Australians listen to the radio to be entertained and informed and to keep up with developments in emergencies. We advise the Australian Government on how to ensure all Australians can access radio.
The vast majority of Australians can listen to radio programs from the national broadcasters—the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS).
Commercial radio is a free-to-air service. Commercial radio programs must comply with conditions in the station’s licence, ACMA program standards, and industry codes of practice.
There are over 450 licensed community radio stations in Australia. They operate under community radio licences, following the rules in the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.
Digital radio services have commenced in some parts of Australia, where they operate alongside existing analogue AM and FM radio services. While digital radio technology offers higher audio quality and more services, it does not always achieve the same coverage as AM radio services. Unlike television, there are no plans to switchover to digital-only radio.
The Australian Government is continuing with its reform program to modernise media regulations.
APG23-6 is the APT Preparatory Group for the World Radiocommunication Conference WRC-23.
The $50 million Public Interest News Gathering Program 2020 grant round is now open.
