Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, upon notice, on 19 March 2012:

(1) In regard to the Household Assistance Scheme (HAS) and the Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST) service programs:

  (a) can details be provided as to:

     (i) where, and (ii) by whom, all of the set top boxes provided to households are manufactured;

  (b) what brands of set top box are supplied under these programs, including:

     (i) the exact model number, and (ii) how many of each model have been installed to date;

  (c) who is responsible for purchasing the set top boxes;

  (d) who is responsible for deciding which set top box is installed in each household; and

  (e) what testing or other form of quality control does the Government undertake before approving each set top box model for use.

(2) Is the Government aware of any modifications made in Australia to set top boxes that have been imported; if so, can details be provided.

(3) Under the programs, who bears the cost for:

  (a) replacing faulty set top boxes; and

  (b) any call out fees or costs associated with repairing or replacing faulty set top boxes, including details on the exact costs incurred to date associated with faulty set top boxes.

(4) Can details be provided of the unit price for each set top box purchased at the point of sale from manufacturers, and information relating to:

  (a) the exact price paid to contractors for each set top box, including cost details if the price varies;

  (b) how the price paid to contractors for each unit is determined; and

  (c) how the cost per unit of the set top box is taken into account when determining the price paid to contractors for each set top box.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The answer to the honourable senator's question is as follows:

(1) (a) (i) The terrestrial set-top boxes used for the Household Assistance Scheme (HAS) are both manufactured in China. The Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST) set-top box is manufactured in South Africa

     (ii) The terrestrial set-top boxes supplied under HAS are manufactured by two companies; Bush and Hills. The VAST set-top box supplied under HAS and SSS is manufactured by Altech UEC.

  (b) (i) The terrestrial set-top boxes:

           Bush BHAS01UR

           Hills HD94003C.

           Satellite set-top box:

           Altech UEC DSD4121.

     (ii) Bush BHAS01UR: 30,902.

           Hills HD94003C: 36,502.

           Altech UEC DSD4121: 6,121.

  (c) The department does not purchase set-top boxes individually from manufacturers. Set-top boxes are supplied by service contractors. Service contractors are procured through an open and competitive tender process, which the department runs through AusTender, the Commonwealth's procurement website. The department selects successful tenderers (and their proposed set-top boxes) on an assessment of value for money, in accordance with the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines.

  (d) The HAS is being rolled out region by region. Each region is made up of a collection of service areas. Each service contractor is allocated specific service areas and they provide the set-top box that the department has deemed provides the best value for money. With VAST services, the same set-top box is provided in each service area because there is only one VAST certified set-top box.

  (e) As part of the quality assurance checks in each tender, service contractors provide test reports demonstrating compliance against Australian Standards for set-top boxes, to the department. The department use these test reports to judge the best value for money set-top boxes, which takes place during the tender evaluation process.

(2) The Government is not aware of any modifications that have been made to set-top boxes that have been imported to Australia.

(3) (a) Each set-top box provided under HAS and SSS comes with a twelve month warranty period that protects the customer against faults in the set-top boxes. Any faulty set-top boxes are replaced by the service contractor, at their own expense.

  (b) Under the Deed of Agreement with the department, the head service contractor is responsible for providing an in-home, twelve month warranty for faulty parts, manufacture or workmanship relating to the set-top box, cabling, antenna, installation and satellite services provided to the customer. If the equipment cannot be replaced or fixed at the customer's premises, then the service contractor must arrange for the collection and delivery of the equipment to and from the customer's premises at no expense to the customer or the department.

(4) (a) Details regarding the price paid to service contractors for each set-top box cannot be provided, as these figures are commercial-in-confidence. The department does not intend to release these actual costs as this may impact the outcome of current and future procurement processes.

  (b) Tenderers provide pricing for a range of cost elements which are assessed during the tender evaluation process. The department selects successful tenderers and their proposed set-top boxes on an assessment of value for money, in accordance with the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines.

  (c) The pricing for the set-top box covers the complete cost of the set-top box, including design to best assist HAS customers, manufacture, delivery to the service contractors, appropriate taxes and the twelve month warranty period.