After a couple of years of enquiry, policy making, drafting and negotiation, the 2012 Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code is off the launch pad. From midnight at the start of 1 January 2012, a largely new set of rules applies to almost all of Australia’s retail telecommunication services providers.
As a matter of law, most of the new Code is now in force (some rules have a delayed start). As a matter of fact, if as many as 1% of them are even substantially compliant, it would be a great surprise.
As Code enforcer, ACMA now has a balancing act to perform.
ACMA’s challenge
If it weighs in too hard and too early with enforcement action against non-compliers, ACMA would rightly be seen as unreasonable and anti-business. If it is too forbearing and patient, it will seem to confirm what many telcos have taken for granted for years: that ACMA is a wimp. And that attitude will strongly mitigate against Code compliance across the telco industry.
So what’s a telco operator to do?
Simple. Get yourself compliant.
Nobody can 100% comply with this Code. But with real effort, you can tick all the important boxes and achieve practical, substantial compliance. Then leave it to someone else’s business to be ACMA’s first target.
