A number of further regulatory changes are likely to occur or be considered by Government in 2017. Changes to watch out for include:

  • Spectrum is a key enabler of communications infrastructure. In 2015, the Government agreed to implement the recommendations of the Spectrum Review undertaken by the Department of Communications and the Arts, which concluded that Australia's legislative framework for managing spectrum is outdated and needs to be replaced. Implementation of the review's recommendations will require a wholesale re-write of Australia's Radiocommunications Act 1992. Although the Department undertook consultation on legislative proposals in early 2016 to inform the development of an exposure draft of a new Radiocommunications Bill, that exposure draft has not yet been released for comment.
  • The submission period for the Government's review of the operation of section 280 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 recently closed. This review was recommended by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security as a result of its consideration of the introduction of the mandatory data retention regime in 2014. Section 280 will, from 13 April 2017, prohibit use of data retained solely for the purposes of the data retention scheme in the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth) in civil proceedings. If, following this consultation, the Government determines to allow access to this data for the purposes of particular types of civil proceedings, then these exclusions are able to be implemented by regulation.
  • And, from left field, recent media reports suggest that the Nick Xenophon is proposing that, to support traditional media companies such as news organisations, publishers and TV networks, those media companies be given the right – presumably in legislation – to charge Facebook and Google for publishing their articles and video content. Whether such a scheme would be supported by the Government remains to be seen.

This publication does not deal with every important topic or change in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you have found this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances please contact one of the named individuals listed.