We're seeking views on whether a Carriage Service Provider (CSP) registration or licensing scheme should be developed for the telecommunications industry.
Why we want your input
A range of stakeholders have provided in-principle support over many years for the creation of a registration or licensing scheme for CSPs. The Australian Government considers it would be beneficial to undertake a formal consultation process to rigorously investigate this proposal. This will include canvassing views on the appropriateness of such a scheme, possible forms and operating models, as well as the costs and benefits and any alternative approaches.The Australian Government has not made any decisions on implementing a scheme of this nature and your feedback will inform its consideration regarding this proposal.
How you can voice your opinion
You can have your say by reading the Registration or Licensing Scheme for Carriage Service Providers discussion paper and providing a submission outlining your views.What will be the outcome of this consultation?
Your submission will guide the Australian Government’s consideration of whether and how to implement a potential registration or licensing scheme for CSPs. Consideration will also be given to whether the same intended outcomes can be achieved through other mechanisms or the introduction of alternative regulatory powers.The Issue
Currently, there is a licensing scheme for telecommunications carriers (network operators), however no similar arrangements exist for CSPs (telecommunications retailers).
Arguments put forward by stakeholders in favour of a registration/licensing scheme generally focus on the following overarching objectives:
- Increasing visibility of CSPs operating in the market, for example to support the ACMA's work to educate providers about their obligations and target enforcement activities;
- Facilitating a mechanism the ACMA can use to stop CSPs operating in the market who pose unacceptable risk to consumers, or cause significant consumer harm.
Noting this requires an accompanying obligation on CSPs to be registered/licenced in order to sell services to customers and a power for the ACMA to revoke a registration or licence.
The discussion paper seeks feedback to clarify what the objectives of a scheme would be and to investigate approaches to registration or licensing for CSPs, or alternatives, that would deliver on those.
It is easy to have your say—simply read through the Registration or Licensing Scheme for Carriage Service Providers discussion paper and email your completed submission to ConsumerSafeguards@communications.gov.au .
You can also mail your submission to:
Director, Codes and Standards Section
Consumer Safeguards Branch
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
GPO Box 594
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Relevant documentation
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29 Sep 2023 09:00 AEST
22 Dec 2023 23:59 AEDT
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We invite you to to tell us your views on this topic.
Please include:
- contact name
- organisation name, if applicable
- contact details, including telephone number, postal and email addresses
- confirmation whether or not your submission can be made public—published—or kept confidential.
All submissions to be made public need to meet the Digital Service Standard for accessibility. Any submission that does not meet this standard may be modified before being made public.
If your submission is to be made public, please ensure you do not include any personal information that you don't want to be published.
If your submission is confidential, please ensure each page of the submission is marked as confidential.
Please click on the 'Have your say now' button below to upload your submission.
Alternatively please email your completed template submission to ConsumerSafeguards@communications.gov.au:
You can also mail your submission to:
Director, Codes and Standards Section
Consumer Safeguards Branch
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
GPO Box 594
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Australian Privacy Principle 5 Notice
Have Your Say: Registration or Licensing Scheme for Carriage Service Providers
The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (the department) is collecting information for the purposes of clarifying the objectives and investigating approaches to registration or licensing for CSPs, or alternatives, in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988.
The department will use this information to inform consideration of issues associated with a registration or licensing scheme for CSPs and will store this information securely. It may be used by the department to make further contact with you about the review.
The department will not disclose information to third parties, except in the circumstances outlined below.
Submissions, in part or full, including the name of the author may be published on the department's website unless the submission is confidential. Confidential submissions (including the author's name) will not be published. Private addresses and contact details will not be published or disclosed to any third parties unless required by law.
Submissions will only be treated as confidential if they are expressly stated to be confidential. Automatically generated confidentiality statements or disclaimers appended to an email do not suffice for this purpose. If you wish you make a confidential submission, you should indicate this by ensuring your submission is marked confidential.
Confidential submissions will be kept securely and will only be disclosed in the following circumstances:
- in response to a request by a Commonwealth Minister
- where required by a House or a Committee of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia
- where required by law.
The department may also disclose confidential submissions within the Commonwealth of Australia, including with other Commonwealth agencies, where necessary in the public interest.
Please note that in order to protect the personal privacy of individuals in accordance with the Privacy Act any submissions containing sensitive information, personal information or information which may reasonably be used to identify a person or group of people may not be published, even if not marked as confidential.
The department's privacy policy contains information regarding complaint handling processes and how to access and/or seek correction of personal information held by the department. The Privacy Officer can be contacted on 02 6274 6495 or by email: privacy@infrastructure.gov.au.