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ACCAN argues that access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is an important element to achieving an adequate standard of living and social inclusion, a key human rights goal. 

Tough measures are needed to ensure that Telstra treats competitors fairly and to ensure the migration of consumers to the NBN is done fairly.

The improved measures in the draft Mobile Premium Services (MPS) Code are a step in the right direction for consumers but new Code rules are weakened by the Code’s weak approach to compliance monitoring and enforcement.

ACCAN's submission to the Convergence Review highlights three key issues for reform: telecommunications co-regulation - also known as the smurfberry problem; moving from voice-centric to connectivity-centric regulation; and strengthening accessibility standards in broadcasting.

Most of us take for granted that we can use any communications device – land-line, mobile or internet – to connect to people, services and help. But the reality is that a significant number of Australians can’t use regular products and services because of illness, disability or other impairment. Inclusive Communications is ACCAN's submission to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE)'s Review of Access to Telecommunication Services by People with Disability, Older Australians and People Experiencing Illness.

Payphones are an important public resource. Further to our submission on the Consumer Safeguard Instruments for payphone repairs, removals and installations, we ask the ACMA to keep rigorous records so we know what kind of problems people are encountering with payphones.

ACCAN argues that a guiding principle for the Convergence Review should be that the broadest range of devices, services and content should be accessible to people with disabilities.

Payphones are an important public resource that helps us to connect. ACCAN has submitted comments about the Consumer Safeguard Instruments for payphone repairs, removals and installations to make sure they work in the interest of consumers.

ACCAN recommends that issues relating to social inclusion in the context of information communication technologies (ICT) should be addressed in the Human Rights Baseline Study and provides examples of statistical data that should be collected to measure this.

ACCAN argues that the Universal Service Obligation (USO) legislative framework must include obligations to provide the infrastructure that will ensure universal access for all Australians to communications services. We also urge a review of the definition of universal service.

ACCAN argues that financial penalties should be mandatory if telcos seriously under perform on their Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) obligations.

ACCAN supports in principle the Commission’s finding that the current disability support system in Australia is fractured and in need of transformation.


ACCAN broadly welcomes the draft recommendations stemming from the Australian Communication & Media Authority’s Reconnecting the Customer (‘RTC’) Draft Report, which follows the lifecycle of a consumer’s relationship with a telecommunications service provider from advertising, to point of sale, through to customer service, credit management and complaints-handling. 

ACCAN speaks up for people who are denied the option of an ADSL internet service because Telstra provides them with an "interim" wireless phone instead of a regular copper connection.

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.

There is an overriding barrier that consumers face when attempting to contact an insurance company to make a claim, access external dispute resolution services or free legal advice – the cost of the phone call.

Submission by ACCAN to the Convergence Review Secretariat regarding the Convergence Review Terms of Reference.

ACCAN argues the Convergence Review Committee should look at ways to maximise inclusion for people with disabilities in accessing the broadest range of content, services and technologies. 

The 2011 Convergence Review is an Australian Government initiative. It is in response to trends in technology that are reshaping the media landscape from how it looked in the 1990s, which is when Australia's current media and communications regulatory frameworks were established.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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