The ACMA has directed Kangaroo Telecom Pty Ltd (trading as Telsim) to comply with the current provisions of the Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code.
The ACMA commenced an investigation following a referral from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman about concerns regarding Telsim’s selling practices.
The investigation found Telsim failed to provide sales staff with appropriate training to sell phone and internet services in a fair, transparent, responsible and accurate manner. The company also failed to include required information in its consumer sales contracts.
Under the Telecommunications Act 1997, Telsim can face penalties of up to $250,000 should it contravene the ACMA’s direction to comply with the Code.
This action follows on from the ACMA’s July 2023 paper, What consumers want – Consumer expectations for telecommunications safeguards, which put telcos on notice to lift their game when promoting and selling telco products and services to consumers.
To ensure responsible selling protections were given appropriate attention, the ACMA has worked closely with Communications Alliance to strengthen these and other rules in a new draft TCP Code, which is out for public consultation until 28 February 2025. The ACMA encourages industry and consumer stakeholders to engage with the public consultation and provide feedback on the draft Code, including the proposed responsible selling rules. This feedback is an important input to Communications Alliance in finalising the draft Code and to the ACMA in deciding whether to register any draft Code submitted to it.
The TCP Code provides telco-specific consumer protections that complement the broader Australian consumer law framework. Consumer harm caused by telco selling practices is a focus for the ACMA, and we will continue enforcing the rules using the enforcement options available to us where we find non-compliance.