In July we published Digital Platform Complaint Handling: Options for an External Dispute Resolution Scheme, and this week we held an open round table here at UTS to discuss the findings.
The report was researched and written by Holly Raiche, Karen Lee, Anita Stuhmcke and myself. It came out of a recommendation by the ACCC in the Digital Platform Inquiry that there should be an ombud scheme to resolve disputes with digital platform providers. The ACCC said the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) might be suitable, or if not, a new ombud scheme could be created.
CMT’s research on the topic looked at where consumers could take complaints, whether the TIO might be a suitable ombud, and what else might need to be taken into account. We concluded that an entirely new, comprehensive ombud scheme was unlikely to be a viable option, despite the obvious appeal of a one-stop shop for complainants. We suggested that two other options should be explored instead: an expanded TIO and a clearing house for digital platform complaints.
In related developments, the ACCC continued to consider this issue and in September published a report in which it suggested that an industry-specific ombud would be preferable.
Against this background, this week we held an event on this topic, with speakers including Cynthia Gebert, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman; Morag Bond from eSafety; Josh Machin from Meta; Gareth Downing from ACCAN; and report author, Karen Lee. The open round table offered a lively and informed discussion of the topic. Key policy issues appear to revolve around the extent to which any enforcement action could be undertaken by an ombud, and how the ACCC’s idea of a ‘no closed doors’ policy – an alternative to a clearing house – could be operationalised to ensure consumers are efficiently directed to the best place to have their dispute considered.
We’re pleased that the research and the event have helped to keep the topic on the policy agenda, and we’ll continue to follow it into 2023.
Derek Wilding, CMT Co-Director