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Submissions

An ACCAN submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications.

In this submission ACCAN informs the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications that the NBN has the potential to contribute to Australia in a significant way. In order for the NBN to be most beneficial to Australians, ACCAN believes that there are a number of key enabling policies that need to be in place relating to ubiquity, computer literacy and applications for people with a disability.

Read more: Inquiry into the role and potential of the National Broadband Network

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Submissions

ACCAN wants all consumers to pay a fair price for their phone calls. This paper demonstrates that consumers are paying too much for calls from fixed lines to mobile phones and could pay a better price for mobile-to-mobile calls. 

Read more: MTAS - regulating the cost of a call

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Submissions

Submission by ACCAN to the Senate Committee Inquiry into the National Broadband Network Companies Bill 2010; and Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (National Broadband Network Measures - Access Arrangements) Bill 2011. 

On the whole, ACCAN supports the speedy passage of these Bills. It desirable that NBN Co operate within a strong regulatory framework such as these Bills provide, and that this framework be in place before regular services to consumers start to be delivered over the NBN beyond first and second release sites.

Read more: Senate Committee Inquiries into the NBN

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Submissions

ACCAN, in its submission to the ACMA's Numbering Consultation paper 4, has urged the regulator to adopt an approach to numbering that considers the social impact of any change to numbering systems. This submission focuses on the positive impact a fair charging system for 1800, 1300 and 13 calls from mobiles will have on vulnerable consumers. 

Read more: Implications of research into consumer issues

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Submissions

ACCAN believes the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) is constrained by its current governance structure and limited resources to truly reach its potential. The TIO needs to modernise and come into line with other industries, most notably to meet the benchmark set by the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Read more: Modernising the TIO

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Submissions

Submission by ACCAN to the Telephone Information Services Standards Council (TISSC) Code of Practice Remedies Review

The TISSC is an independent regulatory body that sets standards in the form of a Code of Practice, for the message content and advertising of premium rate telephone information services, including numbers beginning with the prefixes 190 and 01972.

ACCAN strongly supports TISSC and the important work that it has carried out in both handling complaints relating to the TISSC Code of Practice (the Code) and in monitoring industry compliance with Code rules. We believe that the existing levels of complaint and accompanying definitions are not sufficiently clear and differentiated from one another.

Read more: TISSC Code of Practice Remedies Review

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Submissions

Submission by ACCAN to the Australian Communications Media Authority regarding the 'Structure of Australia’s telephone numbering plan' consultation.

This submission addressed questions raised regarding geographic numbering. The views in this paper should be considered alongside ACCAN's recent super-complaint about charges incurred from mobile calls to 13, 1300 and 1800 numbers.

Read more: Structure of Australia’s telephone numbering plan

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Tip sheets

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Tip sheets

Easy English focuses on presenting key information rather than all the detail. Words are combined with images to enhance the message for the reader. Ideally, reading an Easy English document is a shared activity between the reader and another person, such as a friend, a family member or support person.

ACCAN has produced the following guides in Easy English.

Read more: Information in Easy English

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Tip sheets

Throughout our lives, we accumulate a variety of assets. In the past, these have traditionally included things such as houses, cars, finances and other tangible possessions. These assets are considered when drawing up a will in the event of our passing.

Read more: How to prepare your digital legacy

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Tip sheets

Community Consultation Guide5.36 MB

ACCAN has launched the 2nd Edition of the Community Consultation Guide. The Guide is designed to help communities address issues with mobile coverage in their areas.

Mobile coverage is a key issue for consumers, particularly those in regional, rural and remote Australia. Achieving improvements in mobile coverage is a priority focus of ACCAN's work. The Mobile Black Spot Programme will deliver improvements to mobile coverage, but the demand for these improvements will far outstrip supply.

Read more: Mobile Blackspots - Community consultation guide

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Tip sheets

In a project funded by ACCAN, researchers at The University of Sydney analysed 61 top-rated mental health apps available to Australian consumers.

Mental health apps commonly collected consumer data, requested that consumers make in-app purchases, and made health claims. Although this is normal in the app world, we thought, “How would this stand up in the real world?”

Read more: Navigating mental health apps