Election 2025: Policy recommendations for community broadcasting 

Community broadcasters have issued the following policy blueprint for all political parties and candidates contesting the 2025 Federal Election.

Australia’s media landscape is becoming more influenced by global, online and unregulated forms of media content. Australian media ownership is becoming more concentrated and centralised, with most outlets headquartered and staffed in Australia’s east coast capital cities. In this context, Australian Government support is vital to strengthen over 500 independent, locally-embedded, democratic, community-controlled radio and television services across Australia.

For Australia’s remote and regional areas, and communities that speak languages other than English, having locally-produced news, information and entertainment that brings together local communities is especially important. Australian communities value their community radio and television broadcasting services. Over 18,000 Australians volunteer for community stations, over 5 million Australians tune in each week and over 2/3 of station income is raised through community sources: in 2023, community broadcasters raised $84.7m from community sources including listener fundraising, memberships and subscriptions, donations and grants from community groups and local business and other sponsors.

Australia has a proud, bi-partisan history of providing Government support for community broadcasting activities. These services provide for community voice in the media and give all Australians choice about the media they listen to beyond the ABC, SBS and commercial services. Government funding for community broadcasting contributes 7% of revenue for community broadcasters.

2025 Election priorities for community broadcasting are as follows: 

1. Secure and reliable funding 

All Federal Government programs of support for community broadcasting are secured with ongoing and indexed funding that provides security and certainty for all community broadcasting organisations.

1. Investing in our Independence 

All Federal Government funding for community broadcasting is delivered through independent, sector-governed and transparent grant allocation processes managed at arms-length from Government.

1. New support to tackle misinformation, emergencies and support Australian music 

New, additional funding is considered to enable community broadcasters to play a bigger role addressing key areas of concern for communities including: 

• playing an enhanced role in providing hyperlocal emergency broadcasting services by developing sector capability, technology and facilities;
• addressing misinformation and disinformation by assisting community broadcasters to diversify their services to be available online, on-demand and through social media platforms; and
• supporting diverse local Australian music and arts industry development through project funding for stations that are integral to the success of their local arts scene. 

 

1. More efficient regulation  

Legislative and regulatory reforms to enhance community broadcasting sustainability should be delivered in the first year of a new parliament, responding to the Department’s 2025 Community Broadcasting Sustainability Review. Proposed reforms should: 

• increase flexibility for community broadcasting income development and maintain community broadcasters’ independence and focus on serving the community; 
• expand diverse community broadcasting services for contemporary Australian communities;
• cut red tape and reduce the regulatory burden for community broadcasters related to both licencing processes and broadcasting operations;
• deliver a legislated radio prominence framework that ensures Australian licenced radio broadcasting services remain freely and easily accessible for all Australians on modern audio devices, including internet-connected vehicles and smart speakers; and
• ensure the future of community television by bringing its broadcast video on demand service within the legislated television prominence framework through Ministerial determination. 

 

Community broadcasting funding  

In the current term, the Government has taken significant steps to secure funding for community broadcasting: 

1. Funding programs have been reviewed and options tabled to increase the sector’s impact. 

1. The base funding amount for the Community Broadcasting Program (CBP) has been: 
   1. indexed to keep up with costs moving forward.
   2. base funding amounts are confirmed as ongoing. 

1. Top-up funding of $5 million per year for three years (FY26-FY28) has been provided for the CBP (this funding is not indexed and not committed as ongoing funding). 

1. Top up funding of $4 million per year for three years (FY26-FY28) has been provided for the Indigenous Broadcasting and Media Program (IBMP). 

 

The Australian public would significantly benefit from the following additional support for community broadcasting: 

1.  $116.7 million over four years to support and build the sustainability and capacity of news organisations to deliver public interest journalism and local news under the News Media Assistance Program (NewsMAP); and 

1. A new competitive grant program of up to $10 million for eligible multicultural media organisations. (Subject to program guidelines). 

 

The CBAA looks forward to continuing to work productively with the Government in the coming term to ensure that the sector’s future is secured and community broadcasters can continue to deliver significant benefits to Australia in line with and Roadmap 2033. 

Questions 

For more information about community broadcasting and our future see below or contact CBAA Chief Executive Officer Jon Bisset at jon.bisset@cbaa.org.au or (02) 9310 2999.  

 

About Community Broadcasting  

Community broadcasters deliver over 500 AM/FM/DAB+ services and two dedicated TV services that reach over 5.19 million people across Australia each week – almost one-quarter (24.8%) of Australians. Driven by over 18,000 volunteers and almost 1,000 employees working for the wellbeing of their communities, community broadcasting plays an increasingly important role in connecting Australian communities that are underserved by media, enriches and strengthens Australia’s social and cultural fabric and amplifies the voices of Australian communities. 

Regional and remote Australia	Over 70% of licensees are based in regional and remote areas.   62% of regional listeners say their main reason to tune in is for local information and news.
First Nations Australians	34 organisations provide 143 services, the great majority in regional and remote areas.  Over one third (35%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listen to community radio during a typical week.  Australians from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background are 44% more likely than the general population to listen to community radio.
Multicultural Australia	1.50 million Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) people listen to community radio.  Over one quarter of people (29%) who regularly speak a language other than English in their household listen to community radio each week.  Community radio broadcasts in-language to over 110 different languages.
Australian Music	On average, community radio stations broadcast 38% Australian music each week.  31% of our listeners say hearing Australian music is the main reason they tune in.
Disaster Resilience and Crises	When power, internet and mobile reception go down, community radio stations play a critical role to distribute emergency response information especially in regional and remote communities.   Before, during and after emergencies, local staff and volunteers work tirelessly to support and connect communities.   Hyper-local networks and knowledge make community broadcasting stations essential in preparing for, responding to and recovering from disasters.  Community broadcasting services reach culturally and linguistically diverse communities and people with a print disability with critical information in times of crises.
People with disability	The Radio Reading Network provides 19 AM/FM radio services nationally with 668,000 listeners each month.  We are now working to increase representation of disability in media, improve how disability is portrayed and improve community attitudes towards people with disability in line with Australia’s Disability Strategy.
Faith-based communities	Including 36 Christian radio stations and 1 Muslim station. 95% of listeners to Christian community radio say their station has a positive impact in their lives and helps them grow spiritually (88%) and relationally (74%).

About the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) 

Founded in 1974, the CBAA is the national peak body for community broadcasting licensees. As a cultural organisation established for the promotion of community broadcasting, both radio and television, we are proud to have over 90 % of all community radio and television licensees as members. 

LiSTNR podcast Crime Insiders welcomes Dr Liz Porter, an award-winning journalist and true crime author as host of Crime Insiders: Forensics. Dr Liz Porter brings decades of experience to Crime Insiders: Forensics, having authored three books on the subject and earning a PhD on the work of the Victoria Police forensic science lab.

Crime Insiders: Forensics will examine how forensic science is convicting the guilty and exonerating the innocent. Dr Porter’s vast experience brings the listener ‘the real CSI’, exploring true stories about the way real-life forensic scientists solve crimes and mysteries.

Also new in the Crime Insiders feed is Crime Insiders: Judgements, hosted by Executive Producer Dan Mullins, a deep dive on a particular case, framed by the court judgement. Crime Insiders: Judgements will take you inside the courtroom of high profile cases such as the Sydney CBD milk crate murderer, Brisbane’s vampire killers, the Crown v Alan Bond and Men at Work’s battle over the ownership of the song ‘Down Under’.

New host of Crime Insiders: Forensics, Dr Liz Porter said: “I’m really excited to join the Crime Insiders team, and I’m looking forward to sharing the insights I’ve gained throughout my career. The experts are the real stars of the show, and I can’t wait to share their stories of how they use their incredible skills to help solve some of Australia’s most complex cases.”

LiSTNR Head of Factual, Clair Weaver said: “We are thrilled to have someone of Liz’s calibre joining the LiSTNR team. Her insight into the real world of forensic science will deepen the stories Crime Insiders: Forensics can explore and provide content for the audience that can’t be found on any other podcast, making the Crime Insiders feed the home of true crime.”

Crime Insiders: Forensics and Crime Insiders: Judgements join the rich catalogue of Crime Insiders podcasts available on LiSTNR, sitting alongside Crime Insiders: Detective and Crime Insiders: Rewind.

New episodes of Crime Insiders: Forensics are published every second Monday. Listen for free on the LiSTNR app.

About LiSTNR:

LiSTNR is a curated and personalised, free app offering radio, podcasts, music, and news, creating a new audio destination for all Australians. Featuring a fun and intuitive onboarding process, LiSTNR delivers an audio destination that is built for individual listeners’ routines and preferences. Highly personalised, it provides listeners a new world of audio entertainment, with their own daily feed of audio and easy discovery of new content through curated recommendations. Available across a large array of devices including both iOS and Android, CarPlay and Android Auto, Google Assistant and Alexa and Android TV, LiSTNR enables a fantastic listening experience, anytime and anywhere. Open your ears to a new world of audio – download the free app today. LiSTNR.com

What’s each party promising this election? What’s the deal with the teals? How do you swat away misinformation (but keep the memes)? Which electorates matter?

With the 2025 Federal Election set for 3 May and the finish line in sight, there’s still plenty to unpack before young voters step into the polling booths—possibly for the first time.

Enter SBS News journalists Elfy Scott and Rania Yallop, hosts and guides to all things federal politics, explaining what to expect, what to look out for, and all the key issues shaping this election season in SBS’s new political podcast—Party Time.

This weekly 30-minute podcast gives a crash-course in politics parallel with real-time news so that young voters can make an informed decision come 3 May. Each week, Yallop and Scott will tackle one topic, breaking down the core policies and key debates in Australia. They will uncover the tactics you can expect from politicians, lobbyists and parties, contextualise the issues, and provide answers to questions like ‘[X politician] said this—what does it mean?’. The series will feature guest appearances from reporters at the heart of Australia’s political homeland, along with experts to explain all the details.

“It’s important that young voters have access to political content that’s made for them,” said Yallop.

“Our aim is to make those political debates a little less dry and more digestible for the average 18-3o year old who may be voting for the first time or have been a bit lost and disconnected with the news cycle.”

The six-part podcast series explores the fundamental questions leading up to the election, with the first episode launching on Friday 4 April explaining how this year’s campaigns are run. The series will also visit hot topics, including climate change and the cost of living, and identify the winners and losers in the party campaigns, highlighting the promises made and the ones that might have been overlooked.

As the 2025 Federal Election nears, the series will focus on the real-time debates as it covers critical ground in the leadup for voters headed to the polls.

Triple A Murri Country is one of Australia’s largest Indigenous community-controlled media organisations. Since their early days in the 1980s, they have been the trusted voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Brisbane and beyond.

With a strong foundation in radio broadcasting via 98.9FM, Triple A have expanded into multimedia, digital storytelling, live event production, and accredited training for First Nations people looking to build careers in media. Their focus is on empowering community, amplifying First Nations stories, and shaping the future of Indigenous media – their way.

OnTalent is humbled and proud to partner with the Board in the search for a strong, values-driven Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to lead their organisation into its next chapter.

 

About the role

This is a rare and powerful opportunity to take the helm of a respected First Nations-led media organisation that reaches local, national and global audiences. This is an identified position and the successful applicant must identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and be accepted as such by their community.

As CEO, you will champion Indigenous storytelling, advocate for First Nations voices in media, and strengthen community connections. You will oversee a passionate team of broadcasters, creatives and media professionals while ensuring Triple A’s sustainability and long-term impact.

Your leadership will drive innovation, increase audience reach, and help them secure financial and operational stability so that they can continue to tell the stories, in their own way, for generations to come.

Underpinned by a values set of Community, Disruption, Innovation and Relationships you will provide leadership to the organisation in for key areas

Strategic planning and advocacyImprove the access and quality of service deliveryDevelop a flourishing teamBuild and nurture relationships with the First Nations Community

As an Indigenous Community-Controlled Organisation, Triple A is a member-based organisation that’s primary function is to serve the First Nations community of South-East Queensland. Nurturing and maintaining very strong relationships with members of the organisation, members of the Indigenous community, respected community elders, traditional owners and key community-controlled organisations is an integral part of the CEO role.

 

What we are looking for

A proud and respected Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander leader with deep community connectionsProven leadership experience in an executive or senior management role, ideally within a community-controlled, media, or creative organisationStrong strategic thinking and problem-solving skills to drive innovation and growthFinancial and operational management expertise, with a solid understanding of budgeting, compliance and funding.A passion for Indigenous media, storytelling, and culture, and a commitment to growing First Nations voices in the sector.Exceptional communication and relationships-building skills, with experience engaging key stakeholders, including community, government, and industry partners.Experience in media, broadcasting, creative industries, or events management is highly regarded by not essential.

Triple A is more than just a media organisation – they are a movement, a platform, and a legacy. This is a unique opportunity to lead a highly respected Indigenous community-controlled organisation that is shaping the future of First Nations media.

If you are a strong, passionate indigenous leader who wants to make an impact, we’d love to hear from you.

 

For further information and to apply please visit:

https://www.ontalent.com.au/triplea/

Apply Now

Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) is Australia’s premier First Nations media institution, celebrating its 45^th anniversary. As the country’s first licensed Aboriginal broadcaster, CAAMA is committed to cultural preservation, storytelling, and amplifying the voices of First Nations people. With a state-of-the-art FM radio station in Mparntwe/Alice Springs and a network of 12 studios and further retransmission sites, CAAMA reaches audiences from the Top End to Coober Pedy and beyond.

From award-winning digital content to an extensive 50-year archival collection, CAAMA is a dynamic, forward-thinking organisation at the forefront of First Nations storytelling.

About the Opportunity

CAAMA is looking for a full-time Broadcast Technician to be based in Alice Springs, NT.

Purpose of role: Deliver timely, cost-effective and quality technology support services to support CAAMA’s radio and network requirements and to ensure broadcast continuity.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Provide support for networked broadcast systems, content production and playout technology to ensure broadcast continuity.
• Undertake technical investigation, diagnosis and resolution of incidents and problems for networked broadcast systems in integrated IT and IP environments.
• Provide technical system management and maintenance by following best practices to improve system stability for CAAMA users including systems management and maintenance, monitoring, reporting and implementation of upgrades, bug fixes and replacements.
• Set up, test, and maintain transmission and other related equipment used in radio transmission and reception.
• Install, maintain and repair cables that are used in electronic equipment installation.
• Build and maintain strategic working relationships with system experts and service providers.
• Cooperate with reasonable WHS instruction/policy and take reasonable care for your safety and that of other people who may be affected by your conduct while at work.

Qualifications and experience           

• Qualifications in a relevant discipline or demonstrated equivalent skill, knowledge, and experience.
• Working At Heights qualification is an advantage.
• Demonstrated capabilities working with RF and/or networked broadcast systems and IP-based content production technology.
• Knowledge of the Zetta playout system or ability to swiftly acquire it.
• Ability to diagnose and repair hardware faults in computer systems.

Skills & competencies            

• The ability to communicate complex technical information clearly and concisely
• Attention to detail and written skills when communicating with others, both internally and externally
• Willingness to assist and support others as required and get on with team members
• Accomplish objectives effectively within the time frame given and carry out administrative duties within the portfolio in an efficient and timely manner
• Willingness to travel to remote areas
• Professional approach

What We Offer

• Competitive salary of $75,000 PLUS superannuation, salary packaging, vehicle
• Relocation assistance up to $3,000
• A fully-equipped, state-of-the-art radio network with modern production facilities
• A supportive, dynamic team culture with a historic institution
• A unique opportunity to live and work in Alice Springs, engaging directly with remote communities

This job description serves to illustrate the scope and responsibilities of the post and is not intended to be an exhaustive list of duties.

Apply with your résumé and why you would like to work with us to Recruitment@caama.com.au

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has found comments made during broadcasts of the Kyle & Jackie O Show breached decency rules under the Commercial Radio Code of Practice (the Code).

Following a listener complaint relating to a 7 June 2024 broadcast of the program, the ACMA opened investigations into Commonwealth Broadcasting Corporation Pty Ltd (KIIS 1065) and Double T Radio Pty Ltd (KIIS 1011), the licensees that air the program in Sydney and Melbourne respectively.

The investigations found that the two segments referred to in the complaint included explicit sexual content and content that included sustained and vulgar graphic sexualised descriptions.

ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said the segments would be considered offensive to any reasonable person listening to the broadcast and were not in line with broader community standards.

“This content went beyond the bounds of decency expected by the community and was done so deliberately and provocatively,” Ms O’Loughlin said.

“Even having two program censors employed by the broadcaster in place following previous ACMA enforcement action, this has not stopped occurrences of unsuitable content going to air,” Ms O’Loughlin said.

Double T Radio has also been found to have breached the Code for not responding to a listener complaint within 30 days of receipt.

“Complaints are an essential part of Australia’s co-regulatory broadcasting system as they provide a reliable avenue for the public to put their concerns directly to the broadcaster,” Ms O’Loughlin said.

“Failing to respond to complaints in the required timeframe undermines the effectiveness of the co-regulatory system.”

On 7 February 2025 the ACMA opened two further investigations into concerns around a range of content brought to the ACMA’s attention into the program’s compliance with the Code. These investigations will consider possible systemic issues in relation to the decency and complaint handling provisions.

The ACMA will consider enforcement action for breaches found in the 7 June broadcast once those additional investigations are finalised.

As triple j ushers in their 50th year, they have demonstrated age is only a number by delivering strong results in GfK Survey 1 released today.

Across the 5 capital city markets, triple j added 296k more weekday listeners and 218k more weekend listeners.

Sydney was a standout where the network saw a +0.9% overall share increase driven by a +3.9% jump in the 18-24 target demo.

Breakfast with Concetta and Luka is reaching 840,000 listeners across the 5 capital cities, an increase of 115,000 survey on survey. In Sydney, Breakfast saw a +1.3% increase for their program.

These results came despite much of the triple j Hottest 100 campaign sitting outside the survey period this year.

Head of triple j, Double J & ABC Country, Lachlan Macara, said: “It’s nice to see these GfK numbers reflect the massive impact triple j’s already had across socials to start the year. Like A Version’s alone during this survey period have racked up 33+Million views across triple j’s TikTok, Instagram and YouTube channels.”

Votes in the Hottest 100 were up 5% on last year with a massive 2.49m total votes counted. Over 70% of voters were under 30, showing the continued impact triple j and the Hottest 100 has on its target demographic.

With almost 2 million subscribers to the triple j YouTube account and 320k on TikTok, triple j is undoubtably the most impactful youth media brand in the country across platforms. The triple j Instagram account also clocked a massive milestone last week by joining the 1 million followers club.

On Tuesday, triple j announced the date and line up for the 2025 One Night Stand. The event will take place on Saturday 24 May at a location to be announced at 4pm AEDT today.

The all-Australian line-up features Spacey Jane, LUUDE, singer-songwriter Ruby Fields and award-winning hip hop supergroup 3% and a huge set from a local triple j Unearthed competition winner.

Tickets for triple j’s One Night Stand will be on sale at 5pm AEDT today after the location is revealed on triple j.

The GfK results for triple j form part of a strong GfK result for the ABC in survey 1. Across the 5 capital cities, the ABC’s total network audience has increased to 4,623,000 up 391,000 listeners when compared to survey 8 2024.