The Department of Communications and the Arts is to conduct a review of consumer safeguards in the telecommunications sector.
Announcing the review, the Department’s Minister, Senator Mitch Fifield said it would be undertaken in three parts.
Senator Fifield said the first part would ensure that consumers had access to an effective complaints handling and redress scheme that provided transparency and held telcos accountable for their performance.
He said the second part would ensure consumers had reliable telecommunications services, including reasonable timeframes for connections, fault repairs and appointments, as well as potential compensation or penalties against providers.
The third part, he said, would ensure consumers were able to make informed choices and were treated fairly by their provider in areas such as customer service, contracts, billing, credit and debt management, and switching providers.
“The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s report shows that the existing model for complaints handling and redress is not working,” Senator Fifield said.
“Customers are continuing to experience poor service, and are unable to get their service provider to satisfactorily resolve issues.”
He said the fact that complaints to the Ombudsman were still high across all types of fixed line and mobile services clearly showed that telcos needed to lift their game.
“The Department of Communications and the Arts will shortly release a discussion paper on redress and complaints handling for consultation with industry and the public,” Senator Fifield said.
The Department’s terms of reference for the review can be accessed at this PS News link.
