DRAFT PROPOSED FINANCIAL HARDSHIP STANDARD RELEASE

Sydney, 24 October 2023: Communications Alliance notes the draft financial hardship standard released for consultation today by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and will work with the regulator in pursuit of operationally feasible outcomes for consumers across the spectrum of telecommunications consumer protection needs.
 
Communications Alliance CEO, John Stanton, said it was important that the standard be capable of implementation, but also that it meshes effectively with the broad range of additional protections in the enforceable industry code (the Telecommunications Consumer Protections, or TCP code) that is currently being revised and strengthened by Comms Alliance and its members.
 
“To be capable of producing better outcomes for customers in financial hardship, the standard must contain requirements that service providers can put into effect – particularly given the potential need for changes to IT systems and business processes, the tight timeframes that the ACMA is proposing and the fact that the industry’s ability to make back-end changes is normally constrained over the end-of-year holiday season,
 
“Key service provider representatives are already deeply engaged in the revision of the TCP Code – a process also subject to a tight ACMA-mandated deadline,
 
“Nonetheless, we will work constructively with the regulator to try to ensure that the standard, once in place, provides additional net benefits to customers,
 
“It is worth noting that the cost of telecommunications services are not rising in real terms and are not among the top five factors affecting cost of living increases for Australian consumers,” Mr Stanton said.