Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

BROADCASTING SERVICES ACT 1992 - SECT 4

             (1)  The Parliament intends that different levels of regulatory control be applied across the range of broadcasting services, datacasting services and internet services according to the degree of influence that different types of broadcasting services, datacasting services and internet services are able to exert in shaping community views in Australia.

             (2)  The Parliament also intends that broadcasting services and datacasting services in Australia be regulated in a manner that, in the opinion of the ACMA:

                     (a)  enables public interest considerations to be addressed in a way that does not impose unnecessary financial and administrative burdens on providers of broadcasting services and datacasting services; and

                     (b)  will readily accommodate technological change; and

                     (c)  encourages:

                              (i)  the development of broadcasting technologies and datacasting technologies, and their application; and

                             (ii)  the provision of services made practicable by those technologies to the Australian community.

             (3)  The Parliament also intends that internet carriage services supplied to end-users in Australia, be regulated in a manner that:

                     (a)  enables public interest considerations to be addressed in a way that does not impose unnecessary financial and administrative burdens on internet service providers; and

                     (b)  will readily accommodate technological change; and

                     (c)  encourages:

                              (i)  the development of internet technologies and their application; and

                             (ii)  the provision of services made practicable by those technologies to the Australian community; and

                            (iii)  the supply of internet carriage services at performance standards that reasonably meet the social, industrial and commercial needs of the Australian community.

       (3AA)  The Parliament also intends that designated content/hosting services be regulated in a manner that:

                     (a)  enables public interest considerations to be addressed in a way that does not impose unnecessary financial and administrative burdens on the providers of those services; and

                     (b)  will readily accommodate technological change; and

                     (c)  encourages:

                              (i)  the development of communications technologies and their application; and

                             (ii)  the provision of services made practicable by those technologies to the Australian community.

          (3A)  This section does not apply to Part 8B (which deals with international broadcasting services).

             (4)  In this section:

"designated content/hosting service" has the same meaning as in Schedule 7.

"internet carriage service" has the same meaning as in Schedule 5.

"internet content" has the same meaning as in Schedule 5.

"internet service provider" has the same meaning as in Schedule 5.