Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have access to information and services enabling participation in informed decision-making regarding their own lives.

By 2026, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have equal levels of digital inclusion.

Number and location of community broadcast licences with an Indigenous interest

The measure is defined as:

Numerator — number and location of community radio broadcasting licences with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander interest, as at 30 June

and is presented as a number.

National Agreement on Closing the Gap 2020; indicator included April 2021

15 June 2023

Contextual information

A high or increasing number is generally desirable as this indicates greater access to broadcasting services, but access to services should be considered in the context of population need and/or the geographic coverage of each broadcaster’s service.

Name: Community Radio Broadcasting Licences

Frequency: Periodic

Documentation (links): https://www.acma.gov.au/about-community-broadcasting-licences.

Provider name: Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)

Provider area: Community Broadcasting and Safeguards Section

2015

2022

State and territory and Australia, by ACMA region.

Counting rules

The number and location of community radio broadcasting licences allocated under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander interest refers to ACMA community interest categories of ‘Indigenous’ and ‘Torres Strait Islander’.

Community broadcasting services (as defined in the Broadcasting Services Act) hold a community broadcasting licence from ACMA. Where the service holds multiple licences, all licences are counted where the community interest is recorded by ACMA as ‘Indigenous’ or ‘Torres Strait Islander’.

Community radio broadcasting licences include:

• Community Broadcast Licences – long term licences, valid for 5 years. These licences can be renewed
• Temporary Community Broadcast Licences (TCBL) –The TCBL scheme, which has been in place since 1997 allows the ACMA to allocate non-renewable community radio licences to eligible aspirant broadcasters. If broadcasting services bands spectrum is available, but the ACMA has not started or completed planning and allocation processes for that spectrum, it may determine that part of the spectrum is available for allocation to temporary community broadcasting licensees. TCBLs may be allocated for a maximum 12-month licence period.

Community radio broadcasting licences are counted as at 30 June, annually.

ACMA maintains its own categorisation of regions for the location of each broadcasting licence. Categories are metropolitan, regional and remote.

Data on the number of TCBLs are not available for 2015 and 2016.

Community radio broadcasting licences are subject to the licence condition that the licensee will continue to represent the community interest that it represented at the time when the licence was allocated or last renewed.

Community radio broadcasting licences authorise the provision of a community radio broadcasting service in a specific geographic licence area. The geographic coverage of each licence may vary. The actual geographic coverage of the service may not be the same as the specified licence area.

See the ACMA website for further information about community broadcasting licensing: https://www.acma.gov.au/about-community-broadcasting-licences

Additional disaggregations required for future reporting:

• Other geographic locations available
• Socioeconomic status of the locality.