Delegate resources from ACMA

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the ACCAN will be held at the ACCAN office, WeWork, 320 Pitt Street, Sydney or via Zoom, on Thursday 12^th October 2023 from 4.00pm.

ACCAN AGM

Date:  Thursday 12 October 2023
Time:  4.00pm (AEDT)
Venue: Hybrid Meeting via Zoom or at the ACCAN office, WeWork, 320 Pitt Street, Sydney – Please register from here by 10 October 2023

Read more: Notice of ACCAN Annual General Meeting (Hybrid Meeting)

The Board of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) today announces that, for personal reasons, ACCAN’s CEO Andrew Williams, will leave the organisation in February 2024.

Professor Julian Thomas, ACCAN’s Chairperson said, “Andrew has been with ACCAN for nearly five years, firstly as our Director of Operations and as our CEO for the last two years.  During this time he has led the organisation through a period of significant transition and on behalf of the Board I thank him very much for his contributions. 

Read more: ACCAN Board Announces CEO Departure

ACCAN recently submitted to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts on the Fighting SMS Scams – What type of SMS sender ID registry should be introduced in Australia? consultation paper.

ACCAN supports the development of a SMS sender ID registry as a significant step towards improving outcomes for telecommunications consumers impacted by scams. ACCAN considers that the SMS sender ID registry should be mandatory and be developed and implemented before the end of 2024.

Read more: SMS ID Registry

ACCANect 2022 Better Basics featured a range of presentations about key topics including access to reliable communications services, affordable communications, on-line safety and trust, and the essentiality of communications.

Thank you for joining us as we probed the progress and challenges of modernising communications basics for consumers, and to the future opportunities to work together and achieve ACCAN’s vision of communications services that are trusted, inclusive, accessible, and available for all.

All conference registrations have access to a video on demand (VOD) broadcast of the conference on the Delegate Connect Conference Platform.

Registration remains open for those who are not registered and wish to watch ACCANect 2022 Better Basics VOD.   

Read more: ACCANect 2022: Better Basics

Contact Us

We encourage you to talk to us before applying for an ACCAN Grant. The Grants Team is available to help develop your project idea, ensure it's within scope, and with enough notice, we may be able to review a draft and help you make the most of your application.

The best way to reach us is via email - let us know a good time & number to phone you, or simply pop your questions & project ideas into the email. We will get back to you as soon as we can: 

Email: grants @ accan.org.au

Phone: 02 9288 4000 (ACCAN reception) or via the National Relay Service

Subscribe

To keep up to date with all things grants related and to better understand ACCAN's work, subscribe to the mailing lists below:

Fixed Voice Continuity Plan.pdf409.05 KB

Fixed Voice Continuity Plan.doc71.5 KB

Your business landline (fixed voice service) can be a critical business asset. If your fixed voice service failed, would your business continue to operate effectively?

Back-up (or failover) solutions for fixed voice services vary considerably depending on the size of your organisation and the purposes for which you use these services. Most small businesses are highly dependent on their fixed voice services so a continuity plan is important.

To minimise risk to your business from failure of your fixed voice services you should:

• Perform a 'risk assessment' for your business's use of telecommunications
  
  
• Obtain the most reliable fixed voice service that you can afford – to match the level of risk.
  
  
• Write an action plan for what you would do in the event of a disruption to this service (outage)

Read more: Preparing your organisation’s Fixed Voice Business Continuity Plan

Some phone numbers and text services cost you more than you expect. Always check what numbers are included, and which ones you pay extra for.

• Premium SMS (e.g. a ringtone or weekly horoscope)
  
  
• Expensive numbers (e.g. directory services from your mobile or 1900 lines)
  
  
• Purchases from inside Apps
  
  
• Credit Transfers between friends
  
  
• Data usage (using the internet)
  
  
• "Free" Apps that have lots of advertising
  
  

More information on these services can be found on the LawStuff website.

In order to sign up with some businesses, such as phone companies or internet providers, consumers are often required to be able to prove their identity. This can be problematic for people who do not have the typical standard identification documents such as a driver licence or a passport.

This tip sheet is intended to outline alternative methods that are accepted by telecommunications companies, specifically, Telstra, Optus and Vodafone.

Read more: Creating an identity portfolio

Do you sometimes act as a ‘proxy internet user’ – where you use online services and applications on behalf of someone else who otherwise makes limited use of the internet? Proxy internet assistance often takes place within families – notably elderly parents being helped by their adult children. Other proxy users include people acting in a professional capacity – for example carers, social workers and other public-facing professionals who assist clients with specific online tasks.

Read more: Using the internet on behalf of others

There are a number of companies that have their own ADSL equipment. If one provider has no availability, another might. Here are some companies that have their own ADSL equipment:

• Aussie Broadband
• Eftel
• iiNet
• Internode
• iPrimus
• OnTheNet (Queensland)
• Optus
• Telstra
• TPG
  
  

There may also be other fixed line networks that operate in your area that you may be able to use, such as:

• iiNet VDSL2 (ACT)
• Optus Cable (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane)
• Telstra (Velocity, South Brisbane, Cable)
• Wondercom FTTB
  
  

If you are in a new development you may have access to other networks. You can check the new developments map to see if you are covered.

Check nbn to see when you will be connected to the National Broadband Network.

Conference background

In 2018, technology and digital services are all around us. Consumers use the internet and telecommunications services to stay connected, go shopping, link into education and job opportunities and access government services.

While we increasingly live our lives online, it’s vital that we don’t leave anyone behind.

• What gaps will appear in the connected world?
• Who will and won’t be able to access services due to limitations on connectivity?
• What can we do to ensure that people are not only connected but also have the confidence to use new technologies to their benefit?

We will explore these questions and more at the 2018 ACCANect Conference, themed: ‘Confidence in the Connected World’.
ACCANect will be an opportunity for consumers, providers and government representatives to get up to speed on consumer concerns around the connected world.

Read more: ACCANect 2018

Our policy priorities are broad subject areas which identify the focus of our policy work for 2018-19. ACCAN's mission is to represent consumers and the public interest, with particular emphasis on the needs of consumers for whom the market is not working.

Our policy priorities were developed in close consultation with ACCAN members, and informed by our knowledge and analysis of the communications market and market trends.

Read more: ACCAN Policy Priorities 2018-19

Download: ACCAN Magazine - Issue 30 Summer 2018.pdf1.23 MB (Note: reading order not accessible)

Download accessible version: ACCAN Magazine Issue 30 Summer 2018 - accessible version.docx37.21 KB

There are no positions currently available

The National Broadband Network (NBN) is Australia’s wholesale internet provider. This means that when you sign up for an NBN plan, you must order the service through a telco (e.g. Telstra, Optus, TPG).

Read more: Choosing a Small Business NBN Internet Plan

Read more: Australian Aboriginal English

A new report released by ACCAN today delves into young people’s experiences and issues with accessing and using phone and internet services.

We know that for many young people, phone and internet services are vital for work, study, accessing services and keeping connected with family and friends.

Our research focused on:

• The services used by young people, and their needs,
• How they navigate the market, make choices and deal with issues
• What is important to them when it comes to communications services.
  

  Read more: ACCAN Youth Check-In Research Report

Johanna Plante joined the ACCAN Board in 2010 and was then elected as Chairperson in 2011, a role she would hold for 6 years. Johanna’s term on the ACCAN Board finished in 2017 after the organisation had successfully been reviewed. During her time as Chair, ACCAN’s profile grew and industry engagement increased. Johanna has worked tirelessly to improve outcomes for consumers with disabilities particularly for Deaf and Hard of Hearing consumers. She was recently on the Minister appointed Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee and she worked hard to ensure the voices of rural, regional and remote consumers were heard.

ACCAN values disability access. We want to be a model in this field, for other not-for-profits, industry and government. ACCAN has registered our 2022-2024 Disability Inclusion Action Plan with the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Register of Disability Discrimination Act Action Plans.

Through enacting our Disability Inclusion Action Plan, ACCAN aims to:

Read more: Disability Inclusion Action Plan

ACCAN’s purpose, as outlined in our Strategic Plan, is to work for “communications services that are trusted, inclusive, accessible and available for all.”

In 2022-23 ACCAN will focus on the following priority areas, informed by the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 and natural disasters on consumers’ use of communications services and the need for accessible and easy-to-understand consumer education and information about communications issues. At the same time, we will be responsive to emerging issues, and engage with government and industry consultations in areas of significance for communications consumers, including the converging areas of media, broadcasting and digital platforms.

Our policy priorities are developed in close consultation with ACCAN members and are informed by our knowledge and analysis of the communications market.

Read more: Policy Priorities 2022-23

The summary below outlines ACCAN’s activities from 1 March – 31 May 2022

Read more: Quarter 4, FY21-22

Desktop computers - Western Australia

Griffith University

While cybersecurity self-help advice is readily available to consumers, most resources are focused on preventing unintended sharing of devices, passwords, accounts, and personal information. This advice is ill-suited to intimate relationship contexts where sharing is common. A lack of baseline knowledge about smartphone-sharing practices and the reasons behind them has hampered Australian efforts to strengthen consumer cybersecurity. This project will create a new evidence base to understand everyday consumer smartphone sharing in intimate relationships using a survey and interviews with diverse consumers, to improve privacy protections and cybersecurity for all Australians.

Read more: In progress! Smartphone sharing with intimate partners: Implications for telecommunications...