Apparatus licence fees

• Types of fees
• How fees are charged
  • Payment of licence fees
  • Renewal of licences
  • Exemptions, concessions and refunds
• Apparatus licence fee schedule
• Fee schedule changes
• Apparatus licence fee density area maps
• Apparatus licence fee legislation

 
Types of fees

There are two types of fees applicable to apparatus licences:

• administrative charges to recover the direct costs of spectrum management
• annual licence taxes to recover the indirect costs of spectrum management and provide incentives for efficient spectrum use.

The apparatus licence taxes are calculated based on spectrum location, geographical location, amount of spectrum occupied and coverage area.

The annual licence tax is applied to

• each chargeable spectrum access (with minor exceptions—see Division 6 of the fee schedule) of an assigned licence
• each licence for non-assigned licences.

A spectrum access is the right to use specified radiofrequency spectrum, and requires frequency coordination before issue. Each spectrum access specifies the allowable bandwidth, frequency, geographical site and power of the transmission. All transmit spectrum accesses are chargeable. Receive spectrum accesses are only chargeable if there are no transmit spectrum accesses on the same licence.

Detailed information about fees is provided in the Apparatus licence fee schedule 2013, which is available below.

How fees are charged

Apparatus licence holders are charged different fees depending on whether the licence is newly issued or renewed and the licence type. The following table summarises how fees are charged and payment methods available.

^* The licence fee is the same as for a series of one year licences, but is paid in annual instalments. In the case where an apparatus licence holder defaults on one of the annual instalment payments, the licensee is invoiced for the remainder of the licence fees upfront.

Payment of licence fees

Fees are to be paid within 45 days of the date on the notification to the applicant. Where the correct payment does not accompany an application, the ACMA will advise the applicant of the correct amount. If applicants fail to pay the fees by the due date, the ACMA may refuse the application and make the frequency available for other services. The ACMA will advise applicants of their review and appeal rights in relation to any decision to refuse an application.

To calculate the fee for your apparatus licence, go to the Apparatus licence fee calculator.

Renewal of licences

The ACMA endeavours to notify licensees when their licence renewal fees are due. However the licensee is ultimately responsible for renewing their licence on time. 

Exemptions, concessions and refunds

Individuals and organisations may be eligible for an exemption from or concession on the payment of licence fees. For further details, see Appendix F of the Apparatus licence fee schedule.

Licensees who advise the ACMA in writing that they wish to surrender a licence, are entitled to a pro rata refund of the tax component of the total fee paid for the licence. Amounts less than $30 are not refundable.

The Apparatus licence fee schedule

The Apparatus licence fee schedule 2013 sets out current fees.

All apparatus licence taxes are adjusted annually for changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), to compensate for the effects of inflation.

You can download the full schedule and component sections in MS Word or PDF formats.

Fee schedule changes

Adoption of opportunity cost pricing in 400 MHz band (403-520 MHz band)

From 15 August 2012, licences located in the high density areas (Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney) of the 400 MHz band will be subject to the first of the five increases in opportunity cost price. It is proposed that apparatus licence taxes will increase to a new OC price of $199/kHz over a period of five years.  More details on the implementation of OC prices in the 400 MHz band are available.

Changes to fees and charges under cost recovery arrangements

New charges for recovering the costs of the ACMA’s products and services came into effect on 1 July 2012. Further details are available in the Radiocommunications (Charges) Determination 2007.

CPI changes

For 2013, the ACMA is applying a CPI adjustment of 1.2% to all licence taxes except for fixed services operating below 960 MHz in remote density areas.

Apparatus licence fee density area maps

Current spatial boundaries for Spectrum Density areas are available in a format suitable for use in Geographical Information System (GIS) software: Shapefile (ZIP), Placemark (KMZ).

Apparatus licence fee legislation

The following Acts of Parliament and Determinations impact on how the ACMA charges for use of radiofrequency spectrum:

• Radiocommunications Act 1992
• Radiocommunications (Receiver Licence Tax) Act 1983
• Radiocommunications (Receiver Licence Tax) Determination 2003 (No. 2)
• Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Act 1983
• Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Determination 2003 (No. 2)
• Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Apparatus Licence) Determination 2003
• Radiocommunications (Transmitter and Receiver Licences) Determination
• Radiocommunications (Interpretation) Determination 2000
• Radiocommunications Taxes Collection Act 1983
• Radiocommunications Taxes Collection Regulations 1985
• Radiocommunications Taxes Collection (Penalties on Unpaid Tax) Determination 1999
• Radiocommunications (Charges) Determination 2007