ACCAN recently commented on the scheduled review of Customer Authorisation (CA) Industry Guideline (G651:2017) (the Guideline). ACCAN’s submission highlights that the protection of the rights and interests of telecommunications Customers is inhibited in the Guideline, by a lack of clarity on the CA transfer process, the limited guidance on the use of cancellation fees, and the inaccessibility of CA information for people with disability.

ACCAN’s submission addresses these concerns by proposing seven amendments to the Guideline:

1. Amend section 1.1.3 to state that the Guideline be read in conjunction with:
   1. The Information on Accessibility Features for Telephone Equipment Industry Code (C625:2020); and
   2. The Telecommunications Disability Standard (Requirements for Customer Equipment for use with the Standard Telephone Service—Features for special needs of persons with disabilities (AS/ACIF S040) 2015.
2. Amend section 3.1 to introduce a clause that requires the GSP to provide information to the Customer in accessible formats.
3. Amend section 3.1 (b) to require the GSP to advise the Customer of when the CA has been completed no longer than five working days from when the transfer is complete.
4. Amend section 3.1 (c) to mandate that GSP must inform the Customer of the reasons for why the Losing Service Provider’s (LSP) service obligations may or may not cease upon the completion of the transfer.
5. Amend section 3.1 (e) to state that any cancellation fee incurred by the Customer for early cancellation must be a genuine estimate of the provider’s loss.
6. Amend section 4.1 to include CA authorisations recorded in Braille and different community languages.
7. Amend section 5.1 to specify that the CA must include information on cancellation fees and penalties for early cancellation.

Download:  Customer Authorisation Industry Guideline submission4.5 MB

Download:  Customer Authorisation Industry Guideline submission401.54 KB