Australian Broadcasting Corporation

This article is about the Australian public broadcaster. For the television service launched in 1956, now a network, see ABC Television (Australian TV network). For its predecessor, see Australian Broadcasting Company.
"ABC (Australia)" and "ABC Australia" redirect here. For other uses, see ABC and ABC Australia (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with American Broadcasting Company.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation
FormerlyAustralian Broadcasting Commission (1932–1983)
Company typeStatutory corporation
IndustryMass media
Predecessors
Founded1 July 1932; 92 years ago (1932-07-01)
FounderLyons government
HeadquartersABC Ultimo Centre,
Sydney
,
Australia
Area served
Australia, Worldwide
Key people
Products
Services
$100.363 billion (2024)
–$2.205 million (2024)
Total assets$1.953 billion (2024)
Total equity$1.169 billion (2024)
OwnerAustralian Government
Number of employees
4,682[note 1] (2024)
Divisions
Websitewww.abc.net.au Edit this at Wikidata
Footnotes / references
[1]

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by the Australian taxpayer and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly owned body that is politically independent and accountable such as through its production of annual reports and is bound by provisions contained within the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, with its charter enshrined in legislation, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983.[2] ABC Commercial, a profit-making division of the corporation, also helps to generate funding for content provision.

The ABC was established as the Australian Broadcasting Commission on 1 July 1932 by an Act of federal parliament. It effectively replaced the Australian Broadcasting Company, a private company established in 1924 to provide programming for A-class radio stations. The ABC was given statutory powers that reinforced its independence from the government and enhanced its news-gathering role. Modelled after the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which is funded by a television licence, the ABC was originally financed by licence fees on households with a broadcast receiver. However, the licence fees soon proved to be insufficient due to Australia's small population and the vast area to be serviced. In 1947 a proposal to increase the fee for a broadcast listeners' licence from £1 to £1/5/[3] was scotched,[4] and in 1949 the Chifley government decided that the ABC would be directly funded by the taxpayer,[5][6] with licence fees subsumed into general revenue. Later funding was supplemented with commercial activities related to its core broadcasting mission. The Australian Broadcasting Commission became the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1983.

The ABC provides radio, television, online, and mobile services throughout metropolitan and regional Australia. ABC Radio operates four national networks, a large number of ABC Local Radio stations, several digital stations, and the international service Radio Australia. ABC Television operates five free-to-air channels, as well as the ABC iview streaming service and the ABC Australia satellite channel. News and current affairs content across all platforms is produced by the news division.

The postal address of the ABC in every Australian capital city is PO Box 9994, as a tribute to the record-breaking Test batting average of Australian cricketer Sir Donald Bradman.[7][8][9]


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  1. ^ Australian Broadcasting Corporation Annual Report 2024. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Report). 28 August 2024. pp. 159, 164, 219. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Legislative framework". about.abc.net.au. 24 May 2024. Archived from the original on 1 May 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Bargains in the Air". Warwick Daily News. No. 8642. Queensland, Australia. 15 April 1947. p. 6. Retrieved 12 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "A.B.C. Deficit of £70,000". The West Australian. Vol. 63, no. 18, 974. Western Australia. 8 May 1947. p. 13. Retrieved 12 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "National Museum of Australia – Start of the ABC". www.nma.gov.au. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  6. ^ Harding, Richard (1985). "Australia: Broadcasting in the Political Battle". In Kuhn, Raymond (ed.). The politics of broadcasting. London: Croom Helm. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-7099-1542-3.
  7. ^ Daffey, Paul (28 November 2004). "The Ten". The Age. Archived from the original on 1 May 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  8. ^ Australian Story (27 July 2015). "Sir Donald Bradman: Seven interesting facts about the world's greatest Test batsman". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  9. ^ Eason, Alan (2004). The A–Z of Bradman. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780733315176.