Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

The Telecommunications Amendment (Enhancing Consumer Safeguards) Bill 2025 makes changes to the Telecommunications Act to strengthen consumer safeguards, something we should all agree is a top priority. The bill will create a register of carriage service providers, enable the direct enforcement of industry codes, amend the existing two-step process for the application of penalty amounts for infringement notices and increase the maximum penalty for breaches of the codes from $250,000 to $10 million.

Schedule 1 of the bill will create a new carriage service provider registration scheme. This new registration scheme will require all telecommunications providers to apply to the Australian Communications and Media Authority for registration to operate in Australia. This will provide ACMA, as the regulator for the sector, with visibility of all operators in the Australian market, of which there are an estimated 1,500. This will ensure ACMA is able to educate, monitor and, where necessary, take swift enforcement action for breaches of any codes or standards. Should providers breach their obligations or pose a risk to consumers, ACMA will have the ability to cancel their registration to operate. These arrangements are similar to those in the energy sector, where the Australian Energy Regulator has the power to exclude operators from the market where there is a risk to consumers.

As part of the scheme, providers will also be required to report all cybersecurity incidents. Where there is a cyber breach, the appropriate bodies must be notified and remedial action taken swiftly. Protecting people's personal data and information is of the upmost importance, so ensuring there is swift action when these incidents occur will ensure that Australians' private information is protected from fraud and scams. Full visibility of all operators will also ensure ACMA can target compliance and enforcement activities and, when necessary, take appropriate action.

Schedule 2 of the bill amends the act to make registered industry codes directly enforceable by ACMA. The telecommunications industry has a co-regulation model by which industry is responsible for the preparation of codes which are then submitted to ACMA for registration. Once a code is registered with ACMA and enforced, the code must be complied with by the sector.

In practice, what has been established under the act is a two-step enforcement process. If there is a complaint of wrongdoing or a breach of an industry code, ACMA will direct a provider to comply, essentially issuing a warning for them to correct their behaviour and to do the right thing. Should they not, ACMA's enforcement powers then become available. This enforcement action can include penalties through the Federal Court, enforceable undertakings or the issuing of an infringement notice.

Currently, part 6 of the act says:

Compliance with an industry code is voluntary unless … ACMA directs a particular participant in the telecommunications industry … to comply with the code.

This phrasing has led to a misconception that compliance with industry codes is voluntary. As the explanatory memorandum to this bill states, while code compliance is technically voluntary, after ACMA issues a direction to comply or a formal warning to a provider, they can then take enforcement action if the provider continues the noncompliance.

Since January 2024, ACMA has issued 19 formal warnings, one remedial direction, 16 directions to comply, four enforceable undertakings and infringement notices totalling close to $16 million. Some of these breaches relate to people's privacy and safety, which are of the utmost importance. For example, there were seven notices issued to providers in 2024 for breaches of the emergency call database rules. These rules require the telco providers to keep a person's telephone number and address updated so that, when the number calls triple 0, emergency services—police, fire or ambulance—are deployed to the correct address the first time. Adherence to this code is vital. People's lives depend on it.

The requirement to monitor and report suspected spams and spoof numbers is another important one. If telcos aren't adhering to the code, the impact on people, financially, psychologically and emotionally, is significant. In 2024, of scam types, phone scams led to the highest overall losses, with more than $107 million lost by nearly 2,200 people. Since the start of 2024, ACMA has issued 10 directions to comply with the reducing scam calls and SMS code, but none of these resulted in a financial penalty to providers, because of the two-step process.

The changes in this bill will strengthen ACMA's powers and the speed at which they can use them, to provide an even greater protection for consumers and ensure we have responsible operators in our telecommunications sector. The changes in this bill will make compliance with industry codes mandatory in the first instance, removing the requirement for a two-step process before ACMA can take enforcement action. There'll be no more warning shots, ensuring more immediate action can be taken for breaches of codes. I will note, given much scrutiny of the telecommunications sector over recent years, that this is a change the sector itself has called for. Notably, the Australian Telecommunications Alliance, which is a peak body for the industry, has been calling for these reforms since 2023. These changes will strengthen ACMA's powers to ensure the regulatory regime is as robust as it can be and that operators are held to the highest standards—as all Australians expect.

Finally, the bill will increase penalties issued to providers for breaches of industry codes and standards from $250,000 to $10 million. The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission have long advocated for civil penalty reform to ensure penalties for breaches reflect the severity of the breach and the harm caused. The increase in the penalties will address this and align the telecommunications penalty framework to those in the energy and banking sectors, competition legislation and Australian consumer law.

This bill makes important changes to strengthen protections for consumers and the integrity of the telecommunications industry. They are changes which the coalition will support, but let's not forget about the failures of this government when it comes to telecommunications. The Albanese Labor government's botched closure of the 3G network has left many areas right across the country with little or no telephone service. Their shutdown of the 3G network was a complete mess. Thousands of consumers have been left with worse coverage or no coverage at all, particularly those in regional, rural and remote areas.

Our farmers have had their ag tech equipment, like soil monitors and weather stations, rendered useless. For years, we have been pushing our agriculture sector to upgrade their business operations with the newest and best technology. They have spent an absolute fortune doing so, and, after the 3G closure, many businesses had their equipment fail. Worse still, where these locations no longer have coverage, they can't call for help on their properties when they need it. People with life-saving health devices are having to charge them constantly because the devices are searching for a signal that just isn't coming. It renders the device useless because it isn't on them; it's on charge. At their own cost, because of this government's failure, people are installing Starlink satellites for their homes and properties because of the lack of access. It's quite literally threatening lives and livelihoods. It isn't good enough, and the Albanese Labor government should be ashamed of their lack of response to help people impacted by the closure of the 3G network.

Notwithstanding the failures I have just highlighted, the coalition will support this legislation. It does provide stronger protections for consumers and strengthens the integrity of the sector. I commend the bill to the House and move the second reading amendment. I move:

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House notes the Government's telecommunications failure:

(1) on the botched closure of the 3G network that has left many Australians without telephone services in peri-urban, regional, rural and remote Australia;

(2) to respond to the 2024 Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee Report which was tabled in December last year to ensure regional communities have access to reliable telecommunications; and

(3) to release the consultation paper on the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation, despite committing to legislate this by the end of 2025".

See this speech in context