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

I rise to speak on the Telecommunications Amendment (Enhancing Consumer Safeguards) Bill 2025. The bill makes important changes to the Telecommunications Act to strengthen consumer safeguards—something we 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 amendments for infringement notices, and increase the maximum penalty amount for breaches of the codes from $250,000 to $10 million.

The new carriage service provider 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 a regulator for the sector with visibility of all of the 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 ability 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. Full visibility of all telecommunications operators will also ensure ACMA can target compliance and enforcement activity and, where necessary, take appropriate action. Stakeholders have raised some concerns with us about the scheme, primarily around the application process and the need to ensure there is limited administrative burden on providers, particularly the smaller operators. There is also some concern around a provider's ability to contest the decision to deny registration, or registration renewal, to ensure that they have appropriate appeal channels. We have raised these matters with Minister Rowland's office, who assured us that these will be addressed administratively and there is no need to amend the legislation.

Schedule 2 of the bill amends the Telecommunications 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 in force, 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, a wrongdoing or a breach of an industry code, ACMA will direct a provider to comply—essentially, issue a warning to do the right thing and to get their house in order. Should they not, ACMA's enforcement powers then become available. This enforcement action can include penalties through the Federal Court, enforceable undertakings and issuing 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 the bill states that, while code compliance is technically voluntary, after ACMA issues a direction to comply, or a formal warning to a provider, ACMA can take enforcement action if the provider continues its non-compliance. Between September 2023 and September 2024, ACMA issues 23 enforcement actions, 12 formal warnings, two remedial directions, 20 directions to comply, two enforceable undertakings, infringement notices totalling close to $7 million, and, in one case, court proceedings. Some of these breaches relate to people's safety, which is of the highest priority. 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 000, emergency services like police, fire or ambulances, 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 scams 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, phone scams had the highest overall losses of scam types, with more than $107 million lost by nearly 2,200 people. ACMA issued nine breaches of the scams code last year but none resulted in a financial penalty to providers. That's because of the two-step process. People's safety and wellbeing is of the utmost importance.

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

Finally, the bill will increase the penalties issued to providers for breaches of industry codes and standards from $250,000 to $10 million. The revised penalty framework will also allow penalties to be based on the value of the benefit obtained from the breach of conduct or the turnover of the provider, allowing for penalties of greater than $10 million should it be deemed appropriate. 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 of codes and standards reflect the severity of the breach and 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.

The coalition will support the bill. It strengthens consumer protections, streamlines enforcement activity and provides greater visibility of operators in the market. This is the sort of legislation this parliament should be focused on, legislation that protects Australians. Disappointingly, though, this bill has entered the parliament on the eve of an election and is unlikely to pass the Senate and become law before the parliament is prorogued. What is more disappointing is that this bill took second place behind the Albanese government's NBN commitment to public ownership bill, which this parliament has spent hours debating so the Albanese government could attempt to revive their privatisation scare campaign. That bill does nothing for Australian consumers, nothing to protect them from the cost of living, nothing to protect them from never-ending price increases of energy bills or when at the petrol bowser and nothing to protect them from interest rate increases. Yet it is, again, this week before the Senate, prioritised over bills that might actually make a difference.

The NBN bill is nothing more than a political stunt and tells you everything you need to know about this weak and failing government. The Albanese government's priorities are all wrong. The 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 and remote areas. Our farmers have had their agtech equipment rendered useless. There is no coverage on their properties to call triple 0 if there is an accident or an emergency. People with life-saving health devices are having to charge them constantly because the device is searching for a signal that isn't coming, rendering the device useless—because it isn't on them; it's on charge. It isn't good enough, and the Albanese Labor government should be ashamed of their lack of response to help people impacted.

And where is the government's legislation to reduce gambling harm? No, we haven't seen it. It's been a long time coming. It is not here in the House nor the Senate. But the coalition brought forward legislation. The Australian Greens even brought forward legislation. Even the crossbench has brought forward legislation. The government have refused to support a single one of these bills that would protect Australians and their families from gambling harm. They've offered nothing of their own.

There's been no action by this government to implement laws against 'posting and boasting' acts of crimes online, despite crime being a significant national concern in each and every one of our communities across this country. Offenders of youth crime, in particular, are using social media in an effort to one up each other online with brazen acts of vandalism, breaking and entering, stealing cars and violence to gain notoriety. Despite my predecessor, the member for Banks, introducing a bill to this parliament that would take strong action on this terrible trend—which included imposing jail terms and providing stronger social media take-down powers—the Albanese government has refused to allow it to be debated.

It is unsurprising, though, given they had to be dragged kicking and screaming to take action to protect our kids online from social media harms, only doing something about it after the Leader of the Opposition announced the coalition's policy. Shame on the Albanese government for prioritising political stunts over practical and impactful legislation that will help Australians.

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