Informational

Close up of ice cubes in a refreshing cola drink, against a black background.

Introduction

My website has been fully refreshed to reflect the changes made by the ACMA to the Amateur Class Licence 2024. The AMC is no longer responsible for conducting and marking Amateur Radio licence exams on behalf of the ACMA.

This has been brought back inhouse and the current group of volunteers recruited to continue their good work directly under the ACMA charter. We are now once again examiners, so we provide candidates with their results on the day. In most cases  licences are being issued within 24 hrs of the examiner uploading the results.

New rules

Most changes are fairly subtle however the major changes relate to the class licence. Amateur radio activities are authorised under the Amateur Class Licence and the Amateur LCD for beacon and repeater stations.

There have been subtle changes to the wording in the above documents:

  • Correct station identification is required at the beginning of a transmission and at least every 10 minutes during transmissions.
  • You must not transmit a message on behalf of a non-amateur (third-party traffic) unless the message relates to a disaster.
  • An operator should notify the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) of any change of contact details.
  • The ACMA has the power to request information from an amateur, including evidence of their qualification.

Changes explained

The first change says that callsigns are required at the start and end of each transmission. Previously this was not required for a series of transmissions that fell within a 10-minute period.

The second change; under a class licence you are not permitted to pass third-party traffic unless the messages relate to a disaster. The apparatus licence permitted the transmission of third-party traffic.

Change number three relates to the old rule that required an amateur station to advise the ACMA of a change of address. This is no longer a requirement of the Class Licence. The ACMA would like you to update your contact details if they change, but it is not required.

The last change relates to the rule that allowed the ACMA to request a copy of your licence. This is no longer the case; however, the ACMA can now request information from an amateur, including evidence of their qualification.

An example

A recent question on a Regulations examination was as follows:

Q21 Under the Radiocommunications (Amateur Stations) Class Licence 2023, amateur
operators are:
a. Required to lodge the new station address with the local radio club.
b. Required to notify the change of address to the callbook committee.
c. Not required to notify the ACMA of any change of address.
d. Required to notify the Australian Media and Communications committee.

The official answer is c.

My website has been fully refreshed so I hope this post provides some insights into the changes and helps clarify some of the current regulations.

73 Peter VK3PH