Telecommunications services are essential to daily life, yet Australia's laws do not treat them that way, peak communications consumer body ACCAN told the Senate Environment and Communications Committee today.
ACCAN CEO Carol Bennett and Deputy CEO Dr Gareth Downing warned Senators that, despite widespread assertions from government, industry, the media (and, in fact, ACCAN spokespeople) that communications services are "essential", there is no legal basis for this description.
"As a matter of law, telecommunications are not regulated as an essential service," Ms Bennett told the Committee. "The words 'essential' and 'safety' do not appear in any meaningful capacity in the Telecommunications Act. The protections and safeguards Australians expect in essential service sectors simply do not exist for telecommunications."
ACCAN highlighted that the current Act places a strong emphasis on self-regulation, leaving decisions about coverage, reliability and service standards to the telecommunications companies themselves.
"This framework allows major telcos to write their own rules," Ms Bennett said. "These rules are seldom enforced, and when penalties are applied, they are so small that they are treated as a cost of doing business. This is not a system designed to protect the public interest or public safety."
ACCAN noted that 43% of consumers do not trust their mobile or home internet provider to act in their best interests—a symptom of a regulatory system that does not reflect the essential nature of telecommunications.
Ms Bennett told Senators that recent Triple Zero failures have shown the severe consequences of failing to properly regulate a service that Australians rely on every day.
"Triple Zero failures have highlighted the devastating consequences when a service this essential is not held to strong, enforceable standards," she said. "We have both an opportunity and a responsibility to fix this. Reform is needed to bring telecommunications regulation into line with other essential services such as water and energy, where minimum service standards are clearly defined."
ACCAN said it looks forward to working with government, the public service and industry on the reforms needed to ensure a fit-for-purpose Triple Zero ecosystem and a regulatory framework that genuinely puts consumers first.
About us:
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is Australia's peak communication consumer organisation. The operation of ACCAN is made possible by funding provided by the Commonwealth of Australia under section 593 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. This funding is recovered from charges on telecommunications carriers.
