Proposed Telecommunications Financial Hardship Industry Standard

Telecommunications is an essential service. There is evidence that current safeguards are not offering sufficient protections to telecommunications consumers facing financial difficulty. Current financial hardship rules for telcos are in Chapter 7 of the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code. However, there are gaps in the operation of these rules and the required level of protection to help customers meet their payment obligations and keep them connected. The Minister for Communications has directed the ACMA to make an industry standard that deals with:

• information to be provided and made available by telcos to customers relating to financial hardship matters
• the support provided by telcos to customers who are, or may be, experiencing financial hardship.

We welcome comments from interested stakeholders on any of the issues raised in the consultation paper by Friday 24 November 2023.

Use the ‘Make a submission’ button at the top of this page to upload your submission. 

Submissions by post can be sent to:

The Manager
Telecommunications Performance and Regulation Section
Australian Communications and Media Authority
PO Box 13112
Law Courts
Melbourne VIC 8110