Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Telecommunications Amendment (SMS Sender ID Register) Bill 2024will amend the Telecommunications Act 1997 to require the Australian Communications and Media Authority to establish and maintain an SMS sender ID register.

The bill gives direct effect to the government's decision to provide the ACMA with funding to establish and run a SMS sender ID register.

The register aims to protect consumers and brands by disrupting a specific type of SMS impersonation scam—where scammers send SMS sender IDs to imitate well-known brands such as banks, government agencies or retailers in order to deceive victims.

It's hard to imagine an Australian who has not received one of these text messages purporting to be from a bank or a toll road operator, for example. These fraudsters operate domestically and overseas and use sophisticated technologies to trick innocent Australians into divulging sensitive information in order to steal their money or personal information. The financial losses, psychological damage and general annoyance suffered is immense.

SMS is now the most frequently reported contact method for scams, and almost $27 million was lost to scams in 2023, as reported to Scamwatch. Of course, not all scam losses are reported, so the real cost is far greater.

The government has made significant progress in combatting scams. Data released by the ACCC in April 2024 indicates estimated scam losses were down 13.1 per cent in 2023 from 2022.

However, while losses have decreased and progress is being made, Australians are still losing too much. There is no 'silver bullet' to eliminate scam activity; scammers will invariably adapt and utilise new methods to contact would-be victims.

The formal creation of this register will bolster existing anti-scam measures. Once operational, this register is designed to:

A pilot register has been operating since December 2023, which has generated valuable insights.

Whether the register will ultimately be a voluntary or mandatory model is yet to be determined and is notthe focus of this bill. That decision is scheduled for later this year. It will be informed by detailed costings and analysis as well as the two rounds of stakeholder and public consultation in 2023 and 2024.

Following that decision, corresponding rules will be made to bind the relevant parts of the industry to certain obligations. This mechanism does not feature in the bill and will be effected by existing powers in the Telecommunications Act 1997.

The main elements of the bill are:

This government has made significant inroads combating telecommunications scams but is committed to doing more. This bill is the next formal step in creating a SMS sender ID register, which, once fully operational, will offer better protection for consumers and increase brand protection for legitimate businesses and entities using SMS sender identifications.

Debate adjourned.