United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

Australia has a unique community broadcasting system, unparalleled anywhere in the world. For example, see Gatfield, T. (2006), ‘Community Radio Broadcasting and Positioning - an Australian Perspective’, The Marketing Review, 6(2): 183-189; Barlow, D. (1999), ‘Understanding Access and Participation in the Context of Australian Community Broadcasting’, European Journal of Communication Research; and Seneviratne, K. (1993), ‘Giving a voice to the voiceless: Community radio in Australia’, Media Asia, 20(1): 66-74.

As at 30 June 2008, there were 353 community radio stations, 78 of which were for remote indigenous broadcasting. In addition, there were 50 temporary community radio broadcasters.

The radio services represent community interests in eight main categories: communities in the general geographic area of a licence, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, religious, educational / special interests, senior citizens, youth, ethnic, print handicapped and music interests.

As at 30 June 2008, there were 82 community television stations, 78 of which were for remote indigenous broadcasting. Four of these were in capital cities of the relevant States (one licence has since been cancelled and a community television trial licence is currently under allocation). There are currently two community television trial licences.

ACMA inherited a legacy from its formation through a merger of two Australian Government agencies responsible for broadcasting, the Internet, radiocommunications and telecommunications. One area is that of community broadcasting, where functions concerning this sector were located in different parts of the organisation, with central offices in three State capitals. This dispersion of functions was replicated on the ACMA website and often meant clients having to contact various persons before receiving useful information. In addition, this sometimes gave rise to inconsistent or conflicting information being provided to clients.

The fragmentation of functions and somewhat piecemeal approach to the sector led to ACMA being seen sometimes as unhelpful or even at times hostile to the industry.

ACMA also recognised from investigations data that there was an increase in non-compliance with regulatory obligations, notably the prohibition on advertising and exceeding the sponsorship limit.

In addition, the investigation of complaints and assessment of licence renewal applications showed a high level of non-compliance with the statutory obligations to represent the community interest and to encourage community participation in the operations and programming of a service.

Further, a House of Representatives (HoR) Standing Committee of the Australian Parliament identified several areas concerning the community broadcasting sector that could be improved. In its June 2007 report, Tuning in to Community Broadcasting, the HoR made several recommendations, including on issues relating to governance, licensing and sponsorship.

In addition, a Senate Standing Committee (SSC) of the Australian Parliament identified several areas concerning broadcasting codes of practice that could be improved. In its June 2008 report, The effectiveness of the broadcasting codes of practice, the SSC made several recommendations, including on issues relating to consumer advice, industry consultation and complaints handling.

ACMA also recognised that there was scope for improvement in its interactions with community broadcasting industry groups, licensees and their audience, including in the areas of information dissemination, industry liaison and decision-making.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
ACMA adopted a comprehensive and coherent approach to overcome the problems, with a focus on assisting the industry sector and dealing with systemic issues. The key benefits from the CBG initiative are increased transparency and enhanced accessibility, both to people and to information. It has enabled ACMA to have a one-stop shop for industry groups, licensees and members of the public. It has also allowed for improved industry liaison and the provision of consistent consumer advice. The impact has been measured by the creation of a single entry portal on the ACMA website, the creation of a CBG email address, regular meetings with industry groups and community sector organisations, and less inquiries and valid complaints about community broadcasting matters. To create the single entry portal, all the community broadcasting information on ACMA’s website had to be brought together and re-written in simple English to assist comprehension. In addition, enforcement actions for licence renewals and breach investigations are posted on the website to assist understanding of reasons for decisions. Another benefit that has flowed from the CBG initiative includes the finalisation of the review of the community broadcasting sponsorship guidelines in June 2008. This enabled ACMA to fulfil the HoR recommendation for this task. The effectiveness of the guidelines has been measured by a lesser number of valid complaints about licensees’ non-compliance with the prohibition on advertising and exceeding the statutory sponsorship limit. In addition, completion of the review of the community radio codes of practice has enabled ACMA to deliver on the HoR’s recommendation regarding governance and the SSC’s recommendation regarding complaints handling. The process involved regular consultations between the CBAA and ACMA. The CBAA, after consultation with their membership, provided the draft codes to ACMA in August 2008. ACMA registered the codes in October 2008 and launched them at the CBAA annual conference in November 2008. At the plenary, ACMA gave due recognition to the sector’s strengthening of the governance requirements to assist licensees better understand their obligations and leadership in the Australian broadcasting industry as licensees now accept email complaints. Another key benefit of the CBG initiative was the commencement of quarterly meetings with industry groups, including CBAA and the Australian Community Television Alliance (ACTA) to improve industry liaison. In addition to the CBAA Conference, ACMA has attended conferences of other community sector organisations, including Christian Media Australia, Southern Community Media Association and National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters Council. The CBG initiative has also enabled ACMA to address licensees’ non-compliance, mainly radio, with the two major areas of representing their community interest and encouraging community participation in their operations and programming. ACMA is currently preparing guidelines and a draft is scheduled to be released in December 2008 for industry comment. In 2009, ACMA also plans to address the growing number of temporary radio licences by revising the temporary community broadcasting guidelines. This will help the sector to better understand how the licences are allocated and the nature of regulatory obligations. In addition, ACMA plans to address the HoR recommendation relating to licensing by reviewing the licence allocation and renewal processes. Unlike the price-based allocation of licences, community licences are allocated on merit. Reviews of these processes would minimise the burden on non-profit licensees that have a high reliance on volunteers.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
The Executive Manager, National Licensing and Allocations Branch proposed the creation of the Community Broadcasting Group (CBG) and this was approved by the ACMA Chairman. CBG staff are implementing the initiatives. The stakeholders include industry groups, licensees, community sector organisations and members of the public.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The main objectives of the creation of the CBG were to improve ACMA interactions with industry groups and community sector organisations, assist community broadcasting licensees to understand their regulatory obligations, and provide easy access to community broadcasting information to members of the public. These objectives were established by the ACMA Chairman, in consultation with the EM NLAB. The strategies used to achieve these objectives are regular meetings with industry groups and community sector organisations, the development of guidelines and undertaking process reviews, and creation of a single entry portal on the ACMA website. These strategies were established by the EM NLAB, in consultation with CBG managers.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The key development was the notion of having a centralised area to handle all community broadcasting functions. The key implementation steps for the initiative were to bring together staff from all parts of ACMA in February 2008, simultaneously putting together all community broadcasting information into a group system server and creation of the CBG email address. Quarterly meeting with industry groups (CBAA and ACTA) commenced in March 2008 and have been held quarterly thereafter. The Community Broadcasting portal on the ACMA website was launched in April 2008 and the information is updated regularly.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
Very few obstacles were encountered. The main ones were slowness of the IT system and rate of implementation of transformational activities due to staffing limits. These were overcome by discussions with IT personnel and prioritising implementation of the transformational activities.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
A team of four within the CBG was mobilised to implement the transformational activities and to undertake some operational functions. A team of five was formed within the CBG to undertake other operational functions. For 2008-09, the CBG has an operational budget of AUD1.2m. Technical requirements for the initiative included access to online facilities (internet, email), telephone and IT systems. Human resource costs associated with the CBG initiative is AUD1.1m for 2008-09.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The CBG initiative is sustained by maintaining a minimum staffing level and sharing resources across NLAB as necessary. ACMA’s transformational agenda, under the auspices of the ACMA Chairman, also provides impetus to executive and other staff. The CBG initiative has been replicated by the creation of the Spectrum Allocations Group in NLAB. It has yet to be replicated in other parts of ACMA. The CBG initiative is sustainable and transferable in any organisation that has a client base. It could be replicated by viewing an organisation’s functions from a client perspective and bringing together those functions within a group.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
The impacts of the CBG initiative include a more streamlined approach for dealing with community broadcasting matters. This has delivered efficiencies eg the results of data analysis allow a more proactive and targeted approach to information dissemination on the ACMA website, through guidelines and attendance at conferences. The key elements that have made the CBG initiative a success are support from the ACMA Chairman and the EM NLAB, as well as the goodwill of CBG staff. The lessons learned include that regenerating strategies and reshaping the organisation can boost staff morale and provide scope to remain relevant.


Institution Name:		Australian Communications and Media Authority
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		Jonquil Ritter
Title:		Executive Manager, Nat. Licensing and Allocations
Telephone/ Fax:		+612 93347833
Institution's / Project's Website:		+612 93347799
E-mail:		jonquil.ritter@acma.gov.au
Address:		PO Box Q500, Queen Victoria Building
Postal Code:		1230
City:		Sydney
State/Province:		NSW
Country:		Australia

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information