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The board of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is pleased to announce the appointment of Teresa Corbin as the peak communications’ body new Chief Executive. Ms Corbin is currently Acting CEO at ACCAN and will move immediately into the new role.

 

A new report into communications-related privacy complaints has found there are vast differences in complaint resolution times, remedies and compensation available to consumers, depending on which of the three statutory bodies you lodge a complaint with.

 

The ACMA’s major inquiry into Customer Service is now underway, with submissions due 10 September. To ensure you voice your experiences with the industry effectively, ACCAN will be hosting an information session about how to write a submission.

People of all ages use phones, mobile phones, the internet and TV. But how much access is there really for the 1 in 6 Australians who are deaf or hearing-impaired? This group includes older people with an acquired hearing impairment, as well as younger people.

Brain Injury is common. Over 500,000 Australians have an acquired brain injury. Three out every four of them are aged under 65. Nick Rushworth, Executive of Brain Injury Australia, explains Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) below as part of Brain Injury Awareness week:

Media reports that Telstra will put in place an “app cap” to cut off smartphone users’ internet access once they’ve reached their data allowance limit are not yet a reality, according to consumer group ACCAN.

The telco giant is yet to decide whether or not they will allow their customers to nominate a maximum spend to help them avoid bill shock, says ACCAN.

Peak telecommunications consumer advocacy group the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network says regardless of which party wins the Federal Election on August 21, what consumers really want to know is how each party will deliver affordable, accessible broadband services that meet the requirements of Australians into the future.

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is writing to federal, state and territory disability ministers today along with state and territory premiers and chief ministers urging them to adopt six key actions from its report Communications for All: the Role of the National Disability Strategy.

ACCAN welcomes today’s release of the Australian Government Web Accessibility National Transition Strategy by the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Lindsay Tanner, and Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities, Bill Shorten.

The Strategy outlines the steps that need to be taken to ensure all government web sites are compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 to its second highest AA level by 2015.

Consumers, government, regulators and industry are all stakeholders in a radically shifting communications environment. Together we are responsible for shaping a competitive, efficient and fair communications market that deliver all the potential benefits of affordable, available and accessible communications services to end users.

The 2010 ACCAN National Conference and Consumer Summit asks participants to think about the opportunities and challenges that we face in the provision of essential communications services in a digital age. We’ll explore opportunities to make the market work better for consumers, with a strong emphasis on actively ensuring no-one is left behind.

This Roundtable will hear about current cyber security issues from leading advocates in the disability sector, as well as discussing industry and government initiatives designed to create a safer online experience. The Roundtable will identify what people with disabilities need to protect themselves online.

A complaint sent by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) today (7 June) details six separate examples of telecommunications advertising that the consumer group believes breach the Trade Practices Act because they are misleading, deceptive or unfair – and sometimes all three.