A submission by ACCAN about the National Disability Strategy.
Articles 9 and 21 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disability articulate the role of communications in making sure that people with disability enjoy human rights, freedoms and respect like other people. The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) believes that access to information and communication services are an essential tool for all people with disability to be able to participate to the fullest extent possible in Australian society.
Read more: Connecting Us All: The Role of the National Disability Strategy
An ACCAN submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications.
In this submission ACCAN informs the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications that the NBN has the potential to contribute to Australia in a significant way. In order for the NBN to be most beneficial to Australians, ACCAN believes that there are a number of key enabling policies that need to be in place relating to ubiquity, computer literacy and applications for people with a disability.
Read more: Inquiry into the role and potential of the National Broadband Network
ACCAN wants all consumers to pay a fair price for their phone calls. This paper demonstrates that consumers are paying too much for calls from fixed lines to mobile phones and could pay a better price for mobile-to-mobile calls.
Submission by ACCAN to the Senate Committee Inquiry into the National Broadband Network Companies Bill 2010; and Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (National Broadband Network Measures - Access Arrangements) Bill 2011.
On the whole, ACCAN supports the speedy passage of these Bills. It desirable that NBN Co operate within a strong regulatory framework such as these Bills provide, and that this framework be in place before regular services to consumers start to be delivered over the NBN beyond first and second release sites.
ACCAN, in its submission to the ACMA's Numbering Consultation paper 4, has urged the regulator to adopt an approach to numbering that considers the social impact of any change to numbering systems. This submission focuses on the positive impact a fair charging system for 1800, 1300 and 13 calls from mobiles will have on vulnerable consumers.
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.
Submission by ACCAN to the Telephone Information Services Standards Council (TISSC) Code of Practice Remedies Review
The TISSC is an independent regulatory body that sets standards in the form of a Code of Practice, for the message content and advertising of premium rate telephone information services, including numbers beginning with the prefixes 190 and 01972.
ACCAN strongly supports TISSC and the important work that it has carried out in both handling complaints relating to the TISSC Code of Practice (the Code) and in monitoring industry compliance with Code rules. We believe that the existing levels of complaint and accompanying definitions are not sufficiently clear and differentiated from one another.
Submission by ACCAN to the Australian Communications Media Authority regarding the 'Structure of Australia’s telephone numbering plan' consultation.
This submission addressed questions raised regarding geographic numbering. The views in this paper should be considered alongside ACCAN's recent super-complaint about charges incurred from mobile calls to 13, 1300 and 1800 numbers.
Read more: Structure of Australia’s telephone numbering plan