Yet another group has put its weight behind calls to reject Australia's Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code.
Australia's Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is now backing the broader push to ditch Australia's code of conduct for telcos rather than try and salvage it.
In a statement announcing the move, ACCAN CEO Carol Bennet called on the Australian Communications & Media Authority to abandon the existing TCP in favor of something new.
The current code sets out the rights consumers have when it comes to dealing with telecommunication providers both big and small. Despite years of work by ACCAN and other industry stakeholders, Bennet said the rules that govern the relationship between Australia's telcos and consumers had failed to prevent or deter irresponsible sales to vulnerable consumers, scams, data breaches and outages.
“Right now, the fox is guarding the henhouse. No other essential services sector allows this —and telecommunications should be no different. It’s time to put consumers first," she said.
Arguing that Australia's telecommunications sector was at a crossroads when it comes to consumer protections, Bennet said Aussie consumers deserve better than "another failed self-regulation experiment."
"The ACMA must act now within its powers to reject the registration of this Code which is no longer fit for purpose if we want to ensure a fairer, safer telecommunications industry for all Australians," she said.
In its statement, ACCAN cited broad support for rejecting the TCP from not just other consumer advocacy groups and regulators like the ACCC, but even a number of telcos.
For instance, in its submission to the Australian Communications Alliance earlier this year, Mate went so far as to say "the ever-shrinking scope of the TCP code indicates any relevance it may have once had is now expended."
"What is left is a document which creates uncertainty and provides no useful consumer
protection or consumer assistance over the provisions contained in the Australian Consumer
Law and the multitude of industry standards which have been promulgated by the Australian
Communications and Media Authority in the past 5 years," it said.
In any case, this move by ACCAN comes off the back of similar calls from other members of the Fair Call Coalition. The advocacy group is encompasses more than 22 organisations, including the Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Counselling Australia and others.
In a statement issued earlier this month, Bush Money Mob Managing Director Alan Gray said that the current TCP paved the way for telcos to take advantage of remote communities.
"And the ‘new’ TCP Code fudges the difference between credit assessments and affordability assessments. This allows telcos to keep ripping off remote Aboriginal people, then calling it financial hardship instead of unconscionable conduct," Gray added.
The Communications Alliance is expected to submit the Telecommunications Consumer Protections code to ACMA for approval later this year, following several months of consultation and commentary from Gray, Bennet and other advocates.
2 min read
