Consumer Consultative Forum – July 2026 meeting communique

Date: 24 July 2026

Location: via MS Teams/Webex

Chair: Samantha Yorke, Authority Member and CCF Chair

Overview

On 24 July 2026, members of the ACMA’s Consumer Consultative Forum (CCF) met to discuss:

• key telecommunications issues affecting consumers
• recent ACMA policy and regulatory developments.

The National Emergency Management Agency presented to the CCF on:

• the new AusAlert emergency warning system scheduled for 27 July 2026
• the role of the National Situation Room.

Members raised consumer issues and ongoing concerns relating to:

• Limited consumer awareness of alternative communication options during outages, when mobile connectivity doesn’t work as expected.
• The different experience between connectivity on the ground and what is reflected in mobile coverage maps.
• The disconnect between when consumers experience an outage and when they are informed about it.
• The impact of technology transitions, including the inability to access reliable, independent advice on available alternatives, costs and effects on consumers without mains power.
• Inflexible approaches by some telcos when supporting people with a disability or those experiencing family violence regarding ID verification or requiring evidence to support requests.

The ACMA provided updates on:

• The 8 July 2026 Telstra outage, including welfare checks associated with Triple Zero calls and ACMA's investigation into compliance with regulatory obligations.
• The review of the Outages Standard. 
• the SMS Sender ID Register, which commenced on 1 July 2026. Businesses, government agencies and organisations using branded sender names (for example, 'AusPost' or 'CBA') must register their sender IDs to avoid messages being identified as 'Unverified'.
• Development of the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Standard.
• Compliance and enforcement priorities.

Next meeting

20 October 2026.