This course provides an introduction to the two broad areas of law regulating the content and carriage of communications in Australia. These include laws relating to the planning and licensing of telecommunications and broadcasting services; rules about who can establish, own and control media and communications businesses; the regulation of media content - classification and censorship, free speech and defamation, laws affecting journalists, and local content; and consumer protection. It is a very topical course, with current issues including regulation of the internet, the introduction of digital broadcasting, and convergence. The course provides an excellent introduction to areas of media and communications law, which can be studied in more detail in the LLM program.