ACCAN has retained a considerable focus this week on the Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code and the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation (UOMO) – after a busy period in Canberra last week.
We have now put in our view of the final draft of the TCP Code, which is currently under review by industry body Communications Alliance. It is now a decision for the regulator, Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) whether or not to register the Code.
In our submission to the final draft of the Code, we highlighted a number of critical shortcomings. In our view, doesn’t provide appropriate community safeguards for Australian consumers – and is therefore incapable of registration. I note that the ACCC found similar fundamental flaws in the draft – concluding that ‘direct regulation is an appropriate response to the shortcomings of the draft Code.’
one more chance to incorporate feedback from stakeholders into the final version of the draft code before submitting it to the ACMA for assessment. We have consulted with Communications Alliance over two years on the Code – during which time the Minister for Communications has needed to directly regulate important elements such as financial hardship and domestic and family violence in order to ensure appropriate consumer protection in light of sustained and significant breaches of the code.
We agree with the ACCC - similar protections should be brought in via direct regulation for inappropriate sales practices and credit assessment, the last remaining self-regulatory component of the Code.
We have also been tracking the political and community response to the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation (UOMO) policy – which the Communications Minister announced last week. ACCAN and a number of our members, including the National Farmers Federation, and a smattering of regional MPs, including Coalition members – have welcomed the announcement. Despite initially rejecting the UOMO direction last week - media reports suggest that the Coalition may be rethinking its position, with state-based Coalition colleagues indicating their support for the proposal. We look forward to seeing more detail about the Coalition’s plans for universal coverage.
LEOsat technology in the Universal Service Obligation is consistent with findings from the 3G Senate Inquiry chaired by Senator Matt Canavan which last week recommended this technology be utilised to provide coverage to regional areas.
This week we also took the opportunity to share some early observations about the draft industry standard on domestic family and sexual violence at the ACMA's Consumer Consultative Forum. We are pleased that the draft standard prioritises the safety of affected Australians - and it will be important for these rules to appropriately intersect with existing rules in the industry standard on financial hardship.
Looking forward, we will be responding to the ACMA's consultation on amendments to the Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard 2018, which address the recommendations of the Bean Review on the Optus outage. We are keen for the rules to ensure complaints related to network outages and vulnerable consumers receive appropriate priority.
Finally, my thoughts are with the readers who are preparing for Tropical Cyclone Alfred late this week. The ABC has excellent resources as does the Department of Communications with new resources to help you stay connected during an emergency. It's encouraging to hear that the Queensland government has worked hard to ensure many mobile towers have fully fuelled generators on standby in case of power loss as can occur during natural disasters.
Stay safe.
