What is the IPND?

The Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) is a database that contains records of all Australian telephone numbers and associated customer details. It is managed by Telstra under the Carrier Licence Conditions, and is an important source of information for emergency and law enforcement purposes.

IPND review history

In November 2011, the then Department of Communications and the Digital Economy commenced a review of the IPND to assess the database's effectiveness and utility, its privacy implications and whether the IPND is able to innovate and keep pace with technological and market changes. ACCAN's submission to this review is available online.

The ongoing review, which also included two stakeholder workshops in April 2012 and in June 2014, reached its final stages in April 2015, when the Department of Communications released a report and a number of recommendations.

The current IPND is likely to be retained in the medium term and reviewed after the Department of Communications' Review of the Triple Zero operator and the implementation of the Triple Zero contract arrangements from 2016.

ACCAN's submission and recommendations

ACCAN made a number of comments and recommendations in response to the Department of Communication's 2015 IPND report. These include:

• Amending the Telecommunications Act to ensure there is a clear obligation for a carriage Service Provide (CSP) to provide their customers with access to their IPND entries.
• Ensuring that the IPND Manager (Telstra) and CSPs uphold their obligation under the Privacy Act to allow customers to access their IPND directly from both the IPND Manager and their CSP, within a reasonable timeframe of four weeks.
• Allowing only emergency services, national security agencies and researchers who are researching in the public interest, to access IPND entries.

A full list of ACCAN's recommendations and comments can be found in its submission.

Download: IPND 2015 submission440.23 KB

Download: IPND 2015 submission802.8 KB