ACCAN recently submitted to the Department of Social Services consultation on the Draft List of NDIS Support. 

ACCAN notes that the current draft list of NDIS support would block the purchase of devices with important accessibility features required for some NDIS participants to communicate.

ACCAN recently submitted to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Telecommunications (Infringement Notices) Guidelines 2024 Consultation Paper.

ACCAN’s submission recommended expanding the instances in which an authorised infringement notice officer may consider other forms of enforcement action appropriate in respect of an alleged contravention.

Australia’s peak communications consumer body, ACCAN, welcomes today’s joint announcement from major telcos Telstra and Optus that the shutdown of 3G networks will be delayed until 28 October.

ACCAN yesterday called on the Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland to delay the shutdown due to health and safety concerns particularly with the ongoing access to triple zero services and medical and safety devices.

Australia’s peak communications consumer body, ACCAN, is calling on the Communications Minister Michelle Rowland to exercise her discretionary powers and delay the 3G shutdown due to unacceptable public safety concerns.

The Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee last week released an Interim Report into the shutdown of 3G networks. It found that up to 77,000 mobile phone users would be unable to call triple zero emergency services when the nation’s 3G networks were switched off.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.