Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION ACT 1983 - SECT 79A

             (1)  Subject to this Act, the Corporation may determine to what extent and in what manner political matter or controversial matter will be broadcast by the Corporation.

             (2)  If the Corporation broadcasts political matter at the request of another person, the Corporation must, immediately afterwards:

                     (a)  if the matter was broadcast by radio--cause the required particulars in relation to the matter to be announced; or

                     (b)  if the matter was televised:

                              (i)  cause the required particulars in relation to the matter (other than the particulars referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition of required particulars in subsection (5)) to be announced; and

                             (ii)  cause all the required particulars in relation to the matter to be transmitted in the form of images of words.

             (3)  The Corporation must, in relation to political matter broadcast at the request of another person, keep a record of the name, address and occupation of the person or, if the person is a company, the name and the address of the principal office of the person, for the required period and must give to the ACMA any particulars of the record that the ACMA, by written notice, requires.

             (4)  For the purposes of this section, a person authorises the broadcasting of political matter only if the person is responsible for approval of the content of the political matter and the decision to present it for broadcasting.

             (5)  In this section:

"election" means an election to a Parliament or a local government authority of a State or Territory.

"election period" means:

                     (a)  in relation to an election to the Legislative Council of Tasmania, or an ordinary election to the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory--the period that starts 33 days before the polling day for the election and ends at the close of the poll on that day; and

                     (b)  in relation to any other election to a Parliament--the period that starts on:

                              (i)  the day on which the proposed polling day for the election is publicly announced; or

                             (ii)  the day on which the writs for the election are issued;

                            whichever happens first, and ends at the close of the poll on the polling day for the election; and

                     (c)  in relation to an election to a local government authority--the period that starts 33 days before the polling day for the election and ends at the close of the poll on that day; and

                     (d)  in relation to a referendum whose voting day is the same as the polling day for an election to the Parliament of the Commonwealth--the election period in relation to that election; and

                     (e)  in relation to any other referendum--the period that starts 33 days before the voting day for the referendum and ends at the close of voting on that day.

"Parliament" means:

                     (a)  the Parliament of the Commonwealth; or

                     (b)  a State Parliament; or

                     (c)  the legislature of a Territory.

"person" includes a political party, a corporation and any other association (whether incorporated or unincorporated).

"political matter" means any political matter, including the policy launch of a political party.

"referendum" means the submission to the electors of a proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution, whether or not the proposal to make the submission has been announced.

"required particulars" , in relation to a political matter that is broadcast, means:

                     (a)  if the broadcasting was authorised by a political party:

                              (i)  the name of the political party; and

                             (ii)  the town, city or suburb in which the principal office of the political party is situated; and

                            (iii)  the name of the natural person responsible for giving effect to the authorisation; and

                     (b)  if the broadcasting of the political matter was authorised by a person other than a political party:

                              (i)  the name of the person who authorised the broadcasting of the political matter; and

                             (ii)  the town, city or suburb in which the person lives or, if the person is a corporation or association, in which the principal office of the person is situated; and

                     (c)  the name of every speaker who, either in person or by means of a sound recording device, delivers an address or makes a statement that forms part of that matter.

"required period" , in relation to the keeping of a record in relation to political matter, means the period of 2 years commencing on the day on which the matter was broadcast.