In 2022–23, we’ll focus on:
Supporting Australians to self-exclude from online and phone gambling
Gambling can have severe and lasting financial and social impacts on individuals and their families. Our new National Self-Exclusion Register will allow Australians at risk of, or experiencing, gambling harm to opt-out of online and phone betting.
Our focus will be on establishing the register and enforcing the new rules for online and phone gambling providers.
Protecting telco customers experiencing financial hardship
Financial pressures can happen at any time and for many reasons, including job loss, illness, family or domestic violence, natural disasters or the COVID-19 pandemic.
We’ll be focusing on telco customers experiencing financial hardship and making sure telcos comply with their obligations, especially those relating to the disconnection of services.
Enforcing SMS and email unsubscribe rules
Businesses are required to unsubscribe people from SMS and emails when requested, however our research indicates 6 in 10 Australians are still contacted.
We’ll be concentrating on businesses that don’t action these requests, including those that unlawfully require customers to log in or provide personal details to unsubscribe.
Combating SMS and identity theft phone scams
Phone scams have severe financial and social impacts on Australians.
We’ll be enforcing new rules that require telcos to use stronger ID checks for transactions targeted by scammers, including SIM swap requests. We’ll also be establishing and enforcing new rules to reduce SMS scams.
Tackling online supply of dodgy devices
We are seeing a rise in complaints about non-compliant radiocommunications devices advertised or bought online.
We’ll be focusing on supplier compliance with equipment rules and educating Australians about the risks of buying these devices online.
Improving quality captioning
Captioning of broadcast content is essential for deaf and hearing-impaired audiences to access and enjoy TV.
We will shift from investigating individual complaints to conducting spot audits to determine whether TV broadcasters are consistently and reliably meeting their captioning obligations.
Combating misinformation and disinformation on digital platforms
Concerns have grown about the spread of harmful disinformation and misinformation online. This type of content poses risks to the health and safety of individuals, and society as a whole, especially in the context of COVID-19, elections and geopolitical conflicts.
We will continue to review digital platforms’ data and performance measures under the industry code and advise government on their effectiveness.