Recently ACCAN attended the Yabun Festival, held on 26 January in Victoria Park, Sydney. Yabun is the largest one day celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures in Australia. This year it was attended by some 8,500 people coming from many places around Australia.

At the event we were able to share lots of useful information for consumers on topics including: hidden costs in free apps, how to avoid smartphone bill shock and how to choose an internet service provider.

 We also conducted a short survey of attendees at Yabun (including a giveaway) with some interesting results:

• 67 per cent of people surveyed had made a complaint about phone or internet services recently
• Only 47 per cent of people surveyed felt they were aware or very aware of their rights as a communications consumer
• Looking online is the most popular place to find out about your rights as a consumer
• If having difficulty paying for phone or internet services 59 per cent of people surveyed would ring the service provider to discuss options
• Only three per cent of people surveyed would seek the advice of a financial counsellor if they had difficulty paying for phone or internet services
• 33 per cent of people surveyed had never heard of or weren't sure what the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) was
• 54 per cent of people surveyed knew the TIO is the free, independent service which helps consumers resolve complaints about phone or internet services

We always look forward to attending Yabun each year to engage with consumers and talk about issues in the telecommunications industry.