Amending the Telecommunications Numbering Plan 2015 - consultation 32/2022

The submissions to this consultation are available at the bottom of this page. On 15 December 2022, following consideration of submissions, the ACMA made the Telecommunications Numbering Plan Variation 2022 (No. 1). The instrument amends the Telecommunications Numbering Plan 2015 to:

• specify 7226 (SCAM) as a shared special service community service number
• prevent freephone, local rate, and premium rate numbers from being used for outbound calls
• grant the ACMA power to withdraw a number associated with scam or other fraudulent activity in specific circumstances
• decrease the size of a standard unit for premium rate and mobile numbers from 100,000 to 10,000
• remove Location Independent Communication Services from the Plan
• reduce the notice period for the recall and replacement of numbers from 1 year to 90 days
• include additional geographic number ranges in specific areas
• remove ‘objects’ from the Plan and update definitions.

The Numbering Plan specifies the rules for the allocation, transfer, surrender, portability and use of different types of numbers in connection with carriage services.

These rules are supported by a range of industry codes and guidelines and contractual arrangements between telcos.

We propose to make targeted amendments to the Numbering Plan to:

• support scam disruption initiatives
• enable efficient allocation of numbers
• specify availability of geographic numbers in certain areas.

These updates are described in the consultation paper. The proposed changes are listed in the Draft Amendment Instrument and tracked in the Amended Telecommunications Numbering Plan 2015.

We welcome your comments on any of the issues raised in the consultation paper, including the questions posed.