The ACMA updates community radio licence renewal form

If your station is a permanently licensed community broadcaster, you will have to complete a licence renewal every five years.

The Australian Communications Media Authority (ACMA) is the regulator who assess these applications via the B66 form (direct download here). The CBAA has provided advice to the ACMA in regards to making the B66 form easier for particularly smaller stations to complete. The new B66 form is simpler to fill out and its structure has been redesigned to hopefully alleviate some of the time spent and resources needed.

The new application form comes into effect as of 1 July 2017.

Some key things to note

• Applications for the renewal of community radio broadcasting licences must be made one year before the licence is due to expire. This means if your licence expires on the 1 July 2018, the application form is due on the 1 July 2017.
• The form does not apply to licensees that represent Indigenous communities of interest in remote licence areas.

Tips for completing your application

• Complete all questions. Any incomplete fields are likely to delay the assessment of your application.
• Keep a folder on your computer called 'Licence Renewal' and continually save things there like your financial statements that will be good to include in your licence renewal. This will save you a lot of time during the application process.
• Supporting documents should be labelled with reference to the relevant question. For example, a document in support of an answer to Question 7 should be marked Appendix 7.
• Completed forms and documents should be scanned and emailed to [email protected]

Get resources for your application

Not sure where to start with your application or unsure what is needed from your station in the new form? Check out our licence renewal resources.