fees do not apply to:

• national broadcasters
• community broadcasters
• any other apparatus licences.

Fees for commercial broadcasters are detailed in the commercial broadcasting transmitter licence fee schedule.

Commercial broadcasting taxes are fully suspended between 9 June 2025 and 8 June 2026. 

The suspension is applied through a 100% rebate for all commercial broadcasting taxes in ‘rebate period 2’ of the Commercial Broadcasting (Tax) (Transmitter Licence Tax Rebate) Rules 2024. 

Outside of the 12-month suspension of CBT, you have 28 days to pay your invoice.

If you don’t pay on time, there are penalties. Our current penalty rate is 20% per year.

If the person who handles invoices in your organisation changes, you should tell us.

We charge licence fees each year.

Your first licence fee will be due after we issue your licence and give you an invoice.

We will send you an assessment and invoice on, or soon after, each anniversary of when we issued the licence.

The Commercial Broadcasting (Tax) (Transmitter Licence Tax Rebate) Rules 2024 provide for 4 years of rebates for holders of commercial television and radio broadcasting licences that were previously eligible for transitional support payments. These rebates began to be applied on 9 June 2024.

In rebate periods 1, 3 and 4, rebates are available to holders of commercial television and radio broadcasting licences that were previously eligible for transitional support payments. 

In rebate period 2, which runs from 9 June 2025 to 8 June 2026, there is a 100% rebate for all commercial broadcasting taxes. This will help facilitate the 12-month suspension of the tax.

This legislation helps us determine how we charge for commercial broadcasting transmitter licences:

• Broadcasting Services Act 1992
• Commercial Broadcasting (Tax) Act 2017
• Commercial Broadcasting (Tax) (Individual Transmitter Amounts) Determination 2017
• Commercial Broadcasting (Tax) (Transmitter Licence Tax Rebate) Rules 2024
• Commercial Broadcasting (Tax) Amendment (Transmitter Licence Tax Rebate) Rules 2025.

If you have questions about licence fees for commercial broadcasting, email us.