The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has identified its compliance priorities for 2023-24, including minimising gambling harm, combating SMS scams, tackling the online supply of dodgy devices and enforcing spam unsubscribe rules.
Chair of ACMA, Nerida O’Loughlin said scams were a priority due to the significant detrimental impact they had on people’s financial and social wellbeing.
“These scams are run by sophisticated international criminal networks,” Ms O’Loughlin said.
“Over the next 12 months the ACMA will work with Government and industry to further reduce the risk of harm caused by scams by targeting them at their source, before they hit people’s phones,” she said.
“With many Australian families facing cost of living pressures it is particularly important for telcos to do more to support their most vulnerable customers.”
She said Australians relied on connectivity to access work, education, health, Government services and more.
“Without reliable phone and internet, it is incredibly challenging for people to fully participate in today’s society,” Ms O’Loughlin said.
She said ACMA’s compliance priorities were informed by submissions made through a public consultation process.
It has also released its Outcomes: Compliance Priorities 2022– 23 report, which sets out ACMA’s actions and outcomes against its priorities for last year.
“This report shows significant results for our 2022-23 compliance priority activities,” Ms O’Loughlin said.
“For example, our registration and enforcement of telco industry codes has seen more than 360 million scam calls and around 172 million scam messages blocked since July 2022,” she said.
