Fees 2023–24

The consultation closed on 7 July 2023 and proposed no changes to the ACMA hourly rates or charges implemented on 1 October 2022. Following this, we consulted again from 29 August to 26 September 2023 on proposed changes to the amateur radio framework and area-wide receive licence (AWRL) applications.

On 17 November 2023, the Minister for Communications approved the Cost Recovery Implementation Statement: Fees for radiocommunications, telecommunications and broadcasting services, budget year 2023–24 (the Fees CRIS). 

After considering submissions received to this and the amateur radio assessor accreditation and qualification framework consultation, the ACMA has:

• introduced several new charges to enable the ACMA to charge, on a cost recovery basis, for providing amateur radio call sign and qualifications services
• imposed only one charge to apply for recognition of prior learning under the Radiocommunications (Amateur Stations) Class Licence 2023 (the Amateur Stations Class Licence), because the ACMA will recognise the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunication Administrations (CEPT) Harmonised Amateur Radio Examination Certificates (HAREC) licences as equivalent to the ACMA recognition certificate (Advanced) 
• imposed a charge for applications for contest call signs assigned under the Amateur Stations Class Licence, for clarity
• has not imposed a charge for assigning a replacement call sign under the Amateur Stations Class Licence
• introduced charges in relation to area‑wide receive licences and made consequential amendments to the existing charges for area-wide licences, as originally proposed. 

Responses to the submissions are available at Appendix B of the Fees CRIS.

We are Australia's regulator for broadcasting, radiocommunications, telecommunications and interactive gambling, among other functions. As an Australian Government agency, we are required to define and implement, where feasible, charges for recovering the costs of its products and services, in accordance with the Australian Government Charging Framework (Charging Framework).

The Charging Framework provides the overarching framework for government entities to plan, implement and review their charging activities. As part of the Charging Framework, agencies that undertake cost recovery activities are required to periodically update their fees to reflect current costs.

During 2019 and 2020, we conducted a comprehensive review of all existing fees for radiocommunications, telecommunications and broadcasting services. As a result of the review, several existing fees were replaced with a reduced number of fees specified in separate legislative instruments. The reduction in the total number of fees was due to several factors, including the removal of fees that were obsolete or no longer required, the application of a flat fee for those services with similar business processes, and the consolidation of fees for services with the same underlying business processes for better transparency.

As the new fees only came into effect on 1 October 2022, we undertook a limited review in the 2022–23 financial year to ensure the ACMA’s current hourly rates continue to reflect the costs of the ACMA. As set out in section 3.2.1 of the draft 2023–24 Fees CRIS, there are separate hourly rates applicable for activities in relation to testing of radiocommunications devices and radiocommunications field operations and interference investigations.

The methodology for the calculation of the majority of fees is based on the ACMA’s hourly rate for services, multiplied by the estimated time taken to conduct the activity. The hourly rate used for the 2022–23 fee review was based on the net cost of services, which represented the actual costs incurred by the ACMA in executing its functions and activities for the 2020–21 financial year.

As there were no significant changes to the ACMA’s organisational and cost structures in 2021–22, no changes are proposed to the fees implemented on 1 October 2022. We have updated the draft 2023–24 Fees CRIS to reflect the ACMA’s financial and non-financial performance information, and a list of the current fees is set out in Attachment A of the draft Fees CRIS.

Submissions will be published after this consultation has closed. Read more about publication of submissions.