Proposal to make the Telecommunications (Consumer Protections) Industry Standard 2026

ACCAN and members of the Fair Call Coalition have made a joint submission in response to the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s (ACMA) proposal to make the Telecommunications (Consumer Protections) Industry Standard 2026.

Telecommunications are essential to the daily lives of Australians. The Standard is a landmark opportunity to deliver the strong, enforceable protections Australians need.

The submission makes a number of recommendations to strengthen the Standard, including to:

• Ban any variable remuneration, reward or benefit for persons in the sales chain.

• Strengthen unsuitability assessments to ensure consumers are not sold products they don’t need or cannot afford.

• Strengthen the proposed remedies framework, including by removing the time limit on remedies for consumers in vulnerable circumstances and requiring providers to proactively remedy consumers for breaches.

• Make disconnection a genuine last resort by aligning protections with other essential services.