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 rather than the general class licence that applies to all other radio amateurs.
Specifically, this means they are a frequency assigned station that has undergone frequency coordination not just within the amateur radio spectrum (checking for interference between amateur repeaters using the amateur RALI coordination guidelines Link), but also site compatibility coordination checks against other co-located telecommunications or radio communications services and sites (inter-modulation and receiver blocking assessments).
To help with the process, the ACMA has provided the following instruction for how to licence amateur repeaters and beacons. (FAP 10: Application process for amateur beacons and repeaters) Link.
The key outcome of ACMA FAP 10. is that there are now two process options available for radio amateurs to apply for amateur repeater and beacon licences and frequency allocations.
Option 1 - WIA Assists in processing the application
The WIA continues to offer a service where you can lodge a repeater or beacon licence application with our national office. We will then arrange to process the application on your behalf with an Amateur Radio aware ACMA registered 'Accredited Person' (AP) engaged for you by the WIA.
The AP will carry out the system frequency selection and co-site compatibility checks with other services (with help from the WIA Repeater coordinator) and can determine for you a suitable frequency allocation for your project. If you have specific frequencies in mind, you can also include those in your request. Provided the frequency meets the rules set down in the relevant Amateur RALI Link then it should be allocated, or if it fails coordination with other services or systems, alternatives will be proposed for your consideration.
Once all payments have been made, the AP will then register your final frequencies with the ACMA database, at which time you will be able to download your new or ammended licence from the ACMA RRL.
Option 2 - You can directly engage an ACMA Accredited Person (AP)
With the introduction by the ACMA of the Frequency Assignment Practice No.10 policyLink, 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.
Applying for Repeater/Beacon Callsigns (if required)
If the application is for a new site, a call sign will also need to be assigned.
Applicants can review the ACMA Register of Radiocommunications Licences (Link) to determine if their proposed call sign is available or not. If it is available, then it is a simple matter of requesting the specific call sign on the ACMA Amateur Form 2 (see below).
To use the ACMA database for this purpose, select "Find Licences" and choose the option to search by "Callsign" with the filter "begins with 'VKxR'" entered (replacing x with the [1-8] call area).
Note: see page 23 of the ACMA Amateur Callsign policy document for details of the valid formats for repeater and beacon callsigns. Link
Using Option 1: asking the WIA to help process your application.
The WIA application process has 6 core steps.
1. Fill out a copy of ACMA Form "Amateur 2" Sections A thru E plus Section K. This form is available here: Link
2. Provide the WIA with a technical outline of what it is you wish to licence. (Shortly the WIA hopes to bring online an electronic form to help with preparing this information). It is imperative that you provide all the necessary information about your proposed system at this stage. Any gaps will result in delays while the WIA Repeater and Beacon coordinator contacts you for more information.
3. 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
4. The WIA will respond with an initial fee quote and payment details. Applications must be paid for up front.
Fees start at :
<li> $210 for WIA members/affiliated clubs
<li> $270 for non WIA members
5. Once the fee has been paid to the WIA, we will engage our ACMA AP to undertake your assignment.
6. The AP will then complete the registration in the ACMA database on your behalf.
What Technical Requirements must be supplied?
Applicants must at a minimum answer the following questions as part of their application, for it to be accepted by 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. The ACMA has a list of antennas and their ID numbers here for your use Link).
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).
WIA technical Support for Repeater and Beacon planning
Finally, while there is now a process that does not require an application for a repeater or beacon to go through the WIA, should either the ACMA or an Accredited Person (AP) have questions about the RALI technical standards or non-conforming applications, the WIA will still respond free of charge to those enquiries, as part of our ongoing support for the amateur service in Australia.
Page Last Updated: Saturday, 12 Jul 2025 at 08:33 hours by Tac
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