ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin said the new industry standard will provide greater protections for consumers, particularly given how essential internet and phone services are for both modern work practices and “everyday life”.

“Consumer reliance on telecommunications is far greater today than when the current code was made in 2019. The harms to consumers are also greater when services are unavailable or protections are lacking,” O’Loughlin said

“Recent issues caused by network outages, Triple Zero unavailability, shortcomings from the 3G shutdown process and significant issues with responsible selling have further undermined confidence in the telco sector’s commitment to its customers.”

O’Loughlin said the ACMA has spent the last few years progressively lifting key consumer safeguards from telco industry codes into enforceable industry standards. These include complaint handling, financial hardship obligations, and protections for people experiencing domestic and family violence.

“Now is the time to move the remaining consumer protections into direct regulation so that expectations are consistent, obligations are clear and are backed by stronger and more immediately available enforcement powers for the regulator,” O’Loughlin said

“For example, telco consumers must have confidence that selling practices are fair and that they will not be sold services they cannot afford, do not deliver the service for which they paid or the coverage they have been promised.”

The current code will remain in force until the new standard comes into play. The decision to replace the older code follows an “extensive development and consultation process” that began in 2023.

The ACMA said it “acknowledges the extensive and constructive work” done by the Australian Telecommunications Alliance throughout the process.

“However, the ACMA still does not have before it a code capable of registration. We have also considered the contemporary expectations of consumers and decided that moving to an industry standard is now necessary,” O’Loughlin said.