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   Home | Consumers | FAQs | Codes of Practice


Industry codes of practice

Q: What are industry codes of practice?
A:
The emphasis in the Telecommunications Act 1997 on promoting greater industry self-regulation has resulted in the development of a series of codes of practice for telecommunications companies.

The organisation responsible for developing industry codes of practice is called Communications Alliance. It convenes working committees of industry members, consumer groups and regulators to develop codes. The TIO attends meetings of Communications Alliance committees, particularly those involving consumer codes.

There are two types of industry codes:

  • operational codes cover operational matters, that is, the way that industry players deal with processes between themselves, and
  • consumer codes deal with practices between telecommunications providers and their customers.

More information:

Q: Do telecommunications providers have to comply with codes?
A:
Codes are generally voluntary until a provider becomes a signatory to the code. However, under Part 6 of the Telecommunications Act 1997, if a code is registered by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), ACMA has powers to issue warnings to providers about breaches of the code and to direct industry participants to comply with the provisions of a code. More information about ACMA's role in relation to industry codes.

The Communications Alliance Code Administration and Compliance Scheme allows industry participants to lodge complaints against each other. As the TIO does not have the jurisdiction to become involved in disputes between industry members, it is not able to deal with these types of complaints.

Q: What is the TIO’s jurisdiction over code complaints?
A:
Although the TIO’s role is to resolve complaints using alternative dispute resolution, industry codes can confer additional powers on the TIO. Under the Telecommunications Act, the Ombudsman can consent to deal with complaints about a code.

The TIO usually only consents to deal with consumer codes, but from time to time it consents to deal with operational codes where this may improve consumer protection.

Q: How does the TIO handle code complaints?
A:
The TIO uses codes as benchmarks of industry practice.

Each time the TIO receives a complaint, we consider whether the provider in question has acted in accordance with any relevant code rules. If it appears that a code rule may have been breached, it will be recorded accordingly. Consequently, in addition to resolving an individual complaint, the TIO may also notify a service provider that it may not be complying with code rules.

The TIO also provides information about the code breaches it records to ACMA and Communications Alliance.

Q: Which codes does the TIO deal with?
A:
The TIO has consented to conferral of powers under the following codes, registered by ACMA:

Last updated: 17 November 2008



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