<<in Australia anyway a person is not permitted to be in possession of a transmitter which can operate on frequencies other that those for which the operator is licensed. >>
Eminently sensible. In the UK anyone can buy off the shelf transmitting equipment for various bands without any qualifications. This led to an interesting incident many years ago at a major airport when a kid with an airband transceiver fancied himself as an air traffic controller and dished out a few instructions. 'nuff said.