NSW Government Bulletin - 11 March 2015

In this edition, we look at the important High Court of Australia decision of Australian Communications and Media Authority v Today FM (Sydney) Pty Ltd [2015] HCA 7, which was handed down on 4 March 2015.

The case related to a determination by the ACMA in an investigation report that Today FM, a commercial radio broadcasting licensee, had breached the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) (the SDA) by recording and broadcasting the now-infamous 'royal prank call' to King Edward VII Hospital in London, and thereby also breached a standard condition of its commercial radio broadcasting licence under clause 8(1)(g) of Schedule 2 (the clause 8(1)(g) licence condition) to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth) (the BSA). That condition provides that 'the licensee will not use the broadcasting service in the commission of an offence against another Act or a law of a State or Territory'.