Proposal to remake the TLN and 8 telecommunications standards

Labelling Notice

We received 6 submissions to this consultation. You can access them at the bottom of the page. 

Five submitters supported the proposal. The other submitter raised a separate issue about QR codes and online documentation for electronic labels. After considering the submissions, we decided to go ahead with the proposal with minor changes to improve drafting and clarity.

On 20 March 2025, we made the following instruments:

Disability Standard

• Telecommunications (Requirements for Customer Equipment for Use with the Standard Telephone Service – Features Designed for People with Disability – AS/ACIF S040) Standard 2025

Technical Standards

• Telecommunications (Analogue Interworking and Non-interference Requirements for Customer Equipment for Connection to a Switched Telephone Network – AS/CA S002) Technical Standard 2025
• Telecommunications (Requirements for Customer Access Equipment for Connection to a Telecommunications Network – AS/CA S003) Technical Standard 2025
• Telecommunications (Voice Performance Requirements for Customer Equipment – AS/CA S004) Technical Standard 2025
• Telecommunications (Requirements for Customer Cabling Products – AS/CA S008) Technical Standard 2025
• Telecommunications (Requirements for Customer Equipment with Hierarchical Digital Interfaces – AS/ACIF S016) Technical Standard 2025
• Telecommunications (Requirements for DSL Customer Equipment for Connection to a Switched Telephone Network – AS/CA S041) Technical Standard 2025
• Telecommunications (Requirements for Customer Equipment for Connection to a Metallic Local Loop Interface of a Telecommunications Network – AS/CA S043) Technical Standard 2025

Telecommunications Labelling Notice

• Telecommunications (Labelling Notice for Customer Equipment and Customer Cabling) Instrument 2025

Consequential amendments instrument

• Telecommunications (Labelling Notice – Consequential Amendments) Instrument 2025

More information

The Telecommunications (Requirements for Customer Equipment for Use with the Standard Telephone Service – Features Designed for People with Disability – AS/ACIF S040) Standard 2025 (disability standard) sets out the rules for customer equipment to meet accessibility requirements. 

The disability standard takes mostly the same form as the Telecommunications Disability Standard (Requirements for Customer Equipment for use with the Standard Telephone Service — Features for special needs of persons with disabilities — AS/ACIF S040) 2015, which it replaces.

We remade all 7 technical standards due to sunset with some minor changes to improve clarity. 

There were mixed submissions about making the Telecommunications (Requirements for Customer Equipment with Hierarchical Digital Interfaces – AS/ACIF S016) Technical Standard 2025. However, we accepted submissions that there is a public benefit to making this technical standard while there is still customer equipment connected to services using hierarchical digital interfaces.

The Telecommunications (Labelling Notice for Customer Equipment and Customer Cabling) Instrument 2025 (TLN) has been made to preserve the testing, labelling and record-keeping requirements for Australian manufacturers and importers of specified customer equipment or specified customer cabling. There are some changes to reflect modern technologies and improve clarity.

Key changes to the TLN include:

• allowing a manufacturer or importer to provide information on their website setting out the method to display an electronic label
• aligning TLN rules about the national database, who can apply a label, and keeping electronic compliance records, with comparable requirements in the Radiocommunications Equipment (General) Rules 2021
• removing the inspection and auditing powers in the TLN, as we can rely on existing inspection powers in the Telecommunications Act 1997
• removing the exemption for handsets to clarify that all handsets are regulated
• amending the exemption for headsets, so that only headsets used with customer equipment connected by an analogue interface to a telecommunications network, and that operate at ES2 or ES3, are regulated
• removing some labelling exemptions for cabling items, with a one-year period for suppliers currently exempt from labelling cabling items to require labelling
• improving clarity, particularly with technical standards for customer equipment
• updating and correcting references to other instruments or documents.

The consequential amendments instrument amends the Telecommunications (Customer Equipment Safety) Technical Standard 2018 and the Telecommunications (Types of Cabling Work) Declaration 2024 to update references to the TLN.

Start dates

The disability standard and technical standards come into effect on 30 March 2025.

The TLN comes into effect on 31 March 2025. 

The consequential amendments instrument comes into effect straight after the TLN.

The Telecommunications (Labelling Notice for Customer Equipment and Customer Cabling) Instrument 2015 (the TLN), 7 telecommunications technical standards and a disability standard are due to sunset on 1 April 2025.

The TLN specifies the testing, labelling and record-keeping requirements for Australian manufacturers and importers of customer equipment or customer cabling when there are any technical standards that apply to the equipment or cabling.  

The Telecommunications Disability Standard (Requirements for Customer Equipment for use with the Standard Telephone Service — Features for special needs of persons with disabilities — AS/ACIF S040) 2015 (the Disability Standard) is also due to sunset. The Disability Standard requires customer equipment used in connection with a standard telephone service to include features designed to meet the special needs of people with disabilities.

We consider that the TLN and the 8 telecommunications standards continue to form a necessary and useful part of the regulatory framework and to ensure compliance enforceability of our requirements. We are proposing that these instruments be remade with minor or machinery changes necessary to reflect the current technological environment, improve clarity, remove redundant provisions and update references. 

We note that several technical standards due to sunset relate to legacy technologies. This consultation will help inform whether technical specifications in these standards are still required to be mandated.