Australian Licensing

Interested in become an Amateur Radio Operator in Australia? Here is some important information on where to get started.

Firstly, there are 3 license classes in Australia.

The Foundation, Standard and Advanced licenses are available.

The callsign prefix of Australia is "VK" followed by 0-9 which indicates which state the operator got their license in. "Foundation & Standard" Licensees are only allowed 3 letter suffixes. However if the operator has the "Advanced" license, they are allowed a 2 letter suffix if available.

License Classes

The Band plan for Australian Amateurs can be found here.

All Classes have access to all mode depending on which part of the frequency the operator is transmitting in.

• Foundation Class

The Foundation Class is the lowest tier in Australia for Amateur Radio. The Test consists of a 25 question exam which must be completed in under 30 minutes, to pass, at least 17/25 correctly answered questions are required. There is also a practical component of the assessment which requires you to setup a base station, make a contact, identify several different types of antennas, connecters, test continuity of cables and answer questions about CTCSS codes and DTMF codes.

The power output for the Foundation Class is 10W (PEP)^{[citation needed]}

Currently the Foundation License has access to:

• 80m
• 40m
• 15m
• 10m
• 2m
• 70cm

• Standard Class

The Standard Class is the second tier in Australia for Amateur Radio. The assessment consists of 2 separate tests, one being a 50 question theory based exam and the other being a regulations exam which is 35 questions.

The power output for the Standard Class is 100W (PEP)

Currently the Standard License has access to:

• 80m
• 40m
• 20m
• 15m
• 10m
• 6m
• 2m
• 70m
• 23cm
• 13cm
• 6cm

• Advanced Class

The Advanced Class is the third and last tier in Australia for Amateur Radio. The assessment consists of 2 separate tests, one being a 50 question theory based exam and the other being a regulations exam which is 35 questions.

The power output for the Advanced Class is 400W (PEP)

The Advanced License has access to all frequencies available in Australia.

External Resources

• More information can be found on the WIA website where Foundation practice exams can be found and band allocations.
• Practice exams for Advanced and Standard can be found here on the Australian Amateur Radio website.
• The Syllabus for each Class can be found on the AMC website.