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Life members

Ian Binnie has been an individual member of ACCAN since its inception and also one of the predecessor organisations the Consumers Telecommunications Network (CTN). Ian joined CTN soon after he retired from a long career in the telecommunications industry. He is a great supporter of consumer representation activities in the telecommunications industry.

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Life members

Nan Bosler has been both an individual member and an organisational representative of ACCAN on behalf of the Australian Seniors Computer Clubs Association (ASCCA). Nan came across from the CTN Board as a founding member of the ACCAN Board 2008-2010. Nan has been a dynamic advocate in the telecommunications policy arena for seniors. Through her work as President of ASCCA she has ensured digital literacy has been high on the list of priorities for all levels of governments and the private sector.

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Life members

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Life members

Gerard Goggin was an inaugural ACCAN Board member appointed in 2008. Since then Gerard has been a member of the ACCAN Independent Grants Panel which assesses applications for the ACCAN grants program.  Gerard has continue to provide leadership on many communications consumer issues including universal service, accessibility issues and mobile telephony. Gerard is currently Wee Kim Wee Professor of Communication Studies at Nanyang Technology University in Singapore.

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Life members

Johanna Plante joined the ACCAN Board in 2010 and was then elected as Chairperson in 2011, a role she would hold for 6 years. Johanna’s term on the ACCAN Board finished in 2017 after the organisation had successfully been reviewed. During her time as Chair, ACCAN’s profile grew and industry engagement increased. Johanna has worked tirelessly to improve outcomes for consumers with disabilities particularly for Deaf and Hard of Hearing consumers. She was recently on the Minister appointed Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee and she worked hard to ensure the voices of rural, regional and remote consumers were heard.

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Life members

Sue Salthouse AM became Chair of ACCAN following its first AGM in 2009 and she was also the chair of the ACCAN Standing Advisory Committee on Disability Issues. She was on the inaugural ACCAN Board in 2008 and completed her term at the end of 2011. Prior to that Sue worked closely with TEDICORE on many communications consumers issues. She was on the Telecommunications Consumer Representation Working Group which developed the ACCAN proposal. Sue co-ordinated the Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA) Telecommunications Working Group and was the Chair of the Communications Alliance Disability Council. Sue has made major contributions to improving the accessibility of telecommunications for people with disabilities in Australia.

Visit Sue's ACCAN condolence page.

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Life members

ACCAN is delighted to award Andrew a Life Membership of ACCAN. Andrew has been a life-long champion for people with disabilities, particularly the deaf and hard of hearing.

He has brought that commitment to consumers through his early involvement with ACCAN’s predecessor organisation CTN, and his support for over the years to ACCAN.

He has been an exceptional contributor to ACCAN campaigns and policy work and an outstanding advocate for people with disabilities in a number of CTN and ACCAN fora, and an outstanding advocate on the many committees and panels he has participated in. He brings to ACCAN a wealth of knowledge and experience on people with disabilities, particularly the deaf and hard of hearing that include:

• His involvement in drafting the first disability standard on acoustic coupling;
• His involvement with Print-a-Call and later, establishment of Hearing Connections in the provision of both assistive devices and advice on their use
• His championing the issues of the compatibility of hearing aids with mobile phones and later, of the compatibility of TTYs with the NBN
• His involvement with ACCAN’s Accessible Telecoms Project

ACCAN, its members and so many of the consumers we serve owe a huge debt of gratitude to Andrew for his knowledge, his expertise and his commitment to people with disabilities. We are proud to name Andrew Stewart as a Life Member of ACCAN.

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Life members

Nigel Waters has been both an individual member of ACCAN and an organisational representative for the Australian Privacy Foundation. Nigel was elected to the ACCAN Board in 2012 and continued as a Director until 2017. He was also a Board member of the Australian Privacy Foundation for many years and represented Privacy International at meetings of the APEC Privacy Subgroup and other international fora. Using the expertise he gained as deputy Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner from 1989-1997, and before that Assistant UK Data Protection Registrar, Nigel has continued to advise and support communications consumer advocacy in Australia for many years. He has represented consumers on numerous Industry Code Working Committees and supported the development of countless ACCAN policy positions and submissions on all kinds of emerging privacy issues. He has mentored consumer representatives and ACCAN policy staff. Nigel has also assisted ACCAN interns with research projects covering topics from digital footprints and surveillance to use of biometric data. Nigel has a long-term commitment to improving the privacy protection for all consumers.

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Life members

Robin Wilkinson’s contribution to consumer representation in telecommunications has been extensive over a 30-year period. As a founding member of ACCAN, Robin has been a supporter of the organisation since its inception.

Robin was also a member of the Consumers’ Telecommunications Network (CTN) Board from the outset of the organisation’s establishment in 1990. After being Deputy Chairperson for many years, she was elected CTN Chairperson in 2004 and held the position until 2007. Representing Tasmanians with Disabilities, Robin was an active member on the Telstra Consumer Councils and the Optus Consumer Liaison Forum.

In her advocacy on behalf of consumers, Robin focused on accessible communications equipment, emergency services, and priority assistance. Her extensive expertise in consumer education meant she was actively involved in working with the regulator, AUSTEL on an extensive re-numbering initiative of all phone numbers in Australia between 1994-1998.

Robin is also known for her promotion of the rights of people with disabilities in communications, leading to international recognition of the work of the CTN and consumer representation in Australia. She sought to build an understanding of universal design principles and the value of consumer consultation in product design and development. Notably, she was a member of the Australian delegation to the 10^th Global Standards Collaboration (GSC) meeting in Nice, France in 2005 and the 11^th GSC meeting in Chicago, USA in 2006 where she gave presentations to leading engineers and regulators from around the world.

Robin was responsible for ensuring inclusive practices at CTN, and this approach was the basis for the participatory culture that is now a part of ACCAN’s DNA. As a consumer representative Elder, Robin was honoured as a special guest at the ACCAN m-Enabling Conference in 2013 in Sydney. Since then, she has continued to mentor and support ACCAN staff who value her extensive knowledge and history on consumers’ accessibility and telecommunications needs for many years. Her approach of “nothing about us without us” is now embedded in the approach to consumer advocacy in communications in Australia.

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NetNecessity

The supporters of No Australian Left Offline want affordable broadband. Affordable broadband is a home internet service that enables all Australians to be online regardless of their personal circumstances or where they live, without putting them into financial stress. 

With all Australian government services to be available online by 2025, it’s more important than ever that there is No Australian Left Offline.

Over one million Australians will continue to have access to essential government services with affordable broadband. 

The benefits of this Federal budget neutral policy

In Australia there are one million households that are at risk of not switching over to the NBN because of the cost. This limits the opportunities of these households, and threatens the underlying economics of the NBN by reducing take-up of services. Reduced take-up means lower NBN revenues and reduced capacity to provide a return to government. 

How can we achieve affordable broadband?

ACCAN proposes a 50 mbps unlimited broadband service offered at a wholesale price of $20 per month by NBN Co to households receiving government financial support.

This would mean eligible households would pay approximately $30 per month for unlimited broadband – almost halving the current average cost.

We estimate that providing this concession to the 1 million + households on the lowest incomes can be Federal budget neutral, and support these households to be connected.

Downloads:

Download: No Australian Left Offline - Policy document97.5 KB
Download: No Australian Left Offline - Policy document752.71 KB

Download:  No Australian Left Offline - Affordable Broadband for the regions102 KB
Download:  No Australian Left Offline - Affordable Broadband for the regions759.57 KB

Download: No Australian Left Offline - Media release3.1 MB
Download: No Australian Left Offline - Media release982.99 KB

Download: A3 colour brochure2.2 MB
 

Supporters of No Australian Left Offline

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News

Australian telcos are turning off the 3G network

Australian telecommunications companies are closing their 3G networks to increase the capacity and speed of 4G and 5G services. Devices that only connect to 3G won’t be able to make or receive calls and texts or access the internet. Some early 4G devices are also impacted.

Read more: Quick steps to prepare for the 3G shutdown

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News

A guide for consumers

The telecommunications regulator, the ACMA, has developed a new regulation called the Telecommunications (Financial Hardship) Industry Standard (the FH standard), which builds upon protections in the existing Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code (TCP Code). The FH Standard will commence on March 29, and compliance is mandatory.

Read more: Quick guide to the Financial Hardship Standard