Key Dates

2024 round now closed.

> View more information about our Grants Program
 

We can help. Contact us:
grants@accan.org.au
or phone 02 9288 4000

Grants Information

Round Guidelines

Round Priorities

How to apply

Who can apply?

What is eligible?

How Grants are assessed

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.

 

Write comment (0 Comments)

Peak telco consumer group ACCAN says that today's announcement by Telstra that it will slow internet speeds on smartphones rather than charge customers excess data charges is a welcome step in the right direction towards curbing "bill shock".

The process for migrating to the NBN is set out in a document called the Migration Plan. The Migration Plan needs to be tailored with each new technology that nbn uses in its network. In this consultation, Telstra has proposed a number of changes to accommodate the Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) technology. nbn plans to use FTTC to connect about one million Australian premises from 2018.

ACCAN has called for accessibility measures to be built into the federal government’s online platforms, interactive web sites and its information technology procurement policy.

ACCAN made the call as the federal government released its Access to Electronic Media for the Hearing and Vision Impaired: Approaches for Consideration discussion report which seeks public consultation to improve access to electronic media for people with hearing and vision impairments.

ACCAN and Telstra's M-Enabling Australasia 2013 conference, being held on 14-15 August in Sydney, will feature a technology showcase where you'll be able to get your hands on an array of accessible products including an indoor mapping app for the blind and the SOS Mobile Watch for the elderly.

Write comment (0 Comments)

The Department of Communications and the Arts recently commenced a review of Australia’s management of the .au domain by the Australian Domain Authority (auDA). ACCAN submitted its comments on the management framework of auDA and ways to ensure the .au domain continues to serve the needs of the online Australian community.

Broadband pricing should be monitored to ensure that consumers do not pay more for services under the transition to the National Broadband Network, according to the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network.

The telecommunications watchdog made the recommendation to the Senate Inquiry into the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Consumer and Competition Safeguards) Bill 2009, in Melbourne today.

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.

Write comment (0 Comments)

Communications Alliance, the communications industry peak body, is proposing to deregister and repeal the Call Charging and Billing Accuracy Code (C518). This Code sets out requirements for providers to test the accuracy of their call charging and billing for the standard telephone service (STS).

ACCAN believes the Code contains important detailed provisions to support accurate billing, such as requiring providers to develop and implement a test plan; to use performance indicators for accuracy testing; and compliance reporting requirements. In our submission, we acknowledge that the Code may have declining applicability, but argue that its principles are still relevant. It is important that consumers have confidence that their billing is correct, and reflects actual usage.

Complaints data from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) illustrates that billing for communications services is a significant consumer issue, with 41.9% of the 2016-17 financial year complaints relating to billing and payments.

Peak communications body ACCAN commends Vodafone CEO Nigel Dews for his frank and unqualified letter of apology to the company’s four million customers for a string of incidents that has seen its network – and customer service – stretched to its limits over the past four months.

ACCAN was honoured to receive the 2011 Organisation of the Year Award at the Australian Sign Language Interpreters’ Association (ASLIA) NSW & Deaf Australia (NSW) awards ceremony held in Sydney on Saturday April 21.

As an organisation ACCAN is committed to accessibility issues and we are fortunate to have two specialist disability policy advisers on our team. ACCAN is dedicated to ensuring interpreters and captioning are available at all our public events, that our website is WCAG 2.0AA compliant. We also make information available in Auslan, audio formats and Easy English wherever possible.

Write comment (0 Comments)

ACCAN and Internet Australia have jointly submitted to industry peak body Communications Alliance’s consultation on the deregistration and repeal of the End to End Network Performance for the Standard Telephone Service (STS) Code.

The Code sets out technical rules for the performance of standard voice services. These rules mean that voice services operate within acceptable standardised levels of echo, delay and loudness, supporting positive consumer experience. Our submission argues that consumers both need and deserve the high quality of voice telephony supported by the Code.

Communications Alliance considers that C519 no longer holds currency and practical value due to frequently evolving telecommunications technology and the declining use of the STS, and the current scope of the Code.

The board of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is pleased to announce the appointment of Teresa Corbin as the peak communications’ body new Chief Executive. Ms Corbin is currently Acting CEO at ACCAN and will move immediately into the new role.

Do you want quality captions on TV?

Do you watch TV with closed captions turned on? How often have you given up trying to follow a television program because the captions were too confusing? Have you ever wanted to have the power to make captions better for yourself and other people who rely on them?

Write comment (0 Comments)

In consultation with its members and other consumer groups, ACCAN responded to the ACMA’s consultation on the potential for industry self-regulation of the IPND, DNCR, and spam.

ACCAN believes it is in the consumer interest that functions of the IPND, DNCR, and commercial electronic messages are not referred to industry for regulation. 

Passing regulatory functions currently undertaken by government to industry could have detrimental privacy and cost implications. It also has the potential to impact on complaints handling, enforcement and compliance, and the transparency over the ways in which these activities are undertaken.

You may have heard that a few days before Christmas the Government released the NBN business case – formally known as the NBN Co Corporate Plan 2011-2013. There was a flurry of media coverage focusing on the financial stuff and the many uncertain assumptions the Plan depends on. But there were also some interesting new details beyond the expenditure and rates of return.

Write comment (0 Comments)

Telco complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) have soared 9% in the last six months taking them near their 2009 record highs and marking a new low for Australian customers, peak communications consumer body ACCAN said today.

The ACCC is conducting a Communications Sector Market Study, and has consulted on its draft report following its consultation last year on an Issues Paper. The ACCC’s draft report made a number of recommendations and proposed actions to improve telecommunications market and services for consumers over the next 5 years, which adopted many of the suggestions flagged in our Issues Paper submission.

ACCAN welcomes Vodafone Chief Executive Nigel Dews’s apology to millions of frustrated customers who have experienced network problems in recent months and says it marks the start of a long journey back for the company to restore its customer service reputation.

ACCAN is once again renewing its membership base, and we want you to join our cause. Our place as Australia's watchdog for communications consumers relies on the strength of our diverse membership base, which is why we're asking you to become an ACCAN member, or renew your existing membership.

Write comment (0 Comments)

ACCAN contributed to the Financial Rights Legal Centre’s  joint consumer submission on the Review of the Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code 2014 (CR Code). The other contributors included the Australian Privacy Foundation, the Consumer Action Law Centre, the Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA), and Financial Counselling Australia.

The CR Code makes up part of Australia’s credit reporting scheme, and is important as it strengthens consumer privacy protections.  The joint consumer submission makes 34 recommendations on a wide range of consumer issues including: Repayment History Information and financial hardship; the need for independent code governance; the inclusion of credit scores on free credit reports; ongoing problems with accessing free credit reports; and many others.

ACCAN provides a strong unified voice to industry and government as consumers work towards availability, accessibility and affordability of communications services for all Australians. To ensure that we are representative of all consumers, the ACCAN Board has established two Standing Advisory Committees including the Standing Advisory Committee on Consumer Affairs (SACCA) and the Standing Advisory Committee Disability Issues (SACDI).

ACCAN, as a Principle Partner of the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce during National Consumer Fraud Awareness Week, would like to warmly invite you to attend the launch screening of:

“Internet Scams: how to protect yourself” a consumer education initiative by the WA Deaf Society, funded by ACCAN’s Grants Scheme.

Write comment (0 Comments)

ACCAN provided comments to the Communications Alliance on the Prepaid Calling Card Guideline. The original purpose of the Guideline was to ensure that consumers were adequately informed when making a decision on which calling card to buy. ACCAN submitted that the current Guideline no longer achieves this purpose and that its objectives should be redrafted to reflect its actual content. This is because a 2015 review of the Guideline removed a majority of content that was replicated in the Australian Consumer Law and by the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code. The Guideline now only contains two sections; one on Emergency Services Requirements, and another on general rules. ACCAN submitted that if the Guideline were to be withdrawn, it should be on the condition that these two sections are moved to a new enforceable instrument.

About us

Uncategorised