This week, the ACCAN team was grateful to be able to spend some time in the office sandwiched between trips to Canberra in the lead-up to a Federal election. Communications is very much on the agenda!
As we approach an election, I want to remind you all that ACCAN’s pre-election campaign platform is now live – and we are working hard to ensure it is in the hands and on the minds of decision makers. If you would like to lend support or insight to our campaign – please get in touch with our team.
The focus on important legislative reforms over recent weeks, (see previous WebNews editions which feature progress on Telecommunications Act enforcement reform, the Scams Prevention Framework, and the NBN public ownership Bill) is beginning to give way to something of a waiting period before the election campaign period kicks off.
The work isn’t slowing down for the ACCAN team. We have been progressing several notable ACMA consultations this week – including on customer communications and emergency call services during outages. We also published a significant piece of work for the NBN economic regulation project. ACCAN made a wide suite of recommendations which will work to ensure that NBN’s future corporate plans are of maximum benefit to Australian consumers.
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has released concerning new data which shows that complaints from communications consumers shot up in the final months of 2024. This is partially attributable to the 3G shutdown – which consumers tell us is continuing to affect them – and we continue to talk to media about. As I said in a media release on Thursday, small businesses were significantly affected, with complaints about no phone or internet service increasing by 58.9% and poor mobile coverage up by 35.4%. This has been a significant concern for our small business members.
Some of the ACCAN team will be in Canberra again next week to attend the CommsDay Rural Reigonal and Remote Forum. It is hard to think of a broad national cohort who have seen more change in the last 18 months than Australians who live outside metropolitan areas. I am looking forward to the opportunity to deliver ACCAN’s views on important issues for consumers.
Finally, ACCAN is currently looking for a Social Media and Content Manager to join our team on either a casual, part-time or contracted basis. If you or someone you know would be interested in working with us, I invite you to take a look at the essential skills and application information on our website.
If you will be in attendance at the CommsDay Rural Regional and Remote Forum next week, I look forward to seeing you in-person!
