Compliance- Licence renewal
Your licence renewal.
Apart from programming, no other aspect of a community radio station is examined more closely at licence renewal time than the area of governance and community participation. Take a look at ACMA Form B66, you will see that section 2 and most of section 4 of the licence renewal form are devoted to these topics. As well as the Codes of Practice there is company law (which varies from state to state) which governs this area.
Company law especially applies when you are considering issues such as the articles of association or the constitution of the organisation. These will usually spell out the procedures you need to follow in regards to issues such as membership records, membership renewal, the calling of meetings, quorums, elections, etc.
There is usually someone at the station who likes to quote the Constitution at meetings, so maybe you should put them on your list of people to consult on this issue!
You need to get a copy of the station’s Constitution and draft questions for your compliance plan which reflect the standards it sets out. Questions might include: Are membership forms complying with requirements? Is the correct procedure being followed to accept new members or renew old ones? Are the membership forms adequate? Are there enough members to reflect the community being served? Is everyone involved in the station a member?
The licence renewal process looks closely at the station’s relationship with the community and the level of involvement the community has in the station directly, particularly in its management. The Codes of Practice also has as its first code the issue of “Responsibilities of Broadcasting to the Community: Principles Of Democracy, Diversity And Independence”.
Together they require stations to:
1.1 Have policies and procedures in place, relating to the licensee’s community of interest, which ensure access and equity and encourage participation by those not adequately served by other media.
In the first instance this requires the station to keep up-to-date with information about this community of interest. The licence renewal application asks radio stations to: “Please provide detailed information about how the licensee identifies and monitors the needs of the community it serves”.
Perhaps some questions for your compliance plan are: How does the station keep up with data collected on its community of interest? Does it check Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures for the station’s local area? Does it hold meetings with local council or other local stakeholders? Has it used any reports about the local area or about community broadcasting’s audiences? What measures has the station taken to ensure that no one is discriminated against if they want to get involved? Is there wheelchair access to the station? Is the station safe at night? Is enough time allocated for languages other than English so that ethnic people in your community can get involved?
The Code also calls for stations to:
1.3 Have organisational mechanisms to provide for active participation by the licensee’s community in its management, development and operations.
This would be reflected in perhaps the station’s committee structures and procedures around decision-making. You might find that the station has policies covering most of the work of its committees, but no procedures. Procedural documents are simple step-by-step instructions for committees and workers to follow which regulate decision-making. For example, the station may have a programming policy, but does it have procedure for deciding who gets a program. You also need to develop a process for people to be able to appeal against a decision.
By documenting processes, you are not only ensuring that decisions are being made according to standards set by the station but also making sure that the democratic rights of individuals are being respected and that the process is transparent. Remember you are not being asked in your compliance plan to develop all the policies and procedures which are needed; you just need to identify what is missing.
Other ways you may demonstrate how the community is involved in the management, development and operation of the station is the number of members the organisation has, working parties and projects, strategic planning and even self-assessment processes.
It is worth keeping in mind that by involving people in decision making around the self-assessment, you are asking them to have input into the development and management at the station. Always remember, with every activity in the station you need to invite people to participate through notices, meetings and person to person. While some stations claim their board meetings are open for anyone to attend, this is meaningless if no one is ever told when the meetings are held. A simple question to ask is: Are people kept informed about meetings, working groups and other activities in the station?
Most community radio stations go through phases of years of great participation from the community. Usually after a few years, key people move on and community participation does not happen so easily. The station needs to be mindful of maintaining good relationships with stakeholders in the community who will ensure that people keep coming through the door. The station also has to be mindful of creating a structure where those people can do more than just broadcast; they need to be genuinely part of the station.
Anyone who has been through a recent (since 2002) licence renewal process will know that it is rigorous and involved. It is certainly not something which any station should leave until the last moment. In many ways it is the ultimate test of the station’s compliance status and you will be required to provide evidence to support your claims regarding just about every aspect of the station.
The licence renewal process needs to be taken seriously. A quick glance at Form ACMA B66 and a visit to the ACMA website will you give you some idea of the work involved.
When renewing community broadcasting licences, ACMA can now take into account the same matters it had regard to under section 84(2) of the Broadcasting Services Act in deciding whether to allocate a licence. This means that the same criteria which applied to licence applications now apply to all licence renewals. This section states that:
In deciding whether to allocate a community broadcasting licence that is a broadcasting services band licence to an applicant or to a group of applicants, the Authority is to have regard to:
a. the extent to which the proposed service would meet the existing and perceived future needs of the community within the licence area of the proposed licence
b. the nature and diversity of the interests of that community
c. the nature and diversity of other broadcasting services (including national broadcasting services) available within that licence area
d. the capacity of the applicant to provide the proposed service
e. the undesirability of one person being in a position to exercise control of more than one community broadcasting licence that is a broadcasting services bands licence in the same licence area
f. the undesirability of the commonwealth, a state or a territory or a political party being in a position to exercise control of a community broadcasting licence
ACMA will be able to refuse to renew a community licence where the applicant no longer meets the criteria set out in section 84(2). ACMA will also look closely at how the station has addressed the Community Radio Codes of Practice, so it pays to have a close look yourself before the licence renewal is due.
A licencee must lodge their renewal application (Form ACMA B66) 12 months before their licence is due to expire. Please note that a failure by a licencee to lodge their renewal application on time may be considered by ACMA as suggesting a lack of management capacity to provide the community broadcasting service (Form ACMA B66).
It is worth considering the benefits of carrying out a thorough self-assessment of your station well before your licence renewal is due.
If you carry out a self-assessment and produce a report for the Board 12-18 months before licence renewal, you will find the renewal process a lot easier to complete. Doing the assessment a year before the renewal will allow you to improve your processes and procedures and address any compliance issues. If you track your improvements, the station will also be able to submit your work as evidence that the station is aware of its obligations and has established a system of monitoring its own activities, i.e. self-regulation.
Once you can see the benefits of self-assessment in this process, you just need to convince everyone else to engage in a continuous improvement process where you address compliance issues in an ongoing way.
© CMTOVersion 1.0 August 2017Page 1 of 4
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