Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Special Broadcasting Service began broadcasting on the 9th of June 1975. Two experimental radio stations with call signs 2EA and 3EA started operations to address post-World War II immigration patterns.
Full-time transmission began at 6:30 pm on the 24th of October 1980. This launch coincided with United Nations Day and featured a documentary entitled Who Are We? hosted by Peter Luck.
About 80 percent of funding for the Special Broadcasting Service is derived from tax revenue. The remaining portion comes from paid-for government information campaigns and commercial advertising which remains limited to five minutes per hour.
In April 2003, the Special Broadcasting Service dropped four languages including Irish, Scots Gaelic, Welsh, and Belarusian. The service added Amharic, Nepalese, Malay, and Somali during this same period.
The Special Broadcasting Service became a corporation in 1991 following the passage of the Special Broadcasting Service Act 1991. The organization operates six TV channels and seven radio networks today.