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ACCAN and the Internet Society of Australia have recently launched NBN: A Guide for Consumers, which provides answers to many questions you may have about the National Broadband Network. It is available via the link above or the Research reports tab on the left-hand side of the Broadband page, including fully accessible versions in audio and Auslan (Australian sign language).  Speeches from the launch are available by following the read more link below.

 

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The Internet Society of Australia (ISOC-AU) and the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), today launched NBN: A Guide for Consumers, designed to offer all Australians simple information about the National Broadband Network.

Welcome to our brand new ACCAN website!

We hope that the new site will be an excellent resource for consumers, our members, industry, regulators, government and the media. It contains news items, tip sheets for consumers, policy submissions and position statements, our grant projects and research documents. There’s a special area for ACCAN members and an events page to keep you up to date with what’s going on in the sector.

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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.

Peak telecommunications consumer body ACCAN body says the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) needs to be given greater powers, including the ability to charge telcos more to resolve complaints and the right to award compensation to customers when a telco breaches its consumer protection obligations, in order to bring about real change to the industry.  

Australia was reviewed for the first time under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva in January 2011. The UPR is a peer review by all 192 United Nations Members States. Over 50 countries made statements about Australia’s human rights record and 145 recommendations were made.

Here, ACCAN outlines practical suggestions of how the Australian Government can implement UPR recommendations. 

ACCAN has recommended that the ACMA work towards a system that automatically provides location information to Emergency Service Operators when consumers call from a landline, mobile or VoIP phone.

The Footscray Legal Community Centre (FCLC) together with ACCAN has today released a damning report that documents the experiences of 16 new Australian migrants and finds that in many cases telcos are taking advantage of this already disadvantaged and highly vulnerable group.

The Footscray Legal Community Centre (FCLC) together with ACCAN has released a report entitiled Taking Advantage of Disadvantage: Case studies of refugee and new migrant experiences in the communications market, finding that in many cases telcos are taking advantage of this already disadvantaged and highly vulnerable group.

Picture representing people connecting to ACCAN for newsWelcome to our collection of the latest news and current affairs that impact communications consumers. 

Sign up for ACCAN's weekly newsletter to have these news items sent to your email address each week. To sign up please click on 'Get our e-newsletter' on the right of this page.

 

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During the course of our Fair Calls For All campaign some of ACCAN's members and supporters have raised concerns that services for domestic violence survivors are offered on 1800, 1300 and 13 numbers, which are prohibitively expensive to access from a mobile phone.

The 2011 round of the ACCAN Grants Scheme opens today with $250,000 in funding to support consumer research, representation, or education projects related to communications in Australia.  The peak communications group says eligible community organisations, research bodies and individuals looking to fund communications projects can apply for funding of up to $60,000.

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