How do I find out who owns a particular TV or radio station?

In Plain English

To find out who owns a TV or radio station, you can check the Register of Foreign Owners of Media Assets maintained by the ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority). This register lists foreign stakeholders who have a 2.5% or greater company interest in Australian media companies, including those that hold commercial TV or radio broadcasting licenses, or publish associated newspapers. You can find this register online. Also, the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 Schedule 1 outlines how to determine who is in a position to exercise control of a commercial television broadcasting licenses or commercial radio broadcasting licenses.

Detailed Explanation

The Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Foreign Media Ownership, Community Radio and Other Measures) Act 2018 amended the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to include Division 10A, which mandates the ACMA to maintain a Register of Foreign Owners of Media Assets (section 74D).

This register must include information about foreign stakeholders in Australian media companies (section 74E). According to section 74B, an "Australian media company" includes:

• A company that holds a commercial television broadcasting licence.
• A company that holds a commercial radio broadcasting licence.
• A company that publishes a newspaper associated with a commercial television or radio broadcasting licence area and is a constitutional corporation.

A "foreign stakeholder" is defined in section 74C as a foreign person with a company interest of 2.5% or more in an Australian media company.

The register must contain specific information about each foreign stakeholder, including their name, company interests, the method used to determine those interests, the reason they are considered a foreign person, and designated information such as country of residence or formation (section 74E). The register is maintained electronically and made available for inspection on the internet (section 74D).

In addition, Schedule 1 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 provides a means of finding out who is in a position to exercise control of commercial television broadcasting licenses, commercial radio broadcasting licenses, subscription television broadcasting licenses, international broadcasting licenses, newspapers and companies and a means of tracing company interests. A person who has company interests exceeding 15% in a company is regarded as being in a position to control the company.