Codes of Practice - Code 6: Sponsorship

The Community Radio Codes of Practice (the Codes) set out the guiding principles and policies for programming on community broadcasting stations. They also outline the operational standards for stations that hold a community broadcasting licence.

Purpose: To complement the licence condition in the Act relating to sponsorship announcements

1. We will have in place a written sponsorship policy that reflects the licence condition in the Act. This includes:
   
   1. broadcasting no more than five minutes of sponsorship announcements in one hour, and
   2. tagging each announcement to acknowledge the financial and/or in-kind support of the sponsor.
2. Sponsorship will not be a factor in deciding who can access broadcasting time.
3. We will make sure editorial decisions affecting the content and style of individual programs are not influenced by program or station sponsors.
4. We will ensure that editorial decisions affecting the content and style of overall station programming are not influenced by program or station sponsors.
5. The general programming guidelines in Code 3 also apply to sponsorship announcements.

References:

• Codes of Practice - Appendix 7: Sponsorship Policy Example
• ACMA Community broadcasting sponsorship guidelines (PDF)

Sponsorship Policy Example  

The purpose of this policy template is to ensure compliance with the Broadcasting Services Act and the Community Radio Broadcasting Codes Of Practice. This template is includes in the appendices attached to the Codes. It is for guidance only and does not form part of the Codes. However, community broadcasting stations are encouraged to download the template Sponsorship Policy.pdf and adapt to their own needs.