television in Australia. As well as planning the availability

of segments of the broadcasting services bands, the ABA has

the power to allocate, renew, suspend and cancel licences and

collect any fees payable those licences. The ABA is also

empowered to conduct research into community attitudes on

programming matters, develop program standards relating to

broadcasting in Australia and assist broadcasting service

providers develop codes of practice. It monitors compliance

with the ownership and control provisions of the Act and

investigates complaints about services. In addition,

the ABA is required to inform itself and the Minister for

Communications, the Information Economy and the Arts about

advances and trends in broadcasting technology.