Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2000 (NO. 2) 2000 NO. 257

STATUTORY RULES 2000 No. 257

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Communications, the Information Technology and the Arts.

Subject       Radiocommunications Act 1992

Radiocommunications Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 2)

Under subsection 314(1) of the Radiocommunications Act 1992 (the Act) the Governor-General may make Regulations prescribing matters required or permitted to be prescribed under the Act or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying our or giving effect to the Act.

On 3 May 2000, the Radiocommunications Legislation Amendment Act 2000 (the Amendment Act), received Royal Assent, amending the Act. These amendments principally related to the regulation of space objects and the means by which radiocommunications receivers are determined to be radiocommunications devices. Satellites and launch vehicles are examples of space objects.

A number of changes to subordinate legislation were required to support the implementation of the Amendment Act. For example, the following instruments took effect on 8 July 2000:

* Radiocommunications (Australian Space Objects) Determination 2000;

* Radiocommunications (Foreign Space Objects) Determination 2000;

* Radiocommunications (Radiocommunications Receivers) Determination 2000;

* Radiocommunications (Interpretation) Determination 2000; and

* Radiocommunications (Definitions) Determination (Revocation) 2000.

The amendments to the Regulations removed certain provisions that were no longer required and streamline the definitions within another. This was a consequence of the Amendment Act and the subordinate legislation listed above. The amendments are set out below.

Radiocommunications Regulation 3 - Interpretation

The amendment of Regulation 3 removed relevant space related and other definitions that were no longer required (these definitions appear in the Radiocommunications (Interpretation) Determination 2000) and substitute with a new definition for space station.

Radiocommunications Regulation 4 - Australian satellites

Regulation 4 was made obsolete by the Amendment Act and was therefore omitted from the Regulations. The Australian Communications Authority (ACA) is now able to determine space objects through either the:

* Radiocommunications (Australian Space Objects) Determination 2000; or

* Radiocommunications (Foreign Space Objects) Determination 2000.

Previously, section 5 of the Act only provided for the regulation of satellites that were declared to be 'Australian satellites' in the Regulations. When the Amendment Act came into effect, the concept of 'Australian satellite' was removed and the concept of 'space object' introduced. The Act now provides for the regulation of Australian space objects and, in some circumstances, foreign space objects. The Act now includes three new terms :

*       space object means an object (whether artificial or natural) that is beyond, has been beyond or is intended to go beyond the major portion of the Earth's atmosphere, or any part of such an object, even if the part is intended to go only some of the way towards leaving the major portion of the Earth's atmosphere;

*       Australian space object means a space object that the ACA determines in writing to be an Australian space object for the purposes of this Act; and

*       foreign space object means a space object that is not an Australian space object.

The ACA now has the power to determine which space objects are Australian space objects for the purposes of the Act. This power allows the ACA to regulate the radiocommunications activities of Australian space objects in all places at all times. This includes licensing use of spectrum by space stations on Australian satellites or Australian launch vehicles. Previously, this could only be achieved through amendment of the Regulations to determine a satellite or launch vehicle to be an 'Australian satellite'.

The ACA also has the power to determine which foreign space objects should be regulated by the Act. This power allows the ACA to licence use of spectrum by space stations on foreign satellites when those space stations are communicating with places in Australia. Previously, this could only be achieved through amendment of the Regulations to determine foreign satellites to be 'Australian satellites'.

Radiocommunications Regulation 5 - Radiocommunications receivers

Regulation 5 was made obsolete by the Amendment Act and it was therefore omitted from the Regulations. The ACA is now able to determine which radiocommunication devices are radiocommunications receivers through the Radiocommunications (Radiocommunications Receivers) Determination 2000.

Details of the amending regulations are set out in the Attachment. The Office of Regulation Review did not require a Regulation Impact Statement.

The Regulations commenced on gazettal.

Attachment 1

Notes on the Instrument

Radiocommunications Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 2)

Section 1 - Name of Regulations

Section 1 provides that the instrument may be cited as the Radiocommunications Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 2)

Section 2 - Commencement

Section 2 provides that the proposed regulations commence on gazettal.

Section 3 - Amendment of Radiocommunications Regulations 1993

Section 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Radiocommunications Regulations 1993.

Schedule 1 - Amendments

Item 1. Regulation 3, definitions of earth receive station, earth station, multipoint distribution station, multipoint distribution repeater station, multipoint distribution station receiver, space licence, space object and space receive station

This item omits these terms as they are no longer referred to within the Regulations.

Item 2. Regulation 3, definition of space station

This item substitutes a new definition for space station as a radiocommunications transmitter on a space object.

Item 3. Regulations 4 and 5

This item omits Regulations 4 and 5 from the Regulations. The ACA is now able to determine space objects as Australian space objects or foreign space objects under section 5 and paragraph 16(1)(ca) of the Act.