The Australian Communications and Media Authority this week implemented a restructure that represents the latest step in its transformation process.

‘The restructure was designed to bring additional focus to several key tasks that presently face the ACMA (including digital transition for TV and radio and various telecommunications aspects of the NBN proposals) while maintaining its commitment to regulate increasingly convergent industries in a converged way,’ said Chris Chapman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the ACMA.

‘I am looking forward to our new structure functioning as a powerful platform from which the ACMA can pursue its strategic goal: to make communications and media work in Australia’s public interest. This is a pivotal step forward for the ACMA’s aim of reaching a world-class standard of performance.’

The four primary drivers for the restructure are:

Delivering on the ACMA’s mandate to support the digital television transition;

Contributing to the development of the NBN (and seeking to anticipate its impact for the ACMA);

Consistent with recent Federal Government initiatives, signalling an appropriate new weighting to the role of the citizen; and

Importantly, enabling the ACMA to continue to drive delivery on its current ‘day jobs’.

Important aspirations around which elements of the restructure were conceived are stakeholder oriented—providing best practice e-government services, delivering for consumers and citizens and fulfilling the critical tasks assigned to the ACMA by government—again all intended to increase the focus on stakeholder outcomes and satisfaction.

The ACMA has moved from five to six divisions, each headed up by a General Manager. Details of the roles of each of the divisions are contained in the attached backgrounder.

‘I am pleased to say that there has been broad staff and management support and engagement with the restructure and I am confident that the new shape of the ACMA will sharpen our external stakeholder focus over calendar year 2010,’ Mr Chapman said.