Review of non-assigned amateur and outpost regulatory arrangements – consultation 01/2021

The ACMA has concluded its review of non-assigned amateur and outpost regulatory arrangements.

On 7 December 2023, we made the Radiocommunications (Amateur Stations) Class Licence 2023.

The amateur class licence will commence on 19 February 2024, at the same time as the commencement of the proposed new amateur radio qualification framework and new assessor accreditations.

From this date, all current and future amateur operators will be able to operate under the class licence as long as they meet the licence conditions. This applies even if they hold a non-assigned amateur licence.

Under the amateur class licence, amateur operators will not hold individual licences and will not need to pay licence application and renewal fees. 

For most amateur operators, no action is needed in the transition to the new arrangements. 

View more information about the transitional arrangements.

Following extensive public consultation (see Outcome No.1) on the review, we considered stakeholder feedback received in submissions and released our response to submissions. In it, we indicated that we would address the issues and concerns expressed in submissions and would proceed with the implementation of a class licence, and also outlined operational issues that we would further investigate and explore.

We are now consulting on updates to the proposed amateur class licensing arrangements as well as on our proposal for a staged implementation of higher power authorisation.

Details of this consultation, including the consultation paper, can be found at IFC 31/2022 ­– Updates to the proposed amateur class licensing arrangements.

Proposed class licence

We present an updated class licence – the draft Radiocommunications (Amateur Stations) Class Licence 2022 (the proposed class licence) – that incorporates changes suggested by representative bodies, amateur radio clubs and individual amateurs during the initial consultation on our review of non-assigned amateur licensing arrangements.

Key updates to the proposed class licence have been made to the conditions about electromagnetic energy (EME) requirements, reciprocal arrangements for overseas amateurs visiting Australia and access to the 50–52 MHz frequency band for Standard amateur licensees.

Subject to the outcomes of this consultation and the implementation of operational arrangements to support the proposed class licence, we intend to implement the proposed class licensing arrangements from 1 July 2023. We will keep amateur licensees updated on our progress before the class licence is made and comes into legal effect. We will provide advice on any actions required by amateurs, including requests for surrender of licences and refunds, where appropriate.

Operational policies and processes

The consultation paper also discusses our view on how matters related to operational policy and processes will support the class licence. These include call sign administration, public register options, amateur operating procedures, international reciprocity for Advanced amateurs travelling overseas and arrangements for amateur clubs.

On 7 April 2022, we made the Radiocommunications (Outpost Stations) Class Licence 2022. No changes were made to the instrument following consultation. The class licence is available on the Federal Register of Legislation.

The class licence is set to commence on 31 May 2022. From this date, all current and future outpost station users will be able to operate under the class licence as long as they meet the licence conditions. This applies even if they hold a non-assigned apparatus licence.

Base stations operated by the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) will not be authorised under the class licence.

Under the class licence, outpost station users will not hold individual licences and will not need to pay licence application and renewal fees. The conditions in the class licence are the same as individual licences.

Operators will no longer be given a call sign and will have the flexibility to use any form of station identification. This may include:

• the operator’s name
• SelCall number
• vehicle registration number
• physical location
• a callsign issued previously with an individual licence.

The Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Outpost Licence) Determination 2015 (outpost LCD) will expire on 1 October 2025. Non-assigned outpost licensees may surrender their licences before this time. Licensees may be eligible for a refund upon surrender of their licence.

Because the minimum amount that can be refunded is $30, only licensees with at least 267 days left on their licence, from the date the ACMA accepts the surrender, will be eligible for a refund. You can find more information on our website. Licensees may also continue to operate under their apparatus licence until the outpost LCD expires.

We will continue to issue apparatus licences for Royal Flying Doctor Station outpost stations. Licence conditions set out in the outpost LCD that are specific to RFDS outpost stations will be added to the relevant individual RFDS licence.

We will contact licensees individually to inform them of:

• their options
• how we will transition to the class licensing arrangements for non-assigned stations.

The ACMA received over 800 submissions (several made in confidence) in response to the amateur consultation paper and one submission in response to the outpost consultation paper.

We thank the many submitters for their contributions. You can view the public submissions at the bottom of this page.

After reviewing the consultation submissions, we have decided to proceed with implementing the proposed class-licensing arrangements for non-assigned amateur and outpost stations.

The transition to class-licensing arrangements will occur over time. We will continue to engage with the amateur and outpost communities and provide regular updates on implementation activities required to support the transition. 

Amateur consultation

Most submitters were opposed to the proposed amateur class-licensing arrangements. This is based on a view that their operational utility will be diluted through the loss of an individual apparatus licence. Their concerns relate to interference protection arrangements, call sign management, removal of amateur licensees from the public register and international reciprocity. 

However, the majority of submitters indicated that they would be willing to support a future class licence if the ACMA made changes that would address the concerns set out in the submission made by the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA). These submissions (over 70% of all submissions) were lodged as pro forma submissions supporting the WIA’s submission.

A summary of the key issues, concerns and recommendations raised during the amateur consultation and the ACMA’s response to each, is set out in the Response to submissions: Review of amateur licensing arrangements paper in the key documents section above.

The ACMA’s response clarifies the practical outcomes of class licensing, including how we will preserve operational utility, maintain current interference protections, and manage interference issues between amateurs. The paper also addresses the key modifications that we intend on making to improve the class licence.

We believe that most of the comments and recommendations proposed by submitters offer practical benefits that will enhance the proposed class-licensing arrangements.  

We will continue to work on incorporating these changes into the amateur class licence and will update the amateur community regularly as we finalise our position on these matters.   

Submitters also made many other comments and suggestions for improvements to the class licence, which are not discussed in the response to submissions paper. We will consider these comments as we develop our proposed class licence.

Outpost consultation

The submitter to the outpost consultation requested that call signs should continue to be used to identify outpost stations. Identification of outpost stations was the key proposed change we sought feedback on, as part of the proposed outpost class-licensing arrangements.

Our preference is to implement the proposed outpost class licence as consulted on, which allows a station or operator to be identified through any reasonable means, rather than just a call sign.

Submissions

The majority of submitters to the amateur consultation lodged one of several templates or ‘pro forma’ documents. Where we received unique submissions, or submissions on behalf of club members, we have published these. We have also provided a sample of each pro forma submission, along with the number of submitters who lodged that pro forma in the submissions folder below.

As part of the ACMA’s Five-year spectrum outlook 2020–24, we have reviewed the regulatory arrangements for operating non-assigned amateur and outpost stations.

Our aim was to find the best licensing mechanism to reduce regulatory burden and minimise costs for licensees, while also keeping the current benefits and uses.

We have identified a set of options. We could either:

• keep the existing apparatus licensing arrangements and conditions
• simplify the existing licensing arrangements and conditions
• transition non-assigned stations to class licensing arrangements, while keeping apparatus licensing arrangements for assigned stations.

Our preferred approach is to authorise the operation of non-assigned amateur and outpost stations under a class licence. We have prepared for consultation a draft class licence for each type of station that would be part of our approach.