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Key Dates

Next Grant Round:
Applications for funding will open early 2025.
> Information about our Grants Program

Independent Grants Panel:
Results of the recent EOI will be notified Dec 2024.
> Information about our Panel

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

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In June we were very excited to sign a new funding contract with the Department of Communications and the Arts. The new contract ensures that ACCAN will continue to represent consumers in the telecommunications industry for the next five years.

When the contract was signed, ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin said: “The recent ACCAN review highlighted the strong support for the work ACCAN does and many stakeholders reinforced the need for a united consumer voice in the telecommunications industry.

“A big thank you must go to ACCAN’s supporters including members, volunteers and industry representatives for their ongoing commitment to ensuring we remain a relevant and effective organisation.”

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Australia’s peak communications consumer advocacy group, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), has today announced the seven successful projects that it will fund through the 2019 Round of the ACCAN Grants Program.

The ACCAN Grants Program funds projects to undertake research on telecommunications issues, represent telecommunications consumers, and create educational tools which empower consumers to understand telecommunications products and services and make decisions in their own interests.

ACCAN responded to the Government’s 2023 Privacy Act consultation. The consultation report offered a number of proposals resulting from the 2022 Privacy Act Review consultation.

in general, ACCAN was pleased with the majority of the proposals in the report.

Focus group In the past five years, a total of $1,256,055.86 has been awarded to universities, research organisations, community groups and not for profit organisations to help consumers navigate the telecommunications and technology landscape.

The ACCAN Grants Scheme has funded 31 different projects since 2012, examining emerging technologies like 3D printing, through to more serious consumer issues, such as technology facilitated stalking and abuse.

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As Australia’s consumer voice on phone and internet issues, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has welcomed NBN Co’s recently announced Wholesale Pricing Review Consultation Paper.

ACCAN has strongly championed the need for affordable home broadband in Australia. High-cost broadband services make accessing important education, employment, health and government services very difficult for our communities.

ACCAN recently submitted to the Office for Women consultation on the National Strategy to Achieve Gender Equality (the strategy). In our submission we recommended the Office for Women consider gendered violence arising from technology-facilitated abuse as a vital component of the strategy.

Connected devices Have you noticed how more and more everyday items are now connected to the internet?

While we used to have ordinary watches that told us the time and the date, we now have smartwatches that track our fitness, alert us about emails and more.

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NRS tender outcome The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) welcomes the Federal Government’s appointment of a service provider for the National Relay Service (NRS).

The NRS allows Australians who are Deaf or have hearing or speech impairment to access telecommunications services through the phone, web or teletypewriter (TTY). It is a vital service that allows its users to communicate for work, socially, and in emergencies.

“All Australians deserve the right to reliable communications whether they access it through traditional telco technology or through the NRS,” said ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin.

ACCAN has recently submitted to the Parliament of Australia’s Senate Select Committee on the Cost of Living. ACCAN’s submission outlined the impact of the increasing cost of broadband services on consumers, and how consumers have adapted to these rising costs. Small increases to the cost of telecommunications services can have a significant detrimental impact on the financial wellbeing of low-income consumers.

ACCAN recommends addressing the increasing cost of telecommunications by establishing:

With the Federal Election campaign now over, ACCAN congratulates Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield and Senator the Hon Fiona Nash who continue in their roles as Minister for Communications and Minister for Regional Communications respectively for the Turnbull Government. The Federal Member for Greenway, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP and the Federal Member for Throsby – Stephen Jones take up the roles of Shadow Minister for Communications and Shadow Minister for Regional Communications respectively.

We are pleased that during their campaigns both the Coalition and Labor made announcements of an additional $60 million in funding for a third round of the Mobile Black Spots Programme. This is vital as mobile coverage and competition in rural areas continues to be is a key issue for many consumers.

In the lead up to the election, ACCAN called for the parties to focus on five communications consumer priorities and we asked them a series of questions based on these priorities. We covered announcements from the Coalition, Labor and the Australian Greens on NBN policy, digital literacy and accessibility. While we didn’t receive specific answers to our questions, some of these were answered by the announcements from the parties during the campaign.

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The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) welcomes the appointment of the Hon Paul Fletcher to the position of Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts in the newly announced Coalition Cabinet.

“The next three years will bring a number of important milestones, challenges and opportunities for telecommunications in Australia,” said ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin. “From the roll-out of 5G, to the anticipated completion of the NBN network, we look forward to working with Minister Fletcher during this exciting time to achieve better outcomes for consumers.”

ACCAN recently submitted to the ACMA’s consultation on its compliance priorities for 2023–24. ACCAN has identified several areas the ACMA should consider when developing its compliance priorities for 2023-24. These areas include:

A new report released today by Australia’s peak communications consumer organisation, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), shows that telco customer service representatives are being encouraged to focus on selling over service, potentially exposing consumers to questionable selling practices.

The Spotlight on Telco Commissions and Targets exploratory report was commissioned following a number of troubling stories that ACCAN had received from consumers who were sold plans or products that were more expensive than they had expected or that were beyond their means.

ACCAN recently submitted to the Senate Standing Committees on Economics’ consultation on the Influence of International Digital Platforms.

Our submission identified the harms consumers face when interacting with digital platforms, including social networking scams and a lack of complaint redress. ACCAN recommends:

Group of people sitting on lounge using smartphones and laptops In the lead up to the 2016 Federal Election, the Coalition, Labor Party and Australian Greens have made announcements regarding various communications policies. We’ve summarised these below, for your information.

As we previously reported, both Labor and the Coalition have committed $60 million funding for another round of the Mobile Black Spot Programme.

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