TELCO INDUSTRY PROPOSES STRONGEST-EVER CONSUMER PROTECTIONS IN MAJOR REVISION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONSUMER PROTECTION CODE

• Latest draft of TCP Code open for public consultation until 28 February 2025
• TCP Code provides ‘belt and braces’ protections for consumers
• Communications Alliance calls for stronger regulator powers

Tuesday 17 December: Communications Alliance, the peak body of the telecommunications industry, has commenced public consultation on a major revision of the Telecommunications Consumer Protection (TCP) Code – and has called for stronger powers for the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to take swift enforcement action against breaches.

“Australians expect the highest standards of business behaviour from telcos, and this major revision of the Telecommunications Consumer Protection Code will ensure they are held to account,” said Comms Alliance CEO Luke Coleman.

The latest draft of the revised TCP Code is now available for public consultation, with submissions due by February 28. Feedback from the consultation process will be taken into consideration for further refinements, with the updated draft Code to then be submitted to the ACMA for its consideration.

“The TCP Code provides a ‘belt and braces’ approach to consumer protections. First, industry Codes are regulated and enforced by the ACMA, and second, telcos are also subject to the Australian Consumer Law enforced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).”

“It’s a safety net above a safety net, enforced by two regulators with strong enforcement powers – ensuring the industry is held to the highest standards. Additionally, every telco’s adherence to the TCP Code is independently audited annually by Communications Compliance, complementing the monitoring and auditing powers of the ACMA,” Mr Coleman said.

CA CALLS FOR STRONGER REGULATOR POWERS: In concert with the updated draft Code, Comms Alliance has also written to both major parties calling for legislative reform to further strengthen the regulator’s consumer protection powers.

“In the lead up to the 2025 election, Comms Alliance has called on both major parties to support legislative reform enabling ACMA to take immediate enforcement action for contraventions of consumer protections Codes,” Mr Coleman said.

“Under existing legislation, the ACMA must first direct a telco to comply with an industry code before it takes enforcement action – these reforms would bypass that step. Comms Alliance has already drafted the proposed amendments to the Telecommunications Act 1997 and calls for them to be introduced in the next term of Parliament.”

Additionally, CA supports reforms that would require all Carriage Service Providers (CSPs) to be registered with the ACMA, to further enhance the regulator’s ability to monitor and enforce industry compliance with Codes and Standards.

The latest draft of TCP Code proposes a number of major updates to enhance consumer protections:

• Responsible selling: new and enhanced rules to ensure sales practices meet community expectations, including:
  • ensuring any sales incentive structures promote responsible sales by including customer feedback and satisfaction scores, placing limits on sales commissions, and monitoring and taking action against those responsible for mis-selling.
  • consumer remedies where mis-selling occurs, including informing consumers of their right to a refund.
  • new and improved information requirements, including making consumers aware that cancelling a service might affect other goods or services – for example, where a consumer cancels a service and would need to pay out anything owing on a mobile handset.
  • tighter requirements for credit assessments designed to protect both new and existing consumers from over-committing.
• Fee-free payment methods: A minimum of 2 fee-free payment options, one of which must be manual.
• Protections for consumers in vulnerable circumstances: including new clauses relating to identifying consumers in vulnerable circumstances, new requirements for managing a deceased customer’s account, new requirements for interpreter service information, and strengthened disability/accessibility requirements.
• Regular training, monitoring and auditing: Sales incentive schemes must be regularly monitored and reviewed to ensure compliance; company-wide staff must be trained annually on obligations to consumers.

The updated TCP Code will also complement existing direct regulations enforced by ACMA, including the Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard, Telecommunications Financial Hardship Industry Standard and the planned Standard for customers experiencing domestic and family violence.

“The revised TCP Code comes as telco complaints are consistently at their lowest levels in decades,” Mr Coleman said. “Complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) were less than 57,000 last year – the lowest since 2004. Similarly, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) reported that complaints made by customers to telcos have almost halved over the past five years.”

The strengthened TCP Code follows 18 months of ongoing consultation and refinement, which commenced with a discussion paper in May 2023. The latest updates to the Code, pending further refinements and submission to the ACMA, will mark 18 years since the first TCP Code was registered in 2007.