Review of the Numbering Plan and associated instruments

On 3 June 2024, we released a discussion paper on the review of the Numbering Plan and associated instruments. We received 17 submissions from stakeholders and interested parties, which are at the bottom of this page. 

We have now opened a ‘reply-to-comment’ period to allow stakeholders to review the public submissions and provide feedback on them. 

Please note: we will not accept new submissions to the discussion paper. We request your feedback only on the views expressed in the public submissions below.

This reply-to-comment period will close COB (AEST), Wednesday 7 August 2024.

The Telecommunications Numbering Plan 2015 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. 

The Numbering Plan and 2 associated determinations are due to sunset on 1 April 2025. This provides an opportunity to amend the legislation to promote effective and efficient numbering arrangements in the changing telco environment. 

This discussion paper focuses on issues identified in an earlier scoping exercise with stakeholders, including:

• incorporating technical innovations such as VoIP and IoT
• clarifying rules around numbering use 
• updating number types to better reflect contemporary usage
• changing rules for smartnumbers
• introducing new number ranges where supply is running out.

We invite comment on the specific questions set out in this paper or other issues relevant to the Numbering Plan sunsetting.