The Enforcement of Telecommunications Consumer Protections
Join us to hear from report authors on telco consumer protections.
Telecommunications consumer protections remain in the spotlight. In February, following a direction from the Minister, ACMA adopted a new Financial Hardship Industry Standard, which strengthens the measures, previously set out in the TCP Code, that telcos must take to assist customers struggling to pay their phone bills. Meanwhile, Comms Alliance and its members continue to work on a revised TCP Code in an effort to address other gaps between consumer expectations and current safeguards identified by ACMA in its July 2023 position paper 'What Consumers Want - Customer Expectations for Telecommunications Safeguards'.
The rules governing telcos are an important component of an effective regulatory framework for consumers but so too are the powers that ACMA has to enforce those safeguards and the way in which it exercises those powers. To date, however, there has been no study of how ACMA has exercised its discretion to enforce existing consumer protection-related provisions.
In this webinar, the UTS Centre for Media Transition shares a preliminary account of enforcement action taken by ACMA between 1 January 2010 and 30 June 2023 in relation to industry codes, industry standards, select service provider rules and select carrier license conditions. It provides important data that should inform current and future policy discussions about the appropriate regulatory framework for the telecommunications industry.
