Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Telecommunications Amendment (Enhancing Consumer Safeguards) Bill 2025. This is a very important bill, and I'm very thankful to Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland's hard work in this area and her support of my electorate and my constituents in dealing with the significant telecommunications issues related to the previous, very poor rollout of the NBN and telecommunications services in Macarthur by the previous government.

When I was a student at school, we didn't have computers. We didn't have calculators. We used slide rules and logarithmic tables for complex calculations. When I was a medical student, I spent 12 months working in India at the time of the Emergency in a state called Orissa in a city called Cuttack, which was the capital of Orissa. It had a large paediatric hospital. As I said, it was the time of the Emergency. There were lots of refugees following the split of Pakistan into Bangladesh and Pakistan. Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, had declared a public emergency and essentially martial law. So we were working with refugees, and communications were very difficult.

In that year, I think I made three phone calls home and wrote two letters. The phone calls necessitated a trip from Cuttack in Orissa to Calcutta, the capital of West Bengal, which had a communications link to Australia. It took a long time to organise those phone calls and cost a lot of money. In those days, it cost the equivalent of $25 or $26. At that time, I was being paid the same rate as an Indian doctor, which was around 270 rupees or about $30 a month. They were very expensive phone calls, and the link was difficult. Sometimes I'd travel to Calcutta, and we couldn't get the link. I'd have to travel back to Cuttack and then back to Calcutta the next day to make the phone call.

When I started work as a doctor, we had only just developed electronic telephones that could be moved from place to place instead of using a phone booth or a fixed phone. The world has revolutionised since that time. Of course, doctors are very fond of the fax machine, and the fax machines were developed after I'd been in practice for a few years. Telecommunications developments after that have been incredibly rapid. Telecommunications are now an essential part of modern living. No-one goes anywhere these days without their mobile phone. In medical practice, we rely on efficient communications for all our electronic records and blood test results. We can now get X-ray results sent electronically to our telephones. In the days when I first started practice, most practices had a storeroom full of X-ray films. These are hard-copy plastic films, usually with silver nitrate for the images. These are no longer required because of electronic records and efficient telecommunications.

Many Macarthur residents are able to work very efficiently from home because of modern communications. However, as I've said, we have had significant problems in Macarthur because of the copper telecommunications wiring that is often many decades old and in poor condition. The concept of the NBN using fibre to the node rather than to the home and then relying on the copper network to get to the home was deeply flawed. Some of the older suburbs such as Leumeah, Glen Alpine and Campbelltown suffered incredibly poor telecommunications access because of the old copper network. We've also had difficulties even in some of the newer suburbs like Gregory Hills and Oran Park because of the new providers not providing adequate protection for the fibre network connecting telecommunications to the home. Every time it rained, we were having problems with people not being able to access their telephone or the NBN because of this poor initial rollout. We complained many, many times to some of the providers about the fact that only one of the developers had provided access to the fibre network to the new suburbs. Because of the providers skimping on the rollout and providing poor infrastructure, many of these suburbs, in the time since the NBN rollout, have not had adequate access to telecommunications, limiting businesses in functioning from the home and limiting the ability of people to work from home.

I am very thankful for Minister Rowland's work in fighting for the families and businesses across south-western Sydney to access fast, reliable, affordable and equitable connectivity. In my electorate of Macarthur, adequate telecommunications can not only bring convenience to the daily lives of residents but can also make sure they can function using their businesses or working from home. They can reach their nearest and dearest as well through a mobile phone call. They can work from home or have telehealth sessions with their GP at the push of a button with adequate telecommunications. The fact that many suburbs have not been able to have access is a tragedy. Since coming to office, our government has been improving the mobile and broadband connectivity across south-western Sydney and Western Sydney by bringing adequate telecommunications to over 230,000 households and businesses, which have been able to receive upgrades, with superfast broadband now across south-western Sydney. For every Australian, regardless of where they live—as we deliver the Labor vision to be the most connected continent in the world—there is over $8 million now being invested by the federal government, with 12 projects across Western Sydney, to improve our mobile infrastructure. There is more to be done, but in our three years of government we have done a lot to improve connectivity in western and south-western Sydney, and that's thanks mainly to the minister, Michelle Rowland. I thank her so much for that.

Connectivity is very important in Macarthur, where we have several suburbs that remain semirural and have been built in a way that has not provided adequate connectivity in the past. The natural terrain of hills and valleys can also impair connectivity, which makes it more complex to provide adequate connectivity and means that providers have to invest properly in robust infrastructure to do that.

The NBN fibre rollout that our government is working hard to implement has improved connectivity to over 6,000 households and businesses in the Macarthur region alone in the last three years. They're benefiting from a full-fibre connection rather than fibre to the node and then copper to the premises. This has made a huge difference in suburbs like Eagle Vale, Kentlyn, Narellan, Smeaton Grange, Claymore and Spring Farm, and that's naming only a few. There are many more that are benefiting.

On top of that, over 47,000 households and businesses in suburbs including Minto, Rosemeadow, Camden, Harrington Park, St Andrews, Glen Alpine and Mount Annan are benefiting from the existing full-fibre connection rollout to their homes. This benefits everyone in my community, from students at university to medical practices, those running their own businesses and those working from home. This is a really incredible social improvement for many people who can access working-from-home conditions and work very efficiently as well as care for their families. Our families are now enjoying streaming services that they couldn't previously access.

This is very good policy from a very good communications minister and good government. I've met with the minister several times. She's been to my electorate several times to see the problems we are having. I know this is replicated in other areas of Australia, including rural and regional areas. She's a very active minister and one who is doing her best to make sure everyone in Australia can access the best connectivity possible.

We know that some providers have not been doing the right thing. This legislation is helping to make sure they are accountable, so that everyone can make sure their providers are accountable to them and to the government for poor service. I know that the minister and the department are actively looking into how they can deal with a provider called Opticomm, which has customers in many suburbs including Gregory Hills, Gledswood Hills and Oran Park, who for many years have been dealing with poor internet performance and poor mobile connectivity. This is very specific, I know, but it is a local issue that I've been campaigning on since I was elected in 2016. The fact that we're still having issues is a testament to the really poor service to the people of these suburbs.

This amendment establishes a carriage service provider registration scheme to make sure that there is visibility of carriage service providers operating in the market. It enables the regulatory body to stop service providers who pose an unacceptable risk to consumers and businesses or cause significant consumer harm from operating.

Telecommunications is now such an important part of our lives and of our business that we can't work without it. Industry codes are directly enforceable by ACMA. This will enable ACMA to take immediate and appropriate action to address consumer concerns and complaints. It also provides incentives to industry compliance. There are civil penalties, and the courts can now issue breaches of key regulatory instruments, for the greater good of many people. It will expand and clarify authority to increase infringement notice penalties ACMA can issue for breaches in a short period of time. The current provisions are confusing. They do not allow the Minister for Communications to increase penalties in certain areas. These reforms go to the compliance and enforcement regime for consumers and for businesses and constitute a comprehensive package of improvements to those arrangements. This bill is a very important one to my community and I commend it to the House.

Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's always important. I rise to speak about communications and the challenges that we as a community face in Casey. I'm lucky to represent a beautiful part of the world. We've got the Yarra Valley. We've also got the Dandenong Ranges, which is beautiful national parks and bushland but it's in mountains. We've got all the way out to the upper Yarra, with the Yarra Valley and upper Yarra combined area. So we do have many challenges with communications. We know how important it is that they work every day. I was out recently talking to residents in Powelltown at a community meeting and it was raised with me the challenges that they have around their day-to-day communications but also the issues they have when the power goes out. After a few hours, they lose phone reception as well. So there are many challenges in my community when it comes to access to reliable communications.

It is an area that has significant and ongoing disasters. Two-and-a-half weeks ago, we had a bushfire in our community. We have regular floods. Many people, including me, were impacted by the June storms of 2021, which left residents without power and communications for weeks and months in some cases. It is in an area that I spoke about in my first speech and I've advocated for. I've worked constructively with the minister over the last three years to make sure that we are doing everything we can to ensure reliable communications in my community.

The coalition is supporting the Telecommunications Amendment (Enhancing Consumer Safeguards) Bill 2025. However, I have to note that it is disappointing that the bill has entered parliament on the eve of the election. Given this is a setting week that we weren't going to have—we all know the Prime Minister was planning to not have this week—it wouldn't have been introduced at all. The unfortunate reality is that it is unlikely to become law before the end of this parliamentary term.

Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Hopefully there's a new government.

Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Hopefully, Member for Nicholls, there is a new government to continue to do more and more for communications in our community.

We are supporting this bill because it will give consumers greater protections. It will create a register of carriage service providers. It will enable the direct enforcement of industry codes, which is crucial. It will amend the existing two-step process for the application of penalty amounts for infringement notices. This is a really important one: it will increase the maximum penalty for breaches of the code from $250,000 to $10 million. That's important because it means that, if providers are doing the wrong thing and they are letting their consumers down and letting our communities down, there is a significant cost that they will bear from these penalties.

The new carriage service provider registration scheme will require all telecommunications providers to apply to ACMA, 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 the code or standard.

The bill will make compliance with industry codes mandatory. It's removing the current two-step process whereby ACMA issues a warning for breaches of the code. This will ensure more immediate action can be taken for breaches of the code. We shouldn't gloss over the significance of that. The reality is that most organisations will do the right thing. But, if you're looking to do the wrong thing and you're looking at the regulations, you go, 'Well, as a first step, I'll do what I like because I'm just going to get a warning as a consequence.' As a parent of two children, I know that warnings don't go very far. So that's an important change, and it's a change that the sector has called for, because, in fairness to the sector, many do the right thing, and we need to protect organisations that do the right thing and punish those that do the wrong thing.

Unfortunately, there have been many examples of organisations doing the wrong thing. Between September 2023 and September 2024, ACMA issued 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. This shows and highlights the importance of these reforms and the importance of making sure that every organisation is registered. But it also shows, again, how disappointing it is that we've had to wait three years for this bill to come to the House. And, as I said, we would not be here except for, ironically enough, the cyclone in Queensland. I know, Deputy Speaker Vasta, that as a Queenslander you understand the need for the delay.

Some of these breaches relate to people's safety, which is of the highest priority. As an 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 like our police, fire and ambulance are deployed to the address that is correct the first time. Adherence to this code is vital. People's lives literally depend on it. In this role, as we all know, we have the opportunity to engage with our emergency services—ambulance, CFA, local police—and, as they say to me and as we would all know and imagine, when people are making that call to triple 0, it is at a time of high stress. There is so much going on. By definition, there is a significant emergency happening. So having that number and being able to ping the address correctly and not rely on a human that is under significant stress at that time is crucial. It's an example of how having the correct rules and strong telecommunications in place can be the difference between life and death.

As I said at the start of this speech, in my community, reliable telecommunications are vital, but they're also an ongoing challenge. I've seen and we've seen as a community the importance of reliable communications in many weather events, including the June storms of 2021. At that time, my wife and I were locked in our house. A tree fell down in front of our house; we literally couldn't leave. We lost power and then, after a few hours, we lost communications. It hit us very hard when we realised—we had the conversation at the time—that, if one of the trees around our house fell through our house and injured one of us, we didn't have the ability to call for the help we would have needed from the SES or the CFA. That is a living example of how vulnerable we are as individuals and as community members without these communications.

Recently, 2½ weeks ago, we saw the importance of telecommunications in Montrose, as a bushfire took hold and, unfortunately, houses were damaged and lost. The CFA—and I want to thank Matt and the team at Montrose CFA and all the CFA members from our community who came out in support to suppress that fire—the FRV crews, Forest Fire Management and air support from helicopters fought the fire all day and got it within containment lines in the early evening. So, many residents went to bed believing it was safe. However, with any emergency and with any fire, it's a dynamic environment. That fire reared its head and skipped containment lines, and it wasn't long before the VicEmergency app started beeping. Residents woke around midnight to find that the fire had escalated and that embers were flying towards local homes. The warning was quickly updated to 'take shelter now' for a larger area of the community. It shows just how quickly things can escalate and how vital it is that we have reliable telecommunications.

In the days after, when the fire was contained but still being controlled, communications came to the fore, and I want to pay credit to Liz at the Montrose CFA. As people would see fire trucks going through town, choppers flying overhead and different beeps on the emergency app, Liz was providing real-time information to the community through Facebook and on the Montrose fire brigade's Facebook page. Ironically, Liz should have been out on the fire lines, but she's recently had knee surgery and she was at the station. But it turned out that was where she needed to be. I was there at the Montrose Community Market on Saturday two weeks ago, when residents were coming up and thanking her for the communications she had given them to make sure they knew what they needed to do and for playing a crucial role in relieving their stress and anxiety.

In my community we have beautiful mountains and topography, but our terrain makes communications more of a challenge. That's why the former coalition government funded and delivered towers across the Yarra Ranges, in East Warburton, McMahons Creek, Reefton, Mount Evelyn, Steels Creek and two in Chum Creek. We also committed to towers in Silvan and Menzies Creek, and these are in the planning stages and will be operational soon. It was the coalition in 2013, as the member for Riverina would well know, that established the Mobile Black Spot Program to solve this challenge not just in Casey but across the country. It is a legacy that we should be proud of as a coalition because it's making a difference in many communities all across the country. And that's why I'll continue to fight for the telecommunications coverage that we deserve. Connectivity is above politics. It's about saving lives in emergencies and making sure farmers can get the support they need to clear and collect their crops and communities can stay connected. In a regional community—a community like mine—your neighbour isn't 50 metres away; they can be hundreds of metres or hundreds of kilometres away. Communications with them and others is vital.

Since the bushfire in Montrose, I've been contacted by local residents, including those in the Dandenong Ranges, because Montrose sits at the foot of the Dandenong Ranges. They were rightly concerned—and it was a genuine threat—that, had the wind been going the other way, the fire would have ravaged up the mountain. It does not take long—between six and 10 minutes if the conditions are catastrophic—to send that fire up the mountain. They were concerned about their ability to receive emergency alert messages, after the communications in our community fell silent in the June storms of 2021. Those storms caused so much widespread damage—fallen trees and powerlines—which impacted critical infrastructure and our communications networks. Many residents at that time experienced difficulties in receiving emergency information via the traditional methods during the storm and in the days following.

My community wants to see reliable communications right across the electorate of Casey, because it's not just in the bushfire season when we need to be alert; it's during winter as well, because, once the bushfire risks subside, our community prepares for storms, flooding and other wet weather events. It's why we always need to advocate for stronger communications, and that's why this bill is important. The changes in this bill will strengthen the regulator's powers to ensure the regulatory regime is as robust as it can be and that operators are held to the highest standards. The increase in penalties will align the telecommunications penalty framework to those in the energy and banking sectors, competition legislation and the Australian Consumer Law.

This is an important bill, but I'll finish where I started. It is disappointing that it has taken three years for the Albanese Labor government to bring this bill to the House. It is disappointing that, despite its importance, it looks like it will not pass in this term of the parliament, and that is something that the government has to own. They've had three years to deliver these changes and they have not delivered. We will hear from those opposite about how important this is and how needed it is. Well, the question is: why didn't the Prime Minister, the Treasurer and the Minister for Communications act and bring this legislation on earlier?

Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For some time now, the world has been fundamentally underpinned by technology. For better or worse, an Australian now treats the mobile phone as an extension of themselves, so much so that your pocket will sometimes vibrate despite nothing being in there.

An Australian today will, according to one estimate, spend an average of nearly 17 years of their life looking at a screen. That accounts for work, play, education and socialising—absolutely everything that a human does. That dependence extends not just to the way we interact with our world but also to our behaviour and emotions, to a point where people feel as if they cannot live without that technology. As a collective, Australia, like the rest of the world, has that same dependence.

Countries grind to a complete halt without their technological infrastructure and assets. When the internet is going slow or goes down completely, it can ruin businesses. It can cut Aussies off from essential services and prevent them from contacting their loved ones, as we found out in November 2023. That outage alone was estimated to cost customers and the wider nation approximately $2 billion or more in economic activity.

On an individual level, that one outage meant that 228 calls to 000 couldn't be connected. It meant that 228 instances of an Aussie trying to get emergency assistance couldn't be done. That outage lasted just 12 hours and affected just one national network—in that case, the Optus network.

For all of that technology, as the linchpin of the Australian public at home, work and everywhere, and as the fuel that drives the Australian economy—and on top of that our sovereign capability—and ensures our security, it is reliant on the telecommunications sector to operate it. An Australian at work, making calls, sending e-mails or whatever it is, is totally dependent on a carrier like Telstra or Optus to get that work done.

Aussies are also totally dependent on telcos to get in contact with others, to receive and pay their bills and to access essential services. So it's clear that Australia's telcos have a huge role to play in people's lives and have a huge influence on the Australian way of life. But that influence means telcos must be held accountable by the Australians they serve.

Unfortunately, we have witnessed cases where carriers have been alleged by the ACCC to be doing the wrong thing and where the Aussies who depend on the telco's service have, instead, been a victim of them. For example, forking out for services they haven't asked for, perhaps not realising they are purchasing additional products. Worse still, in the particular instance I'm referencing, the Australians targeted were said to be financially vulnerable as well as those living with mental disabilities. While this matter is being followed up appropriately, and the telco in this case has acknowledged this issue, consumers are being exploited by the service they depend on. This cannot be allowed to happen.

That is exactly why the Labor government is coming in with this bill, because we are working to ensure that it does not happen again. The Telecommunications Amendment (Enhancing Consumer Safeguards) Bill 2025 achieves this in two ways. Firstly, it gives the government more teeth, through the Australian Communications and Media Authority, to take immediate action against telcos that are breaching their current obligations. Secondly, it enhances the penalty regime in a way that both introduces the correct measures when a telco does the wrong thing as well as incentivises an entity to prevent their conduct from getting to this point at all.

This bill is both reactive, in an effective, meaningful way to hold telcos to account as well as in a preventative one to ensure providers are aware of their obligations, how they should be met and the consequences for them when they are not. This is what a healthy telecommunications sector needs in a modern Australia, and I'm proud to be able to contribute to the bill.

The Labor government has already made significant progress towards enhancing our communications sector and, in particular, towards protecting consumers. This is exemplified in particular by ACMA's financial hardship industry standard, which was implemented in March 2024 in response to a direction from the Minister for Communications. The standard makes it mandatory for telcos to better support customers struggling to pay their phone and internet bills. This means telcos are now prioritising keeping customers connected, as they always should, when their customers are faced with financial hardship. It means requiring telcos to offer specific assistance to customers facing hardship, such as payment plans, to help keep them connected, and this standard provides ACMA with strong enforcement powers to make sure this is happening. As well as ensuring Aussies are getting the fair go they deserve, this is another way the Labor government is helping take pressure off families. That's especially so up north. The reality is that thousands of families in Spence have had that tough conversation with a telco provider that they are dependent on to find another way to pay the bill. Labor is making policy with those conversations directly in mind.

Labor has also directed ACMA to include a domestic, family and sexual violence industry standard to ensure those who are seeking support over the phone or online are able to do so in a safe, secure and reliable manner. Measures as part of this include minimum requirements for telco policies and staff training, prohibiting alleged perpetrators being connected to victims and tighter privacy rules. This standard also removes requirements for victims to tell their stories multiple times, and, going back to cost-of-living measures, it makes telcos recognise domestic and family violence as a potential cause of payment difficulties and what disconnection could mean for someone vulnerable. Consumers are being looked out for under the Albanese Labor government.

Schedule 1 establishes a carriage service provider registration scheme. This forces telcos, in particular retailers of telecommunications products, to become licensed before they sell their services. In turn, as a result of the licensing scheme, this increases the visibility of CSPs to both the public and the wider market. This means that telco operators whose services have are being sold can make sure their obligations are being met. It also means, because the market is more transparent with such a scheme, that ACMA has an extra leg up to better regulate it and enforce both obligations and penalties. This puts the conduct of telco retailers and, by extension, providers straight out into the open to be scrutinised and regulated appropriately to make sure consumers are getting a fair deal.

Schedule 2 makes the industry codes directly enforceable. Currently, when a telco has breached their obligations to their customers, as set out under industry codes, a slow two-step process follows. First, ACMA must issue a direction to comply to offending telcos, no matter how urgent or significant the breach is, and, second, they can only take further action if the noncompliance continues. Before this bill, it's was if telcos could do the wrong thing once and not get penalised if it occurred again. This bill fixes that. Under the new legislation, if a telco does the wrong thing, ACMA can now take enforcement action the moment a telco does the wrong thing, rather than wait for further noncompliance. Telcos are powerful, and, if that power is being misused, it must stop the moment it is detected, to protect consumers. That's what this bill does.

This may seem obvious, but telcos are highly profitable organisations. This means that penalties for breaches of the industry codes and standards should match the wealth of the telco to provide an adequate deterrent. That's exactly what this bill does. It increases the maximum general civil penalty for such breaches from $250,000 to $9.9 million. The bill also modernises the penalty framework as a whole, effectively allowing for penalties to be scaled beyond the $9.9 million mark based on the wealth gained from the misconduct committed. For example, if a telco was found to have done the wrong thing and gained $15 million from its conduct, this legislation allows for penalties to go higher in order to account for that profit, as it should. In the same way consumers are deterred from doing the wrong thing every day via the law, telcos need adequate punishments, should they do the wrong thing, in order to stop consumers being taken for a ride.

Schedule 4 complements the previous one, by allowing the minister to increase any infringement notice penalty ACMA can issue for breaches of telecommunications rules. Again, this is a modern bill for a modern industry, ensuring deterrents can be scaled appropriately and allowing for greater reactivity based on the circumstances of a breach.

The Telecommunications Consumer Protection Code, from which penalties are enforced, is actively being reviewed right now, again as part of getting industry standard up to speed under this government. The revised code will include improvements to important areas, such as responsible selling practices, and has been developed in partnership between the regulator, ACMA, and industry, through the Communications Alliance. This review is currently ongoing, with public consultation having closed on 28 February. That stakeholder engagement is also another facet of the bill, as this legislation has strong support from key stakeholders in the telecommunications sector, including the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, Consumer Action Law Centre, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, the Australian Communications and Media Authority and the Communications Alliance.

Just to recap, consumer-centric protections for telecommunications customers are two-pronged—it strengthens ACMA, to give it teeth, increases deterrents on telcos. On the first end, ACMA will have powers to take direct and immediate enforcement action against telcos who have breached their obligations to customers. It's a departure from the current two-step process. Right now, ACMA must issue the first direction to comply to offending telcos, no matter how significant the breach, and only take further action if noncompliance continues. Now, ACMA can do it straightaway.

The second prong is that it increases the general penalty for those breaches from $250,000 to nearly $10 million. It also allows room for penalties to be based on the value of the benefit obtained from the effective offending conduct—as in a $20 billion benefit from an offence can be punished higher to the scale of the rorting. It aligns to other sectors, creating a uniform high standard of consumer relations, introducing a registration scheme for providers, to offer more transparency and accountability for customers. An example of what this is combating can be found in the form of Optus, which the ACCC alleged committed unconscionable conduct, breaking Australian consumer law. Optus are alleged to have sold hundreds of telecommunications goods and services that consumers did not want or need. Even worse, many of the consumers cited were experiencing vulnerability, financially and personally, and other disadvantages, such as living with a mental disability or limited cognitive capacity. Optus apologised and claimed to remedy the situation and take disciplinary action against staff. The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, ACCAN, wanted more and asked for direct regulation of the industry, hence this bill.

In closing, this is a much-needed modernisation of consumer protections in this country. As I've pointed out, this is a welcome enhancement to ACMA's capabilities and the penalty framework they can enforce in order to ensure telcos are deterred from doing the wrong thing. It also incentivises these companies to educate themselves about their obligations and to conduct themselves appropriately. This is significant in itself.

I want to finish by talking a little bit about what this bill means on a community level and what it means for families and households. I'm sure many of us in this place can attest to one of the people we represent coming into our offices and rightfully raising concerns about how difficult it can be to navigate the internal process of a telco. Especially for older or more vulnerable consumers, this can be an absolute maze of terms, conditions and phone calls. Again, just going back to the dependence Aussies have on these companies, that conversation is urgent. It's an experience that leaves an Australian wondering what their next phone bill is going to look like or if they're going to be able to use their phone tomorrow. That anxiety thousands of Australians in my community can relate to, especially when faced with a higher cost of living. That is what this legislation looks to address. This is a bill which, through appropriately holding telcos to account, gives certainty to the consumer that a provider or retailer will act in their interest. It's people-centric policy, something that has become a trademark of the legislation passed in this place over the last three years, and long may it continue.

Before I close, I want to say to every single constituent in my electorate of Spence and beyond, for that matter, that, if you are having difficulties with your telecommunication provider, if you've got issues with reception or if you are struggling with paying your bills and you don't know who to reach out to, a great first place to reach out to is your local federal member. We are here to help you. I encourage you to, please, pick up the phone, come into my office and sit down, and we'll do everything we can to get you on the right track. I commend this bill to the House.

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mobile phone coverage is absolutely vital in regional and rural Victoria—in particular, in the seat of Wannon. That is why I was so proud to be a member of a government, a coalition government, that put in place the Mobile Black Spot funding. We put that in place in 2014. Since then, it has delivered nearly 40 new mobile phone towers in the electorate of Wannon. We have received more than our fair share as a result of that coalition program, and it wouldn't be in place if it weren't for a coalition government. I remember taking Paul Fletcher, the then minister for telecommunications, up the Victoria Valley and impressing upon him the need for us to get improved mobile phone coverage. That in part helped us to get that fund in place and to deliver nearly 40 new mobile base stations in Wannon.

That has been a fantastic achievement. Does it mean we rest on our laurels? No, it doesn't. It means we continue to keep going. But what do we need to make sure that we can keep providing improved mobile phone access in Wannon, right across Victoria and right across regional and rural Australia? You need a coalition government, because guess what this government, the Albanese Labor government, has done. They've decided in the budget not to have any more Mobile Black Spot Program after the year 2027-28. That is simply not good enough, and we won't stand for it, because we know that we need to keep delivering improved mobile phone reception into the electorate of Wannon and right across rural and regional Australia.

As a matter of fact, what this government has done is make the situation worse, because, through the sheer incompetence of switching off the 3G network, they've actually reduced the coverage rather than improved it. That is why I was so proud to be a member of a coalition government that put the Mobile Black Spot Program in place to start with and saw it deliver, through the advocacy of local community groups and local towns in my electorate, nearly 40 new mobile base stations. I want to make sure it continues.

Let me give you one example of why we have to make sure it continues. Recently, I was at the Simpson Speedway. The Simpson Speedway puts on the best sprint-car entertainment that you will see, and guess how they do it. It is all volunteers. They put on about 11 meetings a year. Do you know how they run them? They just put out the call for volunteers, and 110 to 120 volunteers just turn up and put on the event. So you've got people there in their utes and in their tractors. They'll be pushing the cars and getting them going. When there's a smash, as occasionally there is, the tractors will be making sure they're picking up the cars and getting them off the track safely. You've got the wonderful volunteers in the cafeteria. Deputy Speaker Vasta, you'll love this, and I'm sure the member opposite will love this too: the fries in the cafeteria at Simpson—it is all volunteer run—are the best chips in the Southern Hemisphere. That's how they advertise them—

Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Hot chips!

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Hot chips! I can tell you that I had some when I was there and they're the best in the Southern Hemisphere. There are secret spices in there. It's all done, because it's all volunteers.

This is a wonderful event that they put on in the speedway 11, sometimes 12, times a year—all volunteer run. I want to make sure they've got proper mobile phone coverage there. Since I've been there, I've spoken to Telstra and pointed out to them these wonderful community events where thousands of people come along. They need to make sure that they have proper mobile phone coverage. We need to make sure we've got our Mobile Black Spot Program to be able to deliver that.

I say that with a tiny bit of self-interest. The member for Riverina will love this. This coming Sunday, I'm actually going in a sprint car. I'll be going round the track in a sprint car.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before or after the election is called? We don't want a by-election!

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I must admit my knuckles are a little bit white.

No, Assistant Minister Thistlethwaite, I am not driving! I will be in the back with a very experienced driver, doing this for charity. It is a wonderful charity—the Gillin Boys Foundation. They do wonderful work. I am happy to support them, but I'm already getting a little bit nervous about it.

Back to the point, I'd be a little less nervous if I knew that we had proper mobile phone coverage at the Simpson Speedway. I'm going to continue to work with Telstra to make sure that that becomes a reality, but the fact that we don't have the mobile black spot funding continuing beyond 2027-28 is a great shame because that program has really delivered for regional and rural Victoria.

I'll give you another example. There is a wonderful country town in my electorate—Hawkesdale. It's got a wonderful P-12 school. It's a hub for the surrounding farmers. We need to make sure that it has proper mobile phone coverage because it wasn't so long ago that there were devastating fires that threatened that town. One of the key things about fires—as we saw with the fires in the Grampians that threatened Pomonal, Halls Gap, Willaura,Glenthompson and other communities over Christmas and the new year—is that we need to make sure that we've got proper mobile phone coverage. We need to make sure that we can get that for Hawkesdale, and the Mobile Black Spot Program will help deliver it.

We will ensure that black spot funding continues because we understand how important it is for places like the Simpson Speedway and Hawkesdale. There are many other examples of where we need to keep rolling out that black spot funding right across the electorate of Wannon. We want to make sure that, ultimately, we've got the mobile telecommunications services that the cities enjoy at the moment. That's why the coalition put in place that mobile black spot funding. It's funny that others take credit for how many mobile phone towers they put in their electorates, but none of it would have happened if it weren't for a coalition government.

The Telecommunications Amendment (Enhancing Consumer Safeguards) Bill creates a register of carriage service providers, enables the direct enforcement of an industry development code, increases the maximum penalty amount from $250,000 to $10 million and amends the existing two-step process for the application of penalty amounts for infringement notices. It's a bill which enjoys support across the parliament. Obviously, doing more to increase transparency to make sure that, where there are abuses, we can act upon them is something that everyone wants to see in this place. Anything which enhances consumer safeguards and does so in a way that is sensible and doesn't put a huge red-tape burden in place is obviously something that we would support.

One thing we don't support—I'll end on this note—is a cut to the Mobile Black Spot Program. I say to those opposite, seriously, for regional and rural Victoria, especially with the debacle of the 3G network being turned off in the way that it was: we need that program, and we need it back. It's sad that it wasn't in the budget.

Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the Telecommunications Amendment (Enhancing Consumer Safeguards) Bill 2025. This bill really does build on our commitment to enhancing connectivity and the experience of all Australians by placing them at the centre of the telecommunications industry, recognising that these are essential services that providers deliver. We want a telco industry that works for Australians, ensuring that we have the best consumer safeguards in place to protect our interests. It's why we're introducing a universal outdoor mobile obligation, requiring telcos to provide access to mobile, voice and SMS almost everywhere across the country, and this will have huge benefits for regional and remote communities, particularly during emergencies and disasters.

I note the former speaker spoke about mobile phone towers in black spot areas, but it would be great if those opposite came on board and supported a universal outdoor mobile obligation. It doesn't cure all our problems, but it absolutely means that telcos have to get serious about the technologies they provide across our country.

We want to ensure that there is a strong, clear recourse if telcos do the wrong thing as well. There have been a number of high-profile incidents in the telco sector in recent years. I'm sure everyone remembers the 14-hour Optus outage, which impacted 10 million Optus customers and prevented more than 2,100 calls to 000 being connected with emergency services. Further, the latest data from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman shows that the number of complaints increased by 13 per cent between October and December last year compared to the previous quarter. And that is why earlier this year the Minister for Communications introduced this legislation to parliament—to further improve protections for the majority of us: we, the telco consumers. It recognises how critical telco services are for everyone—in particular, for those in vulnerable circumstances, people living in our regions, First Nations Australians, those who rely upon connectivity to work from home or to run a small business.

This bill will boost the enforcement powers and penalties available to ACMA so that it is an empowered and effective regulator. It will also ensure that appropriate incentive structures are in place to drive better behaviour by telcos. These proposed changes will simplify the current two-step process and enable ACMA to take direct and immediate enforcement action against telecommunications providers that have breached their obligations to customers under industry codes.

The bill also provides for strong determent to telcos, which increases penalties for providers who are in breach from $250,000 to around $10 million. The value will be different depending on the offending conduct. But this penalty framework will bring the telecommunications sector in line with energy, banking and the Australian consumer law and create greater incentives to abide by those industry codes. Nobody wants an industry that sees penalties as simply the cost of doing business.

This bill will increase the transparency of providers operating in the market, especially telecommunications retailers, through the establishment of a carrier service provider registration scheme. In all, the legislation will provide ACMA with the tools it needs to protect consumers and hold companies to account if they do the wrong thing. It is another way that the Albanese government is putting consumers at the centre of the telco industry, recognising the importance of quality telecommunications services for all Australians, and it builds on other work that we have done to improve connectivity and reliability across our network.

Since coming to government, we have focused on improving connectivity for all Australians, regardless of postcode, because we know that connectivity is no longer a nice-to-have; it is an absolute necessity in the day and age in which we live. Programs like the Mobile Black Spot Program and the Mobile Network Hardening Program are seeing expanding mobile coverage, more resilience and better capacity across our network.

In Eden-Monaro, we are investing more than $8½ million towards 13 mobile base stations, delivering improved coverage across our region. And this is in addition to 27 projects being supported across Eden-Monaro under rounds 2 and 3 of the Mobile Network Hardening Program to keep telecommunications online for longer during disasters. In our term, we've invested an initial $2.4 billion and we committed an additional $3 billion earlier this year to expand access to full-fibre NBN for 2.1 million premises across the nation, which includes almost a million in our regions. In my own electorate of Eden-Monaro, this investment has meant that 37,500 premises and businesses can now access full fibre capable of delivering faster, more reliable speeds, with an extra 3,000 premises set to receive upgrades thanks to this additional $3 billion investment.

When we came to government, entire postcodes were still stuck on the former government's copper network, impacting the ability to run small businesses, to work from home and to access essential online services. Fibre can deliver speeds 18 times faster than the average copper connection and it is less likely to drop out or to degrade. With the completion of the Albanese government's $480 million upgrade to NBN Co's fixed wireless and satellite services, over 14,500 households and businesses in Eden-Monaro are benefiting from faster internet and increased data. The fixed wireless upgrades have already delivered increased download speeds to households from around 48 megabytes per second in 2022 to over 100 megabytes per second today. Regional communities like my own deserve affordable and reliable services just like you'd expect anywhere else in the country. This is exactly what our investments are supporting.

In addition to fixed wireless upgrades, our investments have also improved NBN's Sky Muster satellite service, which provides much-needed connectivity options for more than 200,000 households and businesses in regional and remote Australia. Thanks to the Albanese government, customers now have unlimited data through NBN Co's Sky Muster Plus premium package, providing download speeds of up to 100 megabytes per second.

We know how important NBN is to drive productivity, particularly for regional Australians who work from home, for our small businesses and to access telehealth and so much more. It's for this reason that, under the Albanese government, the NBN is not for sale. But those opposite might sell it off to the highest bidder. Labor built the NBN, just like we built Medicare, superannuation and the NDIS, and it is only Labor that you can trust to deliver better connectivity for all Australians. It's an essential part of keeping connected—having reliable affordable services for all of our telcos. You need reliable connectivity to run small businesses, to work from home or, when you are at a point of crisis and need to arrange support. When things go wrong, telcos have an obligation to support you and, if they don't, we are ensuring that there are consequences for them. This is what this bill will support, and this is why I'm so incredibly happy to support this fabulous bill.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Member for Eden-Monaro mentioned the NDIS. I might remind her that, yes, it was something that Labor built, but unfortunately Labor didn't put one red cent towards it. It's a bit similar to telecommunications, mobile phone communications particularly. Labor never, until this term of government, put a single cent towards that vital service, and yet, when their colour-coded spreadsheet came out for the round they were responsible for, it was all red. They criticised our colour-coded spreadsheets. At least ours had a few different colours. There's was just all one colour—red!

Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A bit like the budget forecasts.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A bit like the budget, Member for Nicholls—all red.

Indeed, mobile phone coverage, as the minister for regional development has just pointed out, is vital. She mentioned the $8.5 million towards 13 mobile phone towers in Eden-Monaro. I hope some of those are in the areas which I am hopefully going to succeed her in, because some of the areas which she is responsible for—the Yass Valley and Snowy Valleys local government areas—are coming into the Riverina electorate. I certainly hope that some of those mobile towers are in the Riverina in those two LGAs. Let me tell you, as far as mobile phone communications are concerned, parts of those LGAs have certainly missed out, because their service is very patchy.

I had a meeting there recently, at Ardlethan on 25 February. I met with community members of Ardlethan and surrounds to discuss mobile connectivity. I was pleased that regional general manager Chris Taylor, who looks after southern New South Wales and the ACT for Telstra, group executive Shaolin Sehgal and network engineering executive Ashley Hunter were there to listen to the concerns of locals. I know the state member for Cootamundra, Steph Cooke, was there. Coolamon mayor David McCann OAM and the general manager of that shire, Tony Donoghue, were at the roundtable. They know full well of the hardships that people face when they don't have the right mobile phone communications.

I know in the years we were in office, 2013 through to 2022, we funded 1,400 mobile phone towers, of which 1,100 were actually constructed in our time in office. It made a huge difference. It's not just about getting the data and getting the convenience of modern living. It's far more important than that. Our farmers these days drive on GPS operated headers; their tractors are all very much geared to almost driving themselves. But if they are up in the top paddock or, indeed, a paddock right next to their house, and they don't have the right communications, they can miss out on spot prices on grain or spot prices on livestock. It can cost them tens of thousands of dollars. I'm certainly not exaggerating. I spoke to one Ardlethan farmer who said it cost him $11,000 because he wasn't in the right place at the right time and couldn't pick up a signal. It was just like the flick of a finger. He lost out on that deal. By the time he got to his house the price had disappeared. There have been a number of concerns in the Ardlethan area that Telstra is actively addressing.

I mentioned the importance of ensuring reception during heavily attended Farrer league football and netball games at the Ardlethan sportsground. It's a huge attraction for the town. They play their games in conjunction with the ground at Ariah Park. The Northern Jets, a good football and netball club, need mobile phone communications if somebody gets injured, either on the netball court or the football field. They need to be able to call an ambulance. The nearest one is at Narrandera. The rub here is that Narrandera is about to have some of its ambulance services taken away by the cruel Labor state government because, apparently, they don't have enough call-outs. I know Steph Cooke is putting out a petition about this and the pathology services at Cootamundra, which are going to be centralised in Young. It beggars belief that Narrandera will be left without some of the ambulance services the people rely upon and which are certainly needed, particularly if you get incidents and accidents around the area. If you haven't got mobile phone coverage, you haven't got too much at all.

Several residents mentioned medical dramas which have occurred in the district and the difficulty in getting urgent attention with a limited mobile service. I know that there was one particularly incident, not that long ago, where somebody had to climb up the silo and put their phone high up in the air so that they could get a signal. In today's day and age that's simply not good enough. Why should country people put up with such second-rate services. Telstra has a helpline for concerns regarding mobile connectivity, 1800990853, and I'd urge people to pencil that number down and use it if they are worried about their mobile connectivity.

The Telecommunications Amendment (Enhancing Consumer Safeguards) Bill 2025 is important, as we heard from coalition speakers and, indeed, those from the government. I know that the call-out has been done recently for mobile phone black spots, and, let me tell you, I have submitted quite a number. I might read the list into Hansard so that people in my electorate know exactly where I'm coming from in regard to supporting them and their efforts to get better mobile coverage.

These locations are: Ardlethan to Barellan, Ardlethan to Kamarah, Barellan to Weethalle, Bectric, Murrulebale, Methul, Moombooldool, Galong to Binalong, between Wagga and Junee, Illabo, Junee Shire, Junee itself, Lockhart, Milbrulong, Mimosa, Pleasant Hills, Ladysmith to Tarcutta, Mount Adrah, Tarcutta, Borambola, Coolamon to Temora, Sebastopol to Temora, Temora to Ariah Park, Temora to Methul, Berry Jerry, Coolamon to Collingullie, Currawarna, Harefield to Bomen, Junee to Eurongilly, Ladysmith, Lockhart to Wagga Wagga, west of The Rock, The Rock to Fargunyah, The Rock to Wagga Wagga, indeed Wagga Wagga to Galore, Wagga Wagga to Tootool and Wallacetown. It's sort of like I've Been Everywhere, Man!

But they are areas where people do need mobile phone connectivity. People from those fine areas have taken part in a survey that I put out there, including in Forbes, Grenfell, Ungarie, Weethalle and around West Wyalong. Indeed, they do need better mobile phone connectivity. You know what theme was central to all of those areas? They're farmers. They do an outstanding job growing the food and fibre that this nation needs and that we sell overseas as well. If they're going to be able to compete in world markets and get the best price, they need to be able to have mobile phone connectivity. I still remember going out to Murringo, near Young. There were a number of women running small, bespoke, unique little businesses on the back of mobile phone coverage that was scratchy at best. They were so pleased that we were providing a mobile phone tower for that area. It was quite incredible. It has—dare I say—brought them into the 21st century. They're wonderful people, and they should get the very best of services.

This bill establishes a carriage service provider registration scheme to increase visibility of providers operating in the market and enables the Australian Communications and Media Authority to stop providers which pose an unacceptable risk to consumers. As the member for Spence outlined in his contribution, there are penalties for those providers not doing the best thing by their customers and consumers, and, to that end, I think that's good. I agree with him wholeheartedly. During the sale of Telstra, I know that, back on 15 September 2005, my predecessor, Kay Hull, crossed the floor because she was concerned that the universal service obligations by Telstra would not be met.

Communications is a huge thing. It's a huge thing whether you're in the cities or the suburbs, but it becomes a matter of life and death in regional and remote Australia. It becomes a matter of life and death because, if you can't get a call through, you could very easily lose your life in those vital seconds, minutes and even hours, whether it's an accident on the road or a snake bite. Rural medicine has that uniqueness about it that requires prompt attention and prompt response, and if you don't have the right telecommunications, you could easily lose a loved one.

It is estimated that there are around 1,500 carriage service providers operating in Australia. However, there is no comprehensive list. That's a bit mystifying. This hampers ACMA's efforts to ensure providers are educated about their obligations and that there is targeted enforcement and compliance. This is so, so important. Establishing a registration scheme will increase visibility of the market, streamline complaints and compliance processes and create better overall market accountability. We need to ensure that we do our best for small businesses. I know that, under the previous coalition government, we had the instant asset write-off as a COVID measure. We had that as an unlimited amount of money. We'd increased it and upped it and increased it and upped it, to the point where we actually just made it unlimited and small businesses were able to go out and buy, dare I say, even telecommunications equipment. They were able to buy whatever they could to make sure that their businesses not only survived the pandemic but, indeed, thrived. The money that we spent on JobKeeper and the money that we invested—not wasted but invested—into the economy not only saved lives and livelihoods but kept the doors of business open.

I'm sad to say that that instant asset write-off disappeared in last night's budget, which was handed down by the member for Rankin, the Treasurer, at that dispatch box opposite. I'm sad to say that Australian businesses were left high and dry. I'm sad to see 29,000 businesses go to the wall in this term of government, and that's because it has been a bad government. It has been a bad government for small business, and small business is the engine room of our Australian economy. It employs five million Australians, but it comprises 97.2 per cent of business activity in Australia—it is done by those small businesses.

Dare I say, they will be pleased with this legislation. It's one thing that they can guarantee. Certainly, what they can also guarantee is that a Dutton-Littleproud Liberal-National government will certainly have their back when it comes to mobile phone service and telecommunications. We won't just produce mobile phone tower maps, which are just red. We will not just provide mobile phone funding for Labor electorates. We will be fair and we will be equitable, as we were between 2013 and 2022, when we were in government. We'd inherited a government that had done and spent absolutely nothing on mobile phone activity. I remember when I was Deputy Prime Minister I used to get calls and heckles from, particularly, the member for McEwen. His electorate benefited from mobile phone towers, and, dare I say, he had come from a government, the Gillard-Rudd government, which had done absolutely nothing in that regard, as far as putting money towards mobile phone towers went.

ACMA is going to play an important role in policing this legislation, and I certainly wish that organisation well. You look at the breaches that they've issued in the last 12 months, and it's a sorry list. But at least this legislation is going to amend the existing two-step process for the application of penalty amounts for infringement notices. At least there are going to be real penalties for those providers, those CSPs, who do the wrong thing, as there should be. I look forward to the next round of black spot funding. I don't hold any hope, however, in this government. What we need to do is get Australia back on track and re-elect a coalition government.

David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak in favour of the Telecommunications Amendment (Enhancing Consumer Safeguards) Bill 2025, which will give effect to a number of significant reforms to boost the enforcement powers and penalties available to the Australian Communications and Media Authority, or ACMA, and complement a host of other initiatives the government is taking to better protect consumers.

I acknowledge earlier speakers in this debate, including the member for Eden-Monaro, who well understands the importance of this bill. Before going to the content of the bill under consideration, I'll set the scene or background for why I and this government believe that getting these policy settings right is important for the people of Bean and Australians generally. I'd also like to put on the record my commendation of the work of the Minister for Communications on this bill and the associated activities to protect consumers in this space.

For many people in my electorate of Bean and right across Australia, staying connected is an essential part of everyday life. It's why the allied work ensuring that 40,000 homes in Bean are upgraded to fibre to the premises is so critical. In fact, much of the connectivity disquiet for consumers right across Bean has often been linked to unhappiness about the experience with fibre to the node. Within four years, up to 95 per cent of the electorate of Bean will be able to experience giga-ready speeds rather than speeds around 25 to 28 megabytes per minute.

The government, of which I'm proudly a member, understands how critical telco services are for everyone, whether you're a regional member, whether you're a city member, whether you have external territories like Norfolk Island in your electorate or otherwise. It's particularly important for consumers facing vulnerable circumstances and those who rely upon connectivity to support their families and businesses and provide service to their communities.

As MPs, we're reminded every day of the centrality of staying connected through telecommunications. One example is the way people communicate with us through social media and the internet generally. When we speak with constituents or when we visit them in their homes, we hear that for so many residents being connected is essential to their work, businesses, health, family and so many facets of modern life—whether they be in Woden, Tharwa, Uriarra or the Molonglo Valley.

Accordingly, I want to see—and I know this government wants to ensure—that the telco industry is working for Australians, that it has the best consumer safeguards in place to protect their interest and that there is a strong, clear recourse if telcos do the wrong thing. The bottom line is telco services should enrich people's lives, not cause inconvenience, frustration or harm.

Whilst telcos are essential to modern life, we know that the cost of telco services and the treatment of consumers are becoming increasingly important to people. Many Australians, including many in my electorate of Bean, are experiencing significant cost-of-living pressures, and this includes being able to afford critical communication services like mobile and internet services. In addition, there have also been regular high-profile incidents in the telco sector, including significant service outages and claims of irresponsible selling practices across the country.

Today, the House is considering this bill, which is designed to better equip the regulator, ACMA, with the tools and powers it needs to protect telco consumers and hold companies to account if they do the wrong thing. These new measures will help to ensure that the ACMA is an empowered and effective regulator and that appropriate incentive structures are in place to drive better behaviour by telcos. Nobody wants an industry that sees penalties as the cost of doing business. The proposed changes will enable the ACMA to take direct and immediate enforcement action against telecommunications providers that have breached their obligations to customers under industry codes. This will remove the current two-step process whereby the ACMA must first issue a direction to comply to offending telcos, no matter how significant the breach, and only take further action if non-compliance continues. The changes will allow the ACMA to take quick and appropriate action in responses to breaches to immediately address consumer harm and holds telcos to account.

The bill will also significantly increase the maximum general penalty for breaches of industry codes and standards under the Telecommunications Act from $250,000 to approximately $10 million. Further changes will allow penalties for codes, standards and determinations to be based on the value of the benefit obtained from the offending conduct or the turnover of the relevant provider, allowing for penalties greater than $10 million in certain circumstances. This penalty framework will incentivise industry compliance and better aligns with those in other relevant sectors, like energy and banking, and under the Australian Consumer Law. To ensure that the ACMA has a range of effective enforcement tools at its disposal, an additional change will expand and clarify the government's ability to increase infringement notice penalty amounts that the ACMA can issue for all applicable breaches, including consumer protection laws.

The bill will also increase visibility of providers operating in the market, especially telecommunications retailers, through the establishment of a carrier service provider, or CSP, registration scheme. This will allow for more effective regulation of CSPs, including by empowering the ACMA to stop a CSP operating where they've been found to pose an unacceptable risk to consumers or they've caused significant consumer harm.

The significant reforms included in this bill will better equip the ACMA with the tools and powers it needs to protect telco consumers and hold those providers to account. They provide a powerful deterrent. They incentivise telcos to educate themselves about their obligations to consumers and to abide by those obligations, boosting compliance and improving the functioning and fairness of the telecommunications sector. The introduction of this bill is just another way the government is putting consumers at the centre of the telco industry, recognising the importance of quality telecommunications services for all Australians. The changes to the bill are complemented by other important measures the government has been taking in this space that will be of benefit to consumers. These extra measures include implementing new rules around support provided to consumers experiencing financial hardship and, more recently, directing the ACMA to create rules regarding support for consumers experiencing domestic, sexual and family violence.

In response to a direction by the minister, the ACMA developed a financial hardship standard that came into effect on 29 March 2024. This makes it mandatory for telcos to better support customers struggling to pay their phone and internet bills. Practical improvements include prioritising keeping customers connected, greater promotion of financial hardship assistance and requiring telcos to offer specific assistance such as payment plans. The standard replaces the rules of financial hardship contained in the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code and provides the ACMA with strong enforcement powers to ensure telcos are following through on their obligations. These new rules will mean telcos have to do all they can to keep customers connected if they are experiencing financial hardship, with disconnection being the last resort. These are practical and commonsense solutions. This is just one of the many ways the Albanese government is supporting families with cost-of-living pressures. They are measures that meet the challenges of many Australians, including residents of my electorate of Bean, and I commend the minister's actions in relation to financial hardship.

In October 2024, the minister directed the ACMA to develop a new industry standard to ensure telcos better support customers experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence. Telecommunication services need to be a safe, secure and reliable avenue for victim-survivors to access information, conduct critical safety planning and seek the support they need to leave a violent situation, as well as remain connected with family members, friends and important social support networks. Examples of new measures include minimum requirements for policies and staff training with compliance reporting; prohibiting alleged perpetrator involvement in discussions with the victim-survivor; obligations relating to the privacy, safety and security of accounts; removing the requirements for victim-survivors to provide evidence or tell their story multiple times; and requirements for telcos to recognise domestic and family violence as a potential cause of payment difficulties and to consider the impact of any service suspension or disconnection.

Key advocacy groups support these changes. Carol Bennett, the CEO of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, said:

These reforms will promote increased accountability, transparency and compliance within the telecommunications industry and contribute towards improving diminishing consumer trust in telcos.

Luke Coleman, the CEO of the Communications Alliance, said:

The alliance has consistently called for stronger enforcement powers for the ACMA, and we welcome this announcement to enhance consumer protections in the telecoms industry.

The changes in this bill before the House, complemented by the other measures I've outlined, demonstrate that the Albanese government is committed to putting Australian consumers at the heart of the telecommunications industry. We want to ensure that all Australians have access to reliable, high-quality and affordable telecommunications services supported by strong regulatory and consumer safeguards framework.

I commend this bill to the House.