Interview with Craig Zonca and Loretta Ryan, ABC Brisbane

CRAIG ZONCA, HOST: The Federal Government and the Australian Communications and Media Authority have announced big changes to how telcos put customers first when you're struggling to make ends meet.

 

LORETTA RYAN, HOST: Michelle Rowland is the federal Communications Minister, good morning Minister.

 

MICHELLE ROWLAND, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS: Good morning.

 

RYAN: What new rules are being talked about here?

 

ROWLAND: What we have here is a new industry standard on financial hardship, and these are provisions that were previously contained in an industry code. But we recognised as a Government, and given the evidence that we obtained from the regulator as well about how those rules were working, we now have a new standard that is coming into place. I think there's probably three key elements here: prioritising keeping Australians connected, recognising just as you were discussing then, what an important enabler communications are, we're going to have ten working days notice - up from five - before a customer can be disconnected and we're also going to have requirements for the telcos to have proactive identification of customers who might be experiencing financial hardship. So, this is all about making sure that culture within telcos, but also very clear rules there about keeping customers connected.

 

ZONCA: So, what does that mean? Like financial hardship? How do they judge that? If you're saying they need to take a proactive approach, how do they do so Minister?

 

ROWLAND: Well, I think there's a couple of ways that the telcos can do that. Firstly, by examining how people are meeting their bills, whether they're on appropriate plans and of course, some of this starts at the point of sale as well. I have engaged with a lot of the industry, but also with consumer groups and the regulator and sometimes these problems are because customers have been sold plans that they really can't afford or aren't suitable for them. So, it's really going through that lifecycle of the customer to make sure that they get connected properly and that they stay connected.

 

ZONCA: And for telcos, you say the onus is going to be more on them, than us as customers effectively?

 

ROWLAND: That is correct and I think this also goes to a really important point, just generally, and that is consumers at the moment under cost of living pressures, as we all know and there's a lot of discussion about supermarket price gouging, airlines, a variety of other sectors. In the Comms portfolio, it is really important to recognise that that enabling technology is so important for running businesses, for engaging with government, for keeping in touch, telehealth, and we need to make sure that this is accessible for consumers. We need to ensure that those telcos understand that they have these obligations to customers and really lifting the industry as a whole and that's been the impetus for this change.

 

RYAN: You talked about the plans that some people get locked into. Will there be scrutiny of those plans?

 

ROWLAND: Absolutely and there is already that ability under various industry codes that are in place. But what this does, by having this in the standard, it's directly enforceable by the regulator. The industry has been involved in the consultation on this standard as well, and this is going to come into effect on the 29 March. So, there is some transition time there. But can I tell you and your listeners, my prior life I worked as a lawyer in the telco sector, I really enjoyed being on secondment to the three major carriers at different points in time and it's so important for these businesses to keep that focus on customers, to keep them satisfied, to be fair with them, and to make sure that you communicate when there are options available to them. So, I guess my public service announcement today is if people are experiencing financial hardship, your service provider is the first port of call. If you're not satisfied, you can go to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman for assistance.

 

ZONCA: And just speaking of the Ombudsman, they've got some complaint figures out today, a lot, as you would imagine, relating to the Optus outage of last year. What progress has been made through the investigation into that outage to, I guess, help people who were affected?

 

ROWLAND: Certainly, that's ongoing and we have a report that's due by the end of this month by an independent expert engaged by my department. The regulator is also reviewing Optus's compliance with its obligations under the Triple Zero arrangements. But as you say, those complaint stats from the TIO do show a spike from the Optus outage. There were nearly 1,000 complaints from consumers, about 20% of those were from small businesses, but there was an overall increase due to that outage, but it is pleasing to see when you examine the data overall, the total number of complaints are coming down and they're down almost 18% on the same quarter of the previous year. This is not an invitation for anyone to rest on their laurels, and I think having taken that action that we have with that industry standard demonstrates that we do need to keep that focus on lifting the game for consumers. I will say of interest to your listeners, one of the biggest complaints was about network outages. Of course, then there was delay in establishing services and interestingly, the local government areas affected here mostly were Gold Coast, Morton Bay and Logan. So, I think that geographic breakdown really points to the industry needing to look at why that was the case and I'll certainly be engaging with the TIO and the regulator to understand that.

 

ZONCA: Yeah, to lift their game here in southeast Queensland. Minister, thanks for your time this morning.



ROWLAND: My pleasure.

 

ZONCA: The federal Communications Minister, Michelle Rowland on ABC radio, Brisbane.