Ham Radio



What is Amateur Radio?

Amateur, or “Ham” Radio, is a popular hobby that uses radio frequency (RF) and electronics for non-commercial purposes. Specifically amateur radio is defined in Australia as a service for “self training in radiocommunications, intercommunications, or technical investigations into radiocommunications.” on a non-commercial and non-profit basis.

Licence Classes

There are presently five (5) classes of Amateur licence available in Australia:

  1. Advanced - access to all amateur frequencies in Australia at maximum power levels (400W pX, 120W pY).
  2. Standard - access to several amateur bands at moderate power levels (100W pX, 30W pY).
  3. Foundation - access to a limited number of amateur bands at low power levels (10W pX).
  4. Beacon - to help experiment with radio waves, allows other amateurs to determine how propagation is affecting transmissions from that location.
  5. Repeater - authorises operation of a station that repeats transmissions from other amateur stations, usually to increase coverage.

pX = Peak Envelope Power (PEP)
pY = mean power

New Qualifications

With the introduction of the class licence and new licensing framework in February 2024 (see Class Licence for VK), the ACMA introduced the new “ACMA Recognition Certificate” required to obtain a callsign and operate on the ham bands. These are:

  • ACMA Recognition Certificate (Advanced); and
  • ACMA Recognition Certificate (Standard); and
  • ACMA Recognition Certificate (Foundation).

While all new operators will need to meet the qualification criteria to obtain one of these (70% pass in both regulations and appropriate level theory, plus a pass in a practical component), existing operators (many of whom never had to pass the practical component) can continue to operate under their existing certificate at the following level:

  • AOCP(A), AOCP, AOLCP or LAOCP, AOICP or IAOCP: Advanced
  • AOCP(S), NAOCP, NLAOCP: Standard
  • AOCP(F), FAOCP: Foundation

How do I get a new Recognition Certificate?

Whether it’s your first certificate, an upgrade from a lower level, or you just want to replace your old qualification with the new, you will need to contact an accredited assessor. These are Advanced Amateur Radio operators who have been approved by the ACMA to assess Amateur Radio exams for all levels.

If you are new you will need to complete all three assessments - theory (at the relevant level), regulations and practical. If you are upgrading from a level that included the practical component you will only need to complete the theory at the new level. If you are upgrading from a level that didn’t include the practical component, or want to replace an old qualification that didn’t include practical, then you will need to complete the practical as well as any theory upgrade.

It should be noted that the assessor can deem you have enough practical experience to not need to sit the practical assessment if you are en existing Amateur, and they believe you have enough experience. Discuss this with an assessor. You can find accredited assessors on the ACMA website at https://www.acma.gov.au/assessors.

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Callsigns

In 2020 Amateur callsigns in Australia underwent some important changes. Prior to August 2020 each licence class had its own series of callsigns to choose from. This meant the callsign indicated what licence class the operator held, and also what state they came from. The disadvantage of this was:

  1. When the operator changed licence class they had to change their callsign; and
  2. When the operator moved to a new state/territory they had to get a new callsign; and
  3. Foundation licencees had a four letter callsign (VK$Faaa) which some software didn’t accept.

In mid-2020 (yes, that wonderful year!) the Australian Communications & Media Authority (ACMA) changed the amateur callsign system by:

  • allowing any licence class to apply for any three letter callsign (except for R.. which is reserved for repeaters and beacons - two letter calls will still be reserved for Advanced class only); and
  • removing the four letter F callsigns for all new Foundation applications (existing F calls can apply for a new three letter call, or keep their existing callsign); and
  • allowing operators to keep their callsign for life even if they move to a new state/territory.

So, the new Australian amateur callsign format consists of:

(where $ = state of issue, ‘aa’ or ‘aaa’ = callsign)

  • ADVANCED ONLY: VK$aa
  • Advanced, Standard and Foundation: VK$aaa
  • Repeater/Beacon: VK$Raa
  • Foundation (old format): VK$Faaa

Special event stations may have a VI or AX prefix instead of VK. They might also not comply with the usual format for Amateur stations (e.g. to commemorate 100 years since the first ANZAC landings at Gallipoli in 2015 the callsigns VI5ANZAC and VK100ANZAC were issued).

ALL Australian amateurs are permitted to use the AX prefix (instead of VK) without having to seek permission on:

  1. Australia day (January 26); and
  2. ANZAC day (April 25); and
  3. World Telecommunications Day (May 17.)

On these days every Australian amateur can change their callsign prefix from VK to AX, if they desire. The rest of their callsign will remain the same (so my callsign would change from VK5JH to AX5JH).

Changes for VK9 callsigns

In 2024 there were further changes that removed the VK9 prefix from issue for Jervis Bay Territory (as it’s an internal not external territory), and to require the VK9 prefix to be used only when the operator is located in the external territory it was issued for.

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Class Licence for VK

After a number of consultations with the Amateur community, ACMA has created the Radiocommunications (Amateur Stations) Class Licence 2023 which came into effect on 19 February 2024. This means Amateurs will no longer need to pay for a licence each year. With the commencement of this new system ACMA has taken over the accreditation of authorised examiners and the issuing of callsigns. The current categories of Advanced, Standard and Foundation will remain.

The Class Licence only covers the non-assigned classes (Advanced, Standard and Foundation). Beacons and Repeaters are still be covered under the Apparatus Licence system as these are an assigned licence (i.e. the frequency they use is assigned to them).

While the Class Licence means that an annual fee for an Apparatus Licence is no longer needed, it should be noted that before you can operate under the Class Licence you must:

  1. Pass all required exams for the category licence you intend to operate under (or obtain an exemption) - assessors can not charge for this; and
  2. Have the assessor lodge with ACMA the completed exam papers showing a pass mark - assessors can not charge for this; and
  3. Obtain from the ACMA the relevant Recognition Certificate for the level achieved (this involves a fee); and
  4. Apply for the issue of a callsign from ACMA (this involves a fee, but this step can usually be done at the same time as the previous step).

Only after the above steps are completed and the callsign issued can you operate under the Class Licence.

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Australian Amateur Bands

These are the Australian Amateur bands as of the commencement of the Class Licence. See WIA Band Plan data for latest updates.

Note that NO Amateur Radio operation, on any band, is permitted in the Australian Radio Quiet Zone WA (s18(3) of the Class Licence).

BandFreq. RangeAdvancedStandardFoundation
2200m 1135.7 - 137.8 kHz
630m 2472.0 - 479.0 kHz
160m1.8 - 1.875 MHz
80m3.5 - 3.7 MHz
“ ”3.776 - 3.8 MHz
60m 35.3515 - 5.3665 MHz
40m7.0 - 7.3 MHz
30m10.1 - 10.15 MHz
20m14.0 - 14.35 MHz
17m18.068 - 18.168 MHz
15m21.0 - 21.45 MHz
12m24.89 - 24.99 MHz
10m28.0 - 29.7 MHz
6m 450 - 54 MHz
2m144 - 148 MHz
70cm430 - 450 MHz
23cm1240 - 1300 MHz
13cm2300 - 2302 MHz
“ ”2400 - 2450 MHz
9cm 53300 - 3600 MHz
6cm5650 - 5850 MHz
3cm10.0 - 10.5 GHz
12mm24.0 - 24.25 GHz
6mm47.0 - 47.2 GHz
4mm76.0 - 81.0 GHz
2.4mm122.25 - 123.0 GHz
2.2mm134.0 - 141.0 GHz
1.2mm241.0 - 250.0 GHz

NOTES:
1 Power is limited to 1W pX EIRP.
2 Power is limited to 5W pX EIRP.
3 The 60m band (5.351.5kHz - 5.366.5kHz) was adopted by the ITU at WRC-15. However, this is NOT available in Australia at this time, but is shown on this table in the hope it will be made available to VK Amateurs at some stage!
4 The 50-52 MHz section was opened to Standard licencees on 13 July 2023.
5 Operation on 3.4 - 3.575 GHz is prohibited in most, if not all, major population centres. Operation is still permitted in remote and regional areas.


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Q-Codes

Amateur Radio operators often use Q-Codes to help convey an entire message using just three letters (e.g. QSY indicates to change to the indicated frequency). Q-Codes are more common in Morse Code where brevity is essential, but some have made their way into voice communications. They’ve even made their way into CB!

To view the most common Q-Codes used visit my Q-Codes page.

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Phonetic Alphabet

If you listen to the ham bands for very long you will hear words being spelt out using the phonetic alphabet.

An example would be my callsign - VK5JH - which would be spelt out as “Victor Kilo Fiver Juliet Hotel” (or more often just “V K Five Juliet Hotel”, unless conditions are really bad).

If you want to know more about this peculiar alphabet, see my Phonetic Alphabet page.

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