WIA Repeater and Beacon Licence Applications Process
Overview
Repeaters and Beacons in the amateur service are required by ACMA to be licenced under the Amateur Radio Apparatus Licence Condition Determination. This means they are a frequency assigned station that has undergone frequency coordination not just within the amateur radio spectrum, but also site compatibility coordination checks against other co-located telecommunications or radio communications services and sites.
Option 1 - WIA Assists in processing the application
The WIA offers a service where you can lodge a repeater or beacon licence application with our national office. The WIA will then arrange to process your application on your behalf with an Amateur Radio aware ACMA registered 'Accredited Person' (AP).
The AP can carry out the site frequency selection and co-site compatibility checks with other services (with help from the WIA Repeater coordinator) and can determine for you a suitable allocation for your project. If you have specific frequencies in mind, you can also include those in your request for consideration against the Amateur Service RALI instructions and co-site frequency compatibility checks required by the ACMA. Where your requests can not be accommodated, alternatives can be proposed for your consideration.
There is a fee for this service to cover the costs of the AP and the subsequent registration costs associated with entering the finalised transmitter registration details into the ACMA database. The WIA National Office can advise what the application fee will be on request as this can vary depending on the complexity of the request..
If the application is for a new site, it will also need to be assigned a call sign. Applicants can request the callsign they desire for the new repeater/beacon station at the time of application. To identify a new callsign option, applicants are advised to review all present assigned VK(0-9)Rxx callsigns in the ACMA RRL register first, and then select something appropriate that is not already assigned (relevant to the call area the repeater or beacon will be located in). This selection should be included in the application request to the national office.
(Note: callsigns no longer need to be applied for separately for repeater stations now that call sign management has completely returned to the ACMA).
Application steps
1. Clubs/organisations should select a person to be the nominated representative for coordinating the application with the WIA.
2. Applicants must at a minimum provide the following details by email or letter to the WIA for processing:
a) Is this a new site application or is this a variation to an existing licence? If it is an existing licence, the existing ACMA licence number and Client ID number need to be provided.
b) What frequency band segment the proposed service is intended to operate in (eg 2m 146.6-147.4 repeater sub-band). If you wish to licence a specific frequency in your application, please list down your proposals, but understand that they may not be successful if they do not follow the Amateur RALI standards or fail inter-service co-sited coordination checks. If they are not successful, the WIA will communicate with you to discuss alternative options.
c) What type of emission is planned to be used - is it FM analogue voice, DSTAR, C4FM, Mixed Mode (C4FM/Analogue), DMR, CW Beacon, FSK Beacon or something else? (There are standard ITU Emission codes used for each of these which will be used on the formal ACMA application).
d) What the intended transmitter power is - (note this is typically 83 Watts EIRP for repeaters)
e) What the antenna type is - and if it is a commercial antenna, the full make and model need to be supplied. (Ideally, if you can identify it before hand, the applicant should also supply the ACMA Antenna ID number relevant to the antenna being used for the service.)
f) The height of the antenna on the structure needs to be provided.
g) The site longitude / latitude will need to be provided to an accuracy of +/- 10mIf it is a new greenfield radiocommunications site (i.e. there are no other transmitters of any service on the site currently),
In addition:
3. The applicant are also required to fill out client the ACMA application form Amateur2 Sections A thru E plus Section K. The rest of the sections can be completed by the WIA Repeater and Beacon Coordinator (RABC) on your behalf once the frequency coordination work is completed . This form is accessible via this Link).
4. If the application is complex (eg involves licensing links or unusual repeater network configurations) any detail that explains what other repeater or site(s) are going to be linked, preferably with a sketch map is useful.
5. The completed applications should be sent to:
Wireless Institute of Australia
P.O. Box 2042, Bayswater, Vic 3153.
Applications can also be sent via email to nationaloffice @ wia.org.au
6. Upon receipt of all information, the WIA will begin processing the application on your behalf. Note that if information is incomplete, or the frequency selection encounteres difficulties, the process will stop and the questions will be referred back to the applicant. Only when they have been answered will application processing be able to resume.
7. Refinements to this process are under consideration as well to help with tracking and progress management. We hope to bring those to being in the near future.
Process completion
For the final registration to be lodged, the applicant will need to have paid the invoice presented by the WIA.
NOTE: frequencies are NOT guaranteed until payment is made and the frequency assignment has been loaded into the ACMA Register of Radiocommunication Licences.
Option 2 - You can directly engage an ACMA Accredited Person (AP)
With the introduction by the ACMA of the Frequency Assignment Practice No.10 policy, it is now possible for amateur radio operators to engage directly with an AP to select and register amateur repeater and beacon frequencies without engaging the WIA.
This process is effective where the application follows the Amateur Radio band plans and meets the technical coordination requirements set forth in the Amateur network RALI standards.
If you wish to use this method, then you are responsible for engaging the right parties to achieve your registrations and all costs will be born by you as the applicant.
Page Last Updated: Sunday, 06 Apr 2025 at 17:24 hours by Tac
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