What's New
BY Sarah Patterson June 3, 2026
What's New August 25, 2025
Can you find the radio in your new car? CRA issues urgent call to government
Reporter
Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA) has today issued a clear message to government: without urgent legislation to guarantee radio prominence, millions of Australians could lose easy access to local radio in cars and on smart speaker devices – threatening the future of Australia’s only 100% locally owned mass medium.
Lizzie Young, CEO of CRA said “Australia’s relationship with cars and radio is unique. Yet, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to access radio in new cars that prioritise global streaming services.”
“We drive long distances, live in dispersed communities, and rely on radio not just for entertainment, but for trusted news, connection, and vital information in times of emergency. Now is the time for urgent legislative action to ensure the medium of radio – with its central place in the driving experience – remains free and easily accessible for all Australians.”
CRA recently invested in upgrading the industry’s unified consumer app RadioApp, which relaunched today with an enhanced user experience.
Moving forward, CRA says protecting radio as a priority costs nothing, and the solution is simple. The entire radio sector – commercial, ABC, SBS and community broadcasters – are united in calling for:
- Prominent one-button access to Australian radio – AM, FM, DAB+ receivers and streaming audio – in all cars
- Guaranteed availability and discoverability on smart speakers
- Reliable verbal access to Australian radio services via voice assistants
Radio is a medium that Australians turn to in a crisis
Young says radio has long been the most reliable form of communication in emergencies. During Cyclone Alfred earlier this year, Australians turned to radio for vital updates, just as they did during the 2019–2020 bushfires, when mobile networks and power grids failed, but radio continued to broadcast life-saving information.
“Radio shouldn’t need mobile data, Wi-Fi, or power to be accessible, it should be easily available when Australians need it most,” said Young. “The government must act now to protect a medium that 15 million Australians rely on every week.”
Source: [1] Edison Research, The Infinite Dial 2025, Australians aged 10+, Listened to commercial radio in the past week.
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What's New
BY Sarah Patterson June 3, 2026
In one breath CRA claim traditional media is over regulated in an attempt to remove local content quotas, reach and ownership rules.
In the next breath they are asking for more legislation to do to other industry what they rail against for theirs.
Which is it, a commercial problem or a legislative problem?
Go and make commercial deals with car companies.
CRA ..Such a joke. Why not make compelling content rather than rely on radio being a default! Also does CRA really think their lobbying will make car manufacturers put a giant button in their cars. If you can’t locate the radio in a car you shouldn’t be driving!
Why should Australian radio have to “make deals” with car companies when they are the ones in place to help in the event of disasters?
Traditional media might complain about restrictive legislation, but is still fighting to survive against streaming services which do not provide local information!
If you ever end up with a local disaster, you’d better hope you have local radio!
I agree with Mike, it’s the current content and lack of format variety that is turning people off radio. CRA has overseen this protection racket for too long. They have lobbied to restrict new entrants on FM and then on DAB+ and wonder why people are turning off radio and onto streaming overseas stations and music sources. If the industry had offered great content and a variety of formats on DAB+ and actually pushed its rollout and take-up, they probably wouldn’t be so worried about people moving to streaming.