Summary

  • ACMA proposes letting accredited people coordinate frequencies and file most short-event FM apparatus-licence applications for clients. ACMA would still make the licensing decision.
  • FM events above 100 W maximum effective radiated power in capital cities and high-density areas would remain on ACMA's direct application route, with a filing deadline at least eight weeks before the event.

An event date will not move because a frequency file is late. That is the administrative problem behind ACMA's October consultation. Special-event FM stations are usually licensed for no more than 30 days. ACMA says it currently handles broadcast assignments internally and orders these applications by event date, rather than by the arrival date used for many other broadcast files. The agency is already managing a queue around immovable openings.

Its proposed answer is to let accredited people do the frequency-assignment and coordination work, then submit the apparatus-licence application on behalf of the prospective operator. The consultation paper predicts a faster turnaround and possibly lower charges because an accredited specialist would complete work now done by ACMA staff. Those gains are a forecast. The licence would still be issued by ACMA, not by the engineer who prepares the file.

The division of labour becomes sharp at 100 W. In capital cities and other high-density areas, an FM special-event transmitter whose maximum effective radiated power exceeds that level would initially stay outside the proposed accredited-person route. Its applicant must still go directly to ACMA, using the existing B12 form at least eight weeks before the planned start. The authority proposes reviewing that exclusion twelve months after the new arrangement begins. It has chosen to test the handoff on less demanding files first and keep the louder city cases close.

The draft RALI BS01 is engineering work, not a rubber stamp. It mainly covers event FM in 88–108 MHz and specified VHF Band I frequencies for subscription receivers at sports events. The accredited person would select a channel and power, assess the intended coverage, and calculate interference both into and out of the proposed service. Outside its standard parameters, a file goes back to ACMA. The draft's FM channel spacing is 200 kHz; the engineer has to find a usable place in an already occupied dial.

This is a proposal, with comments due 13 November 2026. ACMA aims to begin early in 2027 and assess the arrangement after twelve months. The useful test will be dated applications and issued licences: whether ordinary event files reach the finish line earlier, whether accredited fees actually help applicants, and whether the high-power city queue still needs eight weeks. A festival can hire an engineer. It cannot hire a different opening night.