Overview -

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and Communications Compliance (CommCom) entered into a five year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last week. CommCom is the telecommunications industry compliance body established late last year to monitor telecommunications service providers' compliance with the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code (TCP Code), with the power to refer non-compliance to the ACMA for investigation and enforcement. The MOU is not legally binding, but establishes a regime under which CommCom and the ACMA will cooperate, and sets out timeframes for the parties to comply with their respective obligations.

The TCP Code -

The revised TCP Code was prepared and submitted for registration by the Australian telecommunications industry body, Communications Alliance, early in 2012 and registered by the ACMA with effect from 1 September 2012, replacing the previous version of the Code which was registered in 2007.

The new TCP Code is aimed at rectifying a range of consumer issues which have plagued the telecommunications industry over several years.