A person putting a ballot paper into a ballot box

 

With a federal election looming, Australia’s major parties have each outlined their communications policies.

Below is a summary of the Coalition (Liberal and the National parties), Labor, and the Australian Greens’ policies and priorities as voters begin heading to the polls.

[Information last updated on 22.04.22]

Write comment (0 Comments)

Icon for Affordable Devices in the Australian Capital Territory

Please choose the type of device you are looking for:

 

Disclaimer:

This list is to be used for guidance only, and inclusion on it is not an endorsement or recommendation. This website is not intended to be a substitute for independent advice. 

This list is intended to be a work in progress and ACCAN encourages feedback from the broader community on recommended improvements to the site and its contents. If you find some of this information incomplete or out of date please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  

Genevieve Wilkinson

The growing rate of scams and the devastating impact they are having on Australians has been recognised by the Federal Government through the establishment of the SMS Sender ID Register – but it should be made mandatory.

ACCAN has welcomed this important step in the fight against scams but urges the government to  ensure that all industry participants are doing their part to stop fraudsters from stealing money or information from Australians. That requires a mandatory scheme.

ACCAN recently submitted to the Productivity Commissions’ inquiry into the Opportunities in the Circular Economy. ACCAN’s submission sets out initiatives that would ease cost of living pressures on consumers and reduce the environmental impact of the communications sector.

ACCAN’s submission recommends the Government:

  • Reform national policy settings to facilitate a competitive independent repair sector and develop a national repairability labelling scheme for consumer products.
  • Legislate a Right to Repair following the recommendations of the Right to Repair inquiry report and taking into account the European Union’s Right to Repair Directive.
  • Develop an information standard for refurbished devices to facilitate consumers effectively comparing the quality of refurbished internet devices.

The Australian Seniors Computer Clubs Association (ASCCA) conducted research on the effectiveness of various digital literacy training methodologies that were being used by ASCCA's member clubs around Australia.

Further information on the project and the final report is available on the ACCAN Grants Scheme webpage.

The summary below outlines ACCAN’s activities from 1 September to 30 November 2015.

MoneyMob Photograph MoneyMob Talkabout

Grant Round: 2019

Amount: $50,000

Reliable communications services have never been more important. The COVID-19 pandemic has proven that staying connected to friends and loved ones has never been more crucial, while a string of natural disasters have shown that phone and internet services are essential when it comes to recovery efforts and community rebuilding.

In August 2021, Telstra announced that any standard national mobile calls from ‘payphones’ would be made free. For many people, especially people living in capital cities, it might be difficult to remember the last time you needed to use a payphone. While not everyone has to rely on them to stay connected, payphones are still a very important service for many people, especially those that find themselves in need of a freely available form of communication.

Write comment (0 Comments)

Icon for Affordable Devices in Victoria

Please choose the type of device you are looking for:

 

Mobile devices - Victoria

Andrew Williams - ACCAN CEO

ACCAN - Australia’s peak communications consumer group – today welcomed the news that the Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland has directed the ACMA to establish an industry standard to ensure telecommunications companies communicate with consumers in the event of an outage.

This reform follows advocacy from ACCAN and other organisations which led to a recommendation in the Bean Review into the Optus Outage of 8 November 2023 that there needed to be a clear industry standard to protect consumers from future outages.    

About us

ACCAN in Action