As the new year begins, radio managers are looking for guidelines on how the new media laws will affect their businesses. ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman has responded to these concerns by writing to all licensees, publishers and major stakeholders with an interest in the broadcasting sector, outlining the first steps ACMA will take to prepare for the new regulatory landscape.

Chapman says the aim is to provide industry with a ‘heads up’ on those issues where ACMA will either be seeking input through consultation processes or where, for statutory reasons, industry will be required to provide information.

“ACMA will continue to be closely engaged with industry players about transactions involving changes to ownership and control of licensed businesses and associated newspapers. We will be doing that in close co-operation with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). In this regard, the ACCC Chairman and I have announced that we intend to share information relating to proposed transactions to the maximum extent possible.”

ACMA has new powers to apply for an injunction to prevent a transaction that is likely to breach the media diversity and 3-way control provisions, which is likely to be one of its main tools for enforcement in 2007. ACMA’s new powers will also enable it to give “remedial directions” to dispose of shares or other divestiture action to rectify contravention of the rules.

The letter also draws industry attention to arrangements associated with the implementation of the ‘Register of Controlled Media Groups,’ viewed by many as being important to the maintenance of media diversity under the new legislative arrangements.

ACMA has released the first two in a series of fact sheets relating to its key priority tasks resulting from the media law reforms and has set up an email service on its website (click below) for interested parties to subscribe for fact sheet updates. The first two in the series are titled ‘Media Reform – Key Concepts’ and ‘Media Reform – Digital TV Standards Development’.

There is still no firm date for the proclamation which will begin the new media laws. “In the period prior to the commencement of the new regulatory framework, ACMA will continue to actively monitor compliance with the current rules and take any necessary action to maintain the integrity of the current arrangements.”

Chapman says ACMA is “aware of a number of reports which claim that some organisations are ‘positioning’ themselves in anticipation of the commencement of the amending legislation.” He will “continue to monitor such reports” and gathering information about potential breaches of the current rules.