The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia is the peak body and the national representative organisation for community radio and television stations in Australia. The CBAA provide leadership, advocacy and support for members to actively provide independent broadcasting services and to build and strengthen local communities. The organisation provides advice and support to community broadcasters regarding a variety of issues. The CBAA runs the Community Radio Network, offers a national satellite network, that allows community broadcasters to share and syndicate their content, manages the Australian Music Airplay Project, CBOnline, a sector information and research unit, runs the digital radio project and publishes CBX magazine. As the peak body for the sector, the CBAA represents the sector through policy submissions, advocacy and campaigns. The Community RadioNetwork service has been expanded in recent years with the addition of the Digital Delivery Network. This project has allowed community radio stations to record and replay programs, interviews, and music from contributing stations within the network. Recently the association has launched a podcasthosting service, C pod. The organisation also runs an annual Conference, which brings together representatives from around Australia.
Member stations
The CBAA, as the recognised peak body for community broadcasting in Australia, has members from a diverse range of independently operated not-for-profit community based radio stations. The station types include:
In most cases, each licensee is the operator of a single station, in some cases with translators and repeaters to provide services in otherwise poor reception areas.
The CBAA operates to provide advice and representation to the members. It also offers insurance plans for volunteers, music broadcasting rights and news copyright fees at discounted rates for its members. The CBAA also consults with its members on matters including broadcast licensing, the relevant Code of Practice, and provides training and legal advice.
History
The CBAA was born out of the Public Broadcasting Association of Australia. That organisation was founded during the 1970s in response to the rapidly developing sector. However, changes in funding for the sector during the 1980s sparked a crisis. As government funding was re-directed, the stations were less able to support themselves, or the peak body. This pressure culminated in near bankruptcy for the PBAA. In 1988 the PBAA was dissolved and from its ashes, the new CBAA arose, under strict financial management, and a focus on membership support.
