Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) For the purposes of this Act, a company is the digital community radio broadcasting representative company for a particular designated BSA radio area if:
(a) the company is a qualified company; and
(b) the incumbent digital community radio broadcasting licensees for the designated BSA radio area have given the ACMA a joint written notice electing that this paragraph apply to the company; and
(c) before the company was formed, the promoters of the company invited each incumbent digital community radio broadcasting licensee for the area to subscribe for shares in the company on the basis that:
(i) the incumbent digital community radio broadcasting licensees who accepted the invitation would be issued with an equal number of shares; and
(ii) no other persons would be entitled to subscribe for shares in the company; and
(d) the invitations referred to in paragraph (c) were published on the ACMA's website; and
(da) the invitations referred to in paragraph (c) were open for whichever of the following periods is applicable:
(i) a period of at least 60 days;
(ii) if all the invitees responded to the invitations within the period mentioned in subparagraph (i)--the period that began at the start of the period mentioned in subparagraph (i) and ended on the last occasion on which the promoters received such a response; and
(e) there was no discrimination between subscribers for shares in the company in relation to the consideration payable for the issue of the shares concerned; and
(f) the total amount of money payable as consideration for the issue of the shares in the company is not substantially in excess of the total amount that, as at the time the invitations referred to in paragraph (c) are published, would be required for the viable operation of the company; and
(g) none of the recipients of an invitation referred to in paragraph (c) were subject to duress as to whether the invitation should be accepted; and
(h) the company has a constitution; and
(i) the company's constitution provides that a person is not eligible to hold a share in the company unless the person is a digital community radio broadcasting licensee whose BSA licence area is the same as the designated BSA radio area; and
(j) the company's constitution provides that, if:
(i) a digital community radio broadcasting licence is allocated to a person under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 after the commencement of this section; and
(ii) the BSA licence area of the digital community radio broadcasting licence is the same as the designated BSA radio area;
the company must:
(iii) within 30 days after the allocation of the digital community radio broadcasting licence, offer to issue shares in the company to the holder of the digital community radio broadcasting licence, where the number of shares offered equals the number of shares already held by a particular digital community radio broadcasting licensee; and
(iv) keep the offer open for at least 90 days; and
(v) ensure that, if the offer is accepted, the amount of money payable as consideration for the issue of the shares is not substantially in excess of the amount that was payable by an incumbent digital community radio broadcasting licensee who subscribed for shares in the company in response to an invitation referred to in paragraph (c); and
(k) the company's constitution provides that the purposes of the company are:
(i) holding shares in one or more companies that hold, have applied for, or propose to apply for, category 1 digital radio multiplex transmitter licences, or category 2 digital radio multiplex transmitter licences, for the designated BSA radio area; and
(ii) exercising the powers conferred by this Act on a digital community radio broadcasting representative company; and
(iii) carrying out activities incidental to the purposes mentioned in subparagraphs (i) and (ii); and
(l) the company complies with such other conditions (if any) as are specified in the regulations.
Note: See also section 8AD of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 , which deals with deemed radio broadcasting licence areas.
(2) For the purposes of the application of paragraph (1)(i) and subparagraph (1)(j)(iii) before the digital radio start - up day for the designated BSA radio area, digital community radio broadcasting licensee includes an incumbent digital community radio broadcasting licensee.
(3) An election under paragraph (1)(b) given in relation to a particular designated BSA radio area has no effect if an election under that paragraph has been previously given in relation to that area.
(4) An election under paragraph (1)(b) is irrevocable.
(5) The promoters of a company may request the ACMA to publish on its website the invitations referred to in paragraph (1)(c).
(6) The ACMA must comply with a request under subsection (5) if the ACMA is satisfied that the request was made in good faith.