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Nominations close Tuesday, 27th August 2024, 4:00 pm AEST (Sydney).

ACCAN is seeking nominations for Directors to fill two (2) vacancies on its Board.

In accordance with the ACCAN Constitution, the 2024-2025 ACCAN Board will consist of nine (9) members[1]. Seven (7) positions are continuing Directors from the 2023-2024 Board. One (1) Director is retiring from the Board having completed two full terms and is ineligible for re-election in 2024-25. One (1) Director has completed the first full term and is eligible for re-election. In accordance with Section 20 of the ACCAN Constitution, Board members are elected for a three-year term.

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ACCAN recently submitted to the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s opportunity to reply to comments on the Review of the Numbering Plan and other instruments discussion paper.

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ACCAN welcomes today’s joint announcement by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland that 15,000 families are now receiving free internet connections via the School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI).

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ACCAN recently submitted to the NSW Digital Inclusion Strategy. In the submission, we suggested the NSW Telco Authority:

  • Ensure everyone in NSW has access to affordable broadband services and devices.
  • Consider the accessibility of appropriate communications services in regional, rural, and remote communities and First Nations communities in NSW.
  • Investigate the availability of communications services and devices for people with disability in NSW.

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ACCAN recently submitted to the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group’s consultation on establishing a roadmap for First Nations digital inclusion.

ACCAN endorses the development of the First Nations digital inclusion roadmap, which aims to provide sustained guidance on collaborative approaches between government, industry, and First Nations peoples and communities to address the digital divide. In addition to ACCAN’s responses to the consultation questions, we recommend that the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group explore governance and legislative channels to mandate First Nations representation on government, regulatory, and industry boards.

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ACCAN recently submitted to the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society’s inquiry on the influence and impacts of social media on Australian society.

Social media, digital communications services and telecommunications have converged and become ubiquitous in Australian society. Communications policy needs to urgently adapt to the integral role that social media and digital communications services now play, including imposing similar responsibilities and regulatory settings on these digital communications companies as those imposed on the existing telecommunications sector.

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Consumers expect their telcos to be following basic rules to protect their critical accounts, and news of Telstra’s failure to follow well established customer ID processes is deeply disappointing, says ACCAN, the peak body for Australian communication consumers.

Customer ID rules exist to protect consumers against misuse of their accounts, loss of services or other fraudulent activity. The ACMA has today found Telstra failed to follow these rules for 168,000 high-risk customer interactions, including over 7000 interactions concerning customers identified as being in vulnerable situations. A penalty of $1,551,000 has been levied as a result.

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Consumers would be forgiven for feeling angry and betrayed after an ACMA investigation revealed Telstra made available to the public details of 140,000 telco customers who had requested unlisted numbers (also known as silent numbers), in breach of carrier licence conditions.

Consumers have the right to ask their provider to make their phone number unlisted. Calls from unlisted phones do not show up on the phones of recipients. The number also doesn’t appear in phone directories.

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Australia’s peak communications consumer advocacy group, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), has today announced 3 projects that it will fund through the 2024 Round of its Independent Grants Program.

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

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Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)

Online Safety Codes require social media platforms to build safety features that empower users to protect themselves from technology-facilitated abuse. However, 42% of Australians agree that existing safety features are inadequate, leaving women and gender-diverse users most vulnerable. ACCAN’s submission to the Codes recommends involving end-consumers early on to produce consumer-centric outcomes.

This project investigates how women and gender-diverse users engage with safety features on social media, to identify their strengths/limitations. Following “Safety by Design” principles, the project will collaborate with users, designers and policymakers, to produce consumer-centric recommendations to proactively design online safety mechanisms that address vulnerable consumers’ safety expectations.

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WorkVentures Ltd

Appropriate device access remains a pervasive challenge for many Australians, with First Nations Australians among the most digitally excluded. Meanwhile, annually the Australian public and corporate sector refreshes c.2 million devices, with most being sold on international markets or recycled. This project supports the establishment of a National Device Bank (‘NDB’) model through a targeted First Nations proof of concept. A NDB seeks to distribute refurbished technology, donated by companies and government agencies, for free to digitally excluded communities. A NDB was also recommended by the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group (‘FNDIAG’), supporting Target 17 of Closing the Gap.

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Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)

This project progresses research funded by ACCAN (2021) which analysed digital inequalities amongst public housing residents. That project revealed the pivotal role neighbourhood centres play in digital skill acquisition and troubleshooting for people who face barriers to being digitally included. This project analyses work and learning practices of neighbourhood centre staff and students and will create insights into 1) best practice in personalised digital skill training 2) barriers to digital access that inform need for skill acquisition and troubleshooting. Findings will assist neighbourhood centres to optimise their teaching and assist telecommunications companies to address barriers that impede access.

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