Sunsetting of the Telecommunications (Participating Persons) Determination 2015

The Telecommunications (Participating Persons) Determination 2015 (the determination) is approaching its sunsetting date of 1 October 2025.

The determination sets a $25 million eligible revenue threshold for the Telecommunications Industry Levy (TIL). This threshold is also used in determining requirements for carriers to contribute to the Annual Carrier Licence Charge (ACLC).

The TIL, alongside an annual contribution of $100 million from the Australian Government, supports universal access to voice services and payphones, the delivery of the National Relay Service for the deaf/hearing impaired, and Telstra's handling of calls to the emergency call service. More detail on activities funded through the TIL is available from the Department's register of public interest contracts/grants.

The ACLC helps support relevant functions of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) as they relate to the regulation of the telecommunications sector.

The existing 2015 determination means carriers that earn less than $25 million for a relevant eligible revenue period will not pay the TIL or ACLC for the subsequent financial year.

It seeks to balance compliance costs for both industry preparing, and the ACMA assessing, eligible revenue information. Without such a determination, under the existing statutory framework, all carriers (barring other limited exemptions) would be required to contribute to the TIL and ACLC.

The department's initial view is that maintaining the existing arrangements, including a $25 million threshold is appropriate, and on that basis, has prepared an exposure draft of a replacement instrument for stakeholder consideration.

Please note: as part of broader work to consider modernisation of the existing universal service framework, in 2024 the department undertook a consultation on funding of telecommunications universal services including the design and operation of the Regional Broadband Scheme (RBS) and TIL. Once the outcomes of that previous consultation are finalised, the need and form of this type of determination may need to be further adjusted.

Relevant documentation

• Exposure draft of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) (Non-Participating Persons) Determination 2025.

This exposure draft is based on the Telecommunications (Participating Persons) Determination 2015, with some changes, restructuring and updates to reflect current drafting and naming practices.

The new instrument is proposed to apply from the 2025–26 eligible revenue periods. This means the proposed instrument would first be used as part of the process of determining contributions for the 2026–27 and later levy periods.

The TIL operates on a rolling 2.5-year cycle:

• Year 1—Eligible Revenue Period—Participants earn revenue throughout the financial year.
• Year 2—Eligible Levy Period—Eligible revenue from the preceding revenue period is reported to ACMA by the end of October in this year. ACMA then undertakes checks of revenue returns.
• Year 3—The levy and individual contributor amounts are finalised by late October of this year, with invoices then issued and payable around late November/early December.

The ACMA has recently consulted on a proposed draft of the Telecommunications (Eligible Revenue) Determination 2025. Some definitions from that proposed instrument are cross referenced in the exposure draft above, and would be adapted as necessary pending ACMA's final decisions.