Action on telco consumer protections: July to September 2022

Protecting telco customers experiencing financial hardship

In September 2022, we started an audit of 15 telcos' compliance with financial hardship and disconnection notification requirements in the TCP Code. We expect to complete the audit in December 2022, with any follow-up investigations to start in early 2023.

Phone scams

Telcos blocked over 140 million scam calls in the quarter under the Reducing Scam Calls and Scam SMS Industry Code. This brought the total blocked calls to over 800 million since the code first came into effect in December 2020. Telcos also blocked over 47 million scam SMS under new obligations that commenced on 12 July 2022.

We also started a compliance audit of 95 mobile telcos’ compliance with new multi-factor identity authentication rules. These protect consumers from fraud on their telco services and accounts, such as unauthorised SIM swaps.

On 21 July 2022, we entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Info-Communications Media Development of Singapore. This will promote engagement and information-sharing and assist with investigations and compliance with telco laws in both countries.

Other telco compliance activities

We started 9 investigations into telco compliance with:

• TCP Code rules that require telcos to ensure:
  • their sales representatives sell responsibly
  • that information they provide to consumers is clear and accurate (2).
• Complaint Handling Standard rules (1).
• Legislation that requires telcos to join the TIO scheme (4).
• Reducing Scam Code rules that require telcos to prevent carriage of SMS where the sender does not have rights of use to the number (1).  
• The IPND service provider rule and the IPND Code rules that require telcos to keep customer data accurate and current in the IPND (1).

We completed 7 investigations into telco compliance with:

• TCP Code rules that require telcos to suspend credit management action when a customer is in a financial hardship arrangement (1).
• Legislation that requires telcos to join the TIO scheme (5).
• The IPND service provider rule and the IPND Code rules that require telcos to keep customer data accurate and current in the IPND (1).

Our compliance and enforcement outcomes for the quarter included:

• The Federal Court imposing pecuniary penalties of $450,000 against Limni Enterprises, formerly known as Red Telecom, and $115,125 against its sole director Nicholas Kontaxis.
• Giving Aussie Broadband a $213,120 infringement notice after it failed to provide and update customer details in the IPND. It was also directed to comply with telco requirements to provide and update customer details in the IPND.
• Giving Circles.Life a $199,800 infringement notice after it ported a mobile service port without an additional identify verification process.
• Giving Hosted Telecommunications a remedial direction and formally warning Telink Australia, Account Management Australia and Protech Solutions WA for failing to join the TIO scheme.

View our finalised enforcement actions into telco providers. Please note that we do not generally publish ‘no breach’ findings or investigation reports prior to enforcement action being taken.

We also started 91 compliance assessments and completed 45 compliance assessments into telco compliance with a range of consumer safeguards. This includes requirements under the TCP Code.

Telco complaints-handling performance

We released the March 2022 telco complaints report. The weighted average time taken for customer complaints resolution was 7.7 days, down from 10.0 days for the same quarter last year.

Complaints per 10,000 services were down slightly from 59 to 56. The escalation rate of complaints to the TIO declined from 10.5% to 7.8% from the same time the previous year.

Rule-making activities

In July 2022, we amended the Telecommunications (Listed Infringement Notice Provisions) Amendment Declaration 2022 (the declaration). This was to include provisions drawn from the Telecommunications Service Provider (Customer Identity Authentication) Determination 2022 and Telecommunications Service Provider (International Mobile Roaming) Determination 2019. As a result, we can issue infringement notices for contraventions of provisions listed in the declaration from 3 months after its listing.

On 12 July 2022, we registered the Reducing Scam Calls and Scam SMS industry code. This requires telcos to identify, trace and block SMS scams. These obligations add to existing requirements to identify, trace and block scam calls.

Key stakeholder forums

The Consumer Consultative Forum (CCF) allows key consumer, industry and government stakeholders to meet and discuss telco issues impacting consumers. The CCF consumer representatives met online on 28 July 2022 to discuss:

• the CCF work plan for 2022­–23
• the upcoming TCP Code review
• updates on member activities.

The next meeting of the full CCF will be held in October 2022.

We also led the Scam Telco Action Taskforce, made up of industry, regulators and other key entities. This included the financial sector, AFP, ATO, Home Affairs, ID Care, Services Australia and Australia Post. The taskforce met on 10 August 2022 to discuss:

• current threats
• the impact of scam reduction rules
• how Australian call authentication protocols can be applied.