I rise to make my contribution to the debate on the Telecommunications Amendment (Enhancing Consumer Safeguards) Bill 2025. The introduction and passage of the enhancing consumer safeguards bill delivers on the Albanese Labor government's commitment to keeping Australians connected no matter where they live by strengthening telecommunication consumer protections.

The enhancing consumer safeguards bill was first introduced into the 47th Parliament in February this year. It passed the House without amendment and was considered by the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills but lapsed when the 47th Parliament was prorogued. It is for this reason we are, again, passing this legislation, because consumer protection is paramount, and I'm happy to speak on the bill again.

This bill strengthens the compliance and enforcement tools available to Australia's telecommunications regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, ACMA. This will enable the regulator to better protect Australian consumers from poor and harmful telecommunication practices. The bill increases the civil penalties that the Federal Court can issue for breaches of industry code and industry standards from $25,000 to nearly $10 million. The bill modernises the civil penalties framework so that the Federal Court has the option to issue fines for regulatory breaches which can include $10 million or three times the benefit gained for regulatory breach or 30 per cent of turnover. Currently, civil penalties for breaches of industry codes and standards are not commensurate with the harm caused or high enough to deter noncompliance.

The bill amends the Telecommunications Act 1997 to increase the maximum general civil penalty for breaches of industry codes and standards from 25,000 to 30,300 penalty units. This is the equivalent of just under $10 million at the time of drafting, to align with penalties currently available for breaches of service provider determinations. It means that penalties for all these instruments will be aligned to the 30,300 penalty units. The amendment will also strengthen the penalty framework for industry codes, industry standards and service provider determinations to allow for penalties based on the value of benefit obtained from the conduct or turnover of the relevant provider. This will allow for penalties greater than $10 million.

This penalty framework better aligns with those in other relevant sectors, like energy and banking, and under the Australian Consumer Law. It more adequately reflects the communications market and the varying size of the entities engaged in the market, ranging from small-to-medium businesses to large corporations. It allows the Federal Court to determine the appropriate penalty imposed on an entity for a breach. The bill also expands and clarifies the authority of the Minister for Communications to increase infringement notice penalties so that ACMA can issue for breaches of industry code, industry standards and service provider determinations. This will ensure the regulator remains flexible and responsive and can be adapted over time.

The bill establishes the carriage service provider registration scheme to increase visibility of providers operating in the market and to stop the operation of dodgy carriage service providers, who pose an unacceptable risk to consumers. A carriage service provider has a broad definition under the Telecommunications Act 1997. However, in simple terms, it's an entity that uses a carrier's facilities to supply telecommunications services like phone or internet to the public. Currently, there's no comprehensive list of providers operating in the market. This hampers ACMA's efforts to proactively educate carriage service providers about their obligations and target compliance and enforcement activity. Establishing a carriage service provider registration scheme will increase the visibility of the market and provide ACMA and other government agencies the ability to educate providers, streamline complaints and compliance processes and create better overall market accountability.

The amendments to the Telecommunications Act 1997 will also empower ACMA to stop providers operating in a market who pose unacceptable risks to consumers or who risk significant consumer harm. This will provide a deterrent for significant noncompliance and will increase the trust of consumers in the registered carriage service providers, including new or smaller providers. This is similar to the energy sector, where the Australian Energy Regulator has the power to exclude energy retailers from the market and has used this power to quickly prevent and stop consumer harm. ACMA's power to exclude carriage service providers from the market is expected to be used as a measure of last resort, with suitable arrangements for review of decisions, avenues for registration and maintenance of connectivity for impacted consumers. This reform means that the carriage service providers that are doing the wrong thing will face consequences, and consumers will be better protected.

Furthermore, the bill makes the telecommunications industry codes directly enforceable by ACMA, incentivising industry compliance and enabling the regulator to take swift action to address consumer harm. ACMA currently cannot take direct enforcement action for breaches of the industry codes it has registered under part 6 of the Telecommunications Act, no matter how egregious. Under the Telecommunications Act 1997, compliance with the industry codes is initially technically voluntary. For breaches found, ACMA could only direct a provider to comply with the code or issue a formal warning. ACMA can only take stronger enforcement action if the provider continues its noncompliance—that is, if it fails to observe the directions given by ACMA. This isn't good enough.

Instead, this bill introduces amendments to part 6 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 to make compliance with the industry codes mandatory and remove the need for ACMA to direct a particular participant to comply with the code in the first instance. This is a measure that will make our laws stronger and more enforceable. Since coming to office, the Albanese Labor government has been working to deliver better telecommunications and to better protect the people who use it. These are just a few things that we've already delivered: a new industry standard requiring telecommunications companies to provide adequate support to consumers experiencing financial hardship and a new industry standard requiring telecommunications companies to support and assist consumers experiencing domestic, sexual and family violence. This came into force on 1 July this year.

Earlier this year, the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 was amended to introduce consistent obligations on the telecommunications, banking and digital platform sectors to prevent, detect and disrupt scams. The Albanese Labor government is also delivering a more connected Australia by investing in regional connectivity. The $55 million round 8 of the Mobile Black Spot Program is under assessment. There's been $50 million for Regional Roads Australia Mobile Program Pilot schemes, including $8 million for Victoria and Western Australia and $10 million for New South Wales. The pilot programs will test new and innovative solutions to increase mobile communications coverage on regional highways and major roads.

Round 3 of the regional connectivity program awarded over $115 million towards 74 projects that respond to local priorities with the objective of maximising economic opportunities and social benefits for regional, rural and remote communities. This included $7.4 million towards seven projects targeting improved connectivity for First Nations communities in Central Australia from a dedicated Central Australia stream. Two successful rounds of the On the Farm Connectivity Program have provided over $30.4 million in rebates, delivering on thousands of connectivity solutions for primary producers. $20 million has been committed to round 3 of the program, which will open later in 2025.

I was glad to have a chance to speak on the legislation earlier this year. I know how important this is to make this system more accountable and to stop companies from ripping people off. For too long, the regulator hasn't been given the necessary tools to make sure the telecommunications companies are doing the right thing. The Albanese Labor government has been working to improve our regulators, from strengthening the financial systems regulator to establishing the National Anti-Corruption Commission. We believe, in this country, that it doesn't matter how big you are or what wealth and power you have—no-one is exempt from consequences, no-one is above right or wrong, and no-one is above the law. I commend the bill to the House.

Link to Hansard: Full Speech