The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has registered updated rules for commercial radio broadcasters that include new requirements for content broadcast around school drop-off and pick-up times, and also for disclosing artificial intelligence use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under the Commercial Radio Code of Practice 2026, radio stations will be required to let their audience know when a synthetic voice is being used to host a regularly scheduled program or news broadcast. This is the first time AI has been addressed in a broadcasting code of practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Broadcasters will also have to give special care when airing content between 8-9am and 3-4pm on school days, when children are more likely to be listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ACMA Chair Nerida O\u2019Loughlin said the new rules would allow audiences to make more informed decisions about their listening habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBroadcasting rules must keep pace with technology and with community expectations. AI is a powerful tool that offers a lot of innovation for broadcasters,\u201d Ms O\u2019Loughlin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHowever, listeners want greater transparency about when AI is being used. We welcome the commitments by the radio industry to address listener concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cListeners are also worried about inappropriate content at peak travel times when families listen together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese new rules set clear time windows where broadcasters must consider whether their content is suitable for children, giving parents and carers greater confidence when tuning in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The revised code, which was developed by industry group Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA), also includes strengthened provisions around corrections for errors in news coverage and greater transparency in complaints reporting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A significant number of submissions to the review called for strengthened rules around the broadcasting of Australian music. The new code includes changes to the station categories that determine how much Australian music must be played to better reflect contemporary broadcasting practices and music genres. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ACMA will be working closely with CRA and the commercial radio industry over the coming 12 months to ensure stations are applying the new categories correctly and meet their longstanding Australian music obligations, including in relation to new Australian music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As with all the provisions in the code, the ACMA expects that licensees with comply with their obligations to broadcast Australian music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCommercial radio is an integral part of Australia\u2019s media landscape and these rules will help strengthen trust between broadcasters and their audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe would also like to see broadcasters voluntarily extend the code safeguards to content available on their on-demand streaming services. If they do not, we expect that new regulations may need to be put in place so that listeners know what to expect no matter how they tune in,\u201d Ms O\u2019Loughlin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Commercial Radio Code of Practice 2026<\/a> will come into effect from 1 July 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has registered updated rules for commercial radio broadcasters that include new requirements for content broadcast around school drop-off and pick-up times, and also for disclosing artificial intelligence use. Under the Commercial Radio Code of Practice 2026, radio stations will be required to let their audience know when a … Continue reading “AI disclosure required under new commercial radio rules”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-australian"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2293"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2294,"href":"http:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2293\/revisions\/2294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}