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This week
IN THE NEWS: 2024 Grants program opens, ACCAN calls for consumer gains in upcoming budget, new NRS supplier sought
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The 2024 round of ACCAN’s Independent Grants Program opened on 30 January and will close at the end of February. The 2024 Guidelines and Priority Themes are now available to read on ACCAN’s Grants page. If you are thinking of applying, we encourage you to contact us in advance. The Grants Team is available to provide feedback on your project idea and answer any questions you have. Please contact us at grants@accan.org.au, 02 9288 4000, or via the NRS. [ACCAN]
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Eligible suppliers are encouraged to apply for the next contract to deliver the National Relay Service (NRS), which will run from October 2024 until 2027. The new contract will include enhanced functions for the NRS, including community engagement pathways and mandated user surveys to ensure user satisfaction. The NRS is a critical communications channel for Australians who are d/Deaf, hearing-impaired or speech-impaired. [Minister Rowland]
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ACCAN recently submitted to the Australian Treasury’s Pre-Budget consultation to put our views on 2024-25 budget priorities. We made 26 recommendations, notably restating our calls for an independent plan comparison tool to assist consumers in their communications choices, funding to establish a legislated right to repair for telecommunications devices and continuing funding for Mobile Black Spot and Regional Connectivity programs. See our full suite of recommendations via the link above. [ACCAN]
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The ACMA has issued a warning about the re-emergence of ‘Hi mum’ scams, wherein a sender greets you as ‘mum’ or ‘dad’, and claims to have lost or broken their phone and requests you message them back, on a new phone number or via another app. These scams trick you into believing you are communicating with your child or loved one, and eventually persuade you into handing over money or financial information. Be on the look-out for such scams – we encourage you report any suspicious messages to Scamwatch. [ACMA]
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auDA, the Australian Domain Administrator, has suggested in a parliamentary submission that internet literacy within the ranks federal law enforcement agencies is lacking, and that focused training on the internet ecosystem would aid efforts to combat cybercrime. [ITWire]
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The Australian Government is seeking feedback on the future of the Universal Service Obligation (USO) beyond 2024. ACCAN has created an explainer-style blog post to answer some of the questions you may have about this important consumer protection and outline our role in the review process. As part of ACCAN’s commitment to undertake in-depth stakeholder engagement on the future of the USO, we will be seeking the input of our member organisations and key stakeholders via a virtual roundtable to be held 14 February 2024 – 2pm-3:30pm AEDT. Please get in touch if you would like to participate. [ACCAN]
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The government has announced a $50 million connectivity program aimed at boosting mobile coverage on roads and highways in regional and remote parts of the country. In collaboration with states and territories, the program will fund pilot projects to improve or expand infrastructure on major regional highways and roads. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has committed the program to maintaining an emphasis on multi-carrier coverage. [Minister Rowland]
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Optus has announced ScamWise, a free tool for Optus customers to report scams and warn friends and family about trending scam techniques. Customers can report suspicious text messages by copy and pasting messages on the My Optus app. These will be reviewed by the company, with any relevant spam URLs then blocked on the Optus network. [Optus]
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The ACMA has issued a $300,000 fine to Outdoor Supacentre (the company behind 4WD Supacentre) for sending more than 83,000 marketing text messages to recipients who had either unsubscribed or never provided consent to receive communications at all. The company had received five compliance alerts in recent times after consumer complaints. This is the latest in a string of spam rule breaches by companies including Kmart, Uber, Ticketek and DoorDash. [Inside Retail]
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A new report into AI skills has found that 97% of organisations that have deployed AI in their workflows have seen benefits across productivity and efficiency, improved customer service and repetitive task reduction and business cost reduction. Surveyed executives, however, retain fears that AI initiatives may fail due to a lack of talent and training among employees within their organisation to use new AI solutions. [ZDNET]
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If you are Deaf, or have a hearing impairment or speech impairment, you can contact us on 02 9288 4000 through your preferred National Relay Service call number or access point.
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Although we take care to direct subscribers to sites with accurate and reliable content, we advise that ACCAN is not responsible for the content within external sites and has no control over the views, services or information contained therein. Information contained on external sites may not necessarily reflect ACCAN's policy, standards or beliefs. The information contained in or attached to this message is intended only for the people it is addressed to. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure or copying of this information is unauthorised and prohibited. This information may be confidential or subject to legal privilege. If you receive this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete the e-mail and any attachments. The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network does not warrant that the information in this e-mail or any attachments are free from any viruses, defects, errors, interception or interference.
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network's representation of residential and other consumers' interests in relation to telecommunications issues is supported by the Commonwealth through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.
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