Trish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Conroy, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. Can the minister inform the Senate about recent initiatives in the telecommunications industry to better protect consumers of mobile premium services? What is the government’s view of these initiatives? Is the government considering further action in this area?

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

I thank Senator Crossin for that very good question. Mobile premium services may offer ring tone downloads, competitions and news updates at prices often far greater than a standard SMS or phone call. They are an increasing source of consumer complaint. I am sure all of us in this chamber have received complaints on this issue.

Currently, these services are regulated through an industry scheme which came into force in October 2006. Under this scheme, any person who receives an unwanted mobile premium rate message should immediately reply by texting the word ‘stop’ to the sender to prevent the receipt of any further messages. Consumers wanting to complain about any mobile premium charges that have appeared on their bill should contact their service provider in the first instance. If they are not happy with the provider’s response, consumers can escalate their complaint to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, and consumers should report any suspect or unsolicited messages they receive to the ACCC. In fact, the ACCC recently decided to institute proceedings against a mobile premium service provider for allegedly misleading and deceptive conduct.

It is increasingly evident that the existing scheme is not dealing effectively with the growing problem of mobile premium services. The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman received nearly 14,000 complaints about mobile premium services during 2007-08. This is clearly an unacceptable volume of complaints. To this end, I sent a strong message to industry in March that it needed to lift its game and take greater responsibility for dealing promptly with consumer issues. This included the development and implementation of industry codes of practice.

On Tuesday, a new draft industry code governing mobile premium services was released for public consultation by ACMA. I welcome the efforts of the industry body, Communications Alliance, to attempt to deal with the current unacceptably high level of consumer complaints, through this draft code. I encourage consumers and industry bodies to have their say on this draft code and to contribute to the development of an effective mobile premium services regulatory framework. The draft industry code and information on how to lodge a submission can be found on the Communications Alliance website.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the telecommunications industry on the launch of the new 19 SMS initiative. The website www.19sms.com.au aims to help consumers make informed choices about mobile premium services by providing transparent and complete information about the billing structure of these services. Nevertheless, the government is extremely concerned about the rising TIO complaints, including relating to mobile services. To this end, I have asked my department to commence exploring measures to work in parallel with the new Mobile Premium Services Industry Code to ensure consumers are protected.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.