Feds invite consultation on Telecommunications Act penalties paper

The federal government has released a consultation paper on the proposed new penalties for unruly telcos. The paper details new penalties to be specified in infringement notices issued under the Telecommunications Act 1997.

Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, said the penalties are intended to ensure “basic standards are maintained for consumers in the telecommunications industry”.

“The infringement notice regime is an important new tool the government has recently provided the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to enable it to better enforce compliance by telecommunications companies with regulatory requirements,” Conroy said.

In particular, Conroy said the infringement notices will help keep telcos in line when it comes to provisioning basic telephone services and public payphones.

The government has also asked for public input on the specific penalties that should be applied to telcos when they violate particular regulations.

Conroy noted that the penalties proposed by the new paper are higher than the standard infringement notice penalties that apply under the infringement notice regime.

For example, the paper proposes a new penalty of $990,000 for telcos that breach payphone performance benchmarks or customer service standards.

The proposed penalties would apply to urban, rural, regional and remote parts of Australia.

The consultation paper is available at Conroy’s website.

Submissions for public input close at 5 pm on 19 September 2011. Information on how to make submissions is included in the consultation paper.