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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