Decommissioning of Wongan Hills Television Retransmission Service

TV Decommission Information Session

Wednesday 12 February - 6.00pm – Wongan Hills CRC Function Room

This session will provide residents an opportunity to ask questions, as well as find out about options they can consider for replacing the service, if they currently depend on the Retransmission Tower for TV usage. The Shire wants to provide as much support as possible and provide residents with a smooth transition during the decommission.

An additional date will be further advertised for anyone who is unable to attend the evening session. 

At the Ordinary Council Meeting held on Wednesday 27 November, Council resolved to decommission the television retransmission service in Wongan Hills, effective from 23 June 2026. This means that as of this date, residents will no longer be able to access this service as their source of television. This date also coincides with the Shire’s retransmission license expiry.

Background

The digital television retransmission infrastructure located at the Quinlan Street site was deployed in early 2008 as part of the transition from analogue to digital transmission. The Shire acknowledges that, in particular over the past few years, this service has been operating inconsistently. The issue that is faced is that the quality and consistency of this service is out of the Shire’s control, and it is not financially viable to continue providing this service.

Based on the survey recently undertaken, a total of 74 properties responded that they use the Shire’s television retransmission service as their sole source of television, and a further 20 responded they use a combination of this service and other services. To put this into perspective, the Shire has a total of 905 rateable properties within the district. This service is only available to Wongan Hills townsite properties, however, every ratepayer is currently contributing towards the maintenance and upkeep of this service through their general rates each year.

Why was this Decision Made?

As outlined in the letter sent to all ratepayers who can access this service, it is becoming increasingly less and less economically viable to continue providing this service. All ratepayers are contributing to cover the cost of the service through their annual rates, and only a minority use the service. This service is only available to Wongan Hills townsite properties, therefore, there is a large number of ratepayers who do not have the ability to access this service. The service has been experiencing more and more issues, and the technology is becoming outdated.

Further to the above, the company that services the retransmission equipment is based in Queensland, and as not all issues can be resolved remotely, this has become quite an issue with an increase in service instability. It is not economically viable to engage alternative service providers due to the substantial costs involved.

You may be aware that in mid-2024, the Shire of Koorda announced their decision to terminate this service as well due to similar issues.

Since the inception of this service, the net cost to date to the Shire (ratepayers) is $435,865. As the Shire adopts a balanced budget each financial year, this means that each year, through general rates, every ratepayer in the Shire is contributing towards the continuation of this service. This means that 811 properties not utilising this service (whether they have access to it or not) are subsidising the 94 that do.

Cumulative Financial Summary

TV Service Charge	Operating Cost	Capital Cost	Net Cost
$190,400	-$253,965	-$372,300	-$435,865

To clarify the TV Service Charge; this was a separate charge payable on each Wongan Hills townsite property included on the rates notice for the following financial years:
• 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10 = $60 per property
• 2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 = $50 per property

Council has also resolved to not allocate any further capital funding to this service for the 2025/26 financial year. This means that from 1 July 2025, if there is a significant equipment failure, it will not be remediated.

Council acknowledges that there are still properties utilising this service, and in order to assist in facilitating the transition away from the retransmission service, an open information session will be held at the CRC Function Room at 6pm, Wednesday 12 February 2025. This information session will be a forum for anyone to attend and ask any questions they may have in relation to this decision, as well as an opportunity for information to be provided on alternative sources of television. 

Council is providing everyone who is impacted by this decision with 18 months’ notice, giving residents ample time to make alternative arrangements if they wish. This decision was not taken lightly by Council, and it has been made with the best interest for all ratepayers within the Shire of Wongan-Ballidu district.

Have a question about this change?

If you have any questions, please contact the Shire via the contact information provided below:

✉️ shire@wongan.wa.gov.au

📞 9671 2500