DCS-2026-01 NSW Government radio investment requirements
Requirements for NSW Government agency investment in radio services or equipment, and consolidation of NSW Government operational communications networks.
Issued: by Secretary, Department of Customer Service
Key information
- Status
- Active
- Type
- Department of Customer Service Circular
- Identifier
- DCS-2026-01
- Compliance
- Mandatory
- Created
- Updated
Who needs to know and/or comply with this?
- Advisory Entities (including Boards and Committees)
- Departments
- Executive agencies related to Departments
- Separate agencies
- State Owned Corporations
- Statutory Authorities/Bodies
- Subsidiaries of the NSW Government established under the Corporations Act
About
This circular outlines the requirements for NSW Government agency investment in radio services or equipment. It also provides context about the consolidation of NSW Government operational communications networks and associated requirements for government agencies.
The NSW Government continues to implement strategies to ensure value for investment in radio services and equipment, including radio used for operational communications. This approach aligns with the Operational Communications Strategy 2030 to ensure that we have the right technology, people and systems to meet NSW Government agency demand for secure, reliable and resilient voice and data-enabled services.
Operational communications is defined in the Government Telecommunications Act 2018 (Act) as:
communications to facilitate the exercise of functions by a government sector agency—
- in connection with preventing, preparing for, responding to or recovering from, an emergency, public safety incident or other incident posing a risk of harm to any person or property (including training activities in relation to the exercise of those functions), and
- in relation to the NSW Police Force—in connection with law enforcement and compliance.[1]
Key requirements
The key requirements of this circular are for all NSW Government agencies to:
- For investment in radio: seek NSW Telco Authority (NSWTA) approval for any investment in radio services or equipment.
- For operational communications: prioritise requests regarding Public Safety Network (PSN) [2] rollout such as site access requests.
The circular also provides some important information about NSWTA’s role under the Act in relation to spectrum management.
Further details are provided below.
For investment in radio
Drawing on expertise in the field, NSWTA maintains the role of assessing NSW Government agency expenditure in radio communications to ensure that agencies are purchasing the right assets to meet their needs in a way that makes sense for all NSW Government.
The role of NSWTA includes approval of any proposal for radio communications to be considered by Cabinet’s Expenditure Review Committee. NSWTA’s approval is also required for:
- any expenditure on new radio communications assets and commercial services, and/or
- for new sites, new towers on a site or upgrades to a site
The below table provides a guide of what is considered radio communications for the purposes of this circular:
| Radio communications | Not considered as radio |
|---|---|
| HF, VHF and UHF radio networks including radio terminals, paging terminals, paging infrastructure, repeaters, dispatch consoles, control systems and power infrastructure. | IoT sensors. |
3G (WCDMA), 4G (LTE) and 5G (NR) networks Including any associated consoles, spectrum, vehicular or transportable equipment, SIM/eSIM/Services with any LTE carrier/MVNO used for operational communications. | Standalone Wi-Fi networks. |
| Fixed wireless networks. | Fixed line (FTTX) networks. |
| Transmission or backhaul services supporting the above networks including microwave, leased line, satellite, fibre and multi-protocol label switching (MPLS), satellite infrastructure, terminals and services. | SIM and commercial phone plan contracts not used for operational communications. |
| Temporary coverage solutions and mobile radio assets. |
If agencies are purchasing small quantities of approved terminals, either less than 10 handsets or less than 5% of the total terminals used by an agency, approval from NSWTA is not required. For larger quantities of terminals, or for any purchases for use on networks other than the PSN, please consult with NSWTA in advance of the purchase.
If NSWTA determines that any proposed infrastructure or network developments or upgrades will interfere with, not be reasonably compatible with, or otherwise adversely affect the operation of the PSN, they will not be approved.
As with broader information technology investments, proposals will need to be consistent with the investment principles of the NSW Government ICT Investment Policy and Guidelines and any procurement must be through the scheme SCM0053 Operational Telecommunications Equipment, Infrastructure and Services.
To apply for approval of or further clarification, please contact the NSW Telco Authority via the online form at:
https://www.nsw.gov.au/telco-authority/contact-us
For operational communications
The intent of the Critical Communications Enhancement Program (CCEP) is to consolidate all NSW Government operational communications networks and expenditure into one network, the PSN. This means that there should not be any NSW Government agency investment in operational communications other than in the PSN. However, there will be a transition period to allow agencies to fully migrate to the PSN, and some investment to maintain other existing operational communications networks may be approved in some cases.
To support the implementation of the CCEP, section 16 of the Act (when it is proclaimed following a rationalisation period), will require all NSW Government agencies to use the PSN for operational communications. To support the transition, agencies are required to prioritise requests of NSWTA and its industry partners for access to relevant sites and to provide timely information to allow planning, design, construction and de-commissioning to be carried out.
For investment in equipment or infrastructure using the PSN, such as cells on wheels, please contact NSWTA to discuss the investment. NSWTA investment approval is not required for singular PSN vehicular and portable terminals. However, please seek approval for Vehicle-as-a-Node and similar solutions that will use or in any way interconnect with the PSN.
Spectrum management
To ensure appropriate allocation of spectrum, and in accordance with section 5 (c) of the Act, the NSWTA will facilitate, manage and administer applications to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) in relation to radio frequency allocation on behalf of NSW Government agencies as required and in consultation with the relevant agencies.
The Spectrum Management Office of NSWTA can be contacted by email at [email protected].
[1] Section 3(1) Definitions under the Act
[2] Defined as the Government telecommunications network in the Act.
State Owned Corporations
State Owned Corporations are encouraged to comply. Compliance is required to the extent that it is consistent with sound commercial practice.