Australia is one of a number of countries reconsidering its approach to resilience in the face of growing climatological and geopolitical threats to connectivity
The Australian Government has issued two directives focused on improving consumer protection during network outages
On 28 August 2024, Michelle Rowland (Minister for Communications) announced that the Australian Government had issued a direction to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to make enforceable industry standards on how operators communicate with consumers about network outages. The Customer Communications for Outages Industry Standards Direction 2024 was issued as part of the Government’s response to the November 2023 Optus outage which was estimated to impact as many as 10m consumers and businesses. The Government also issued a direction to ACMA requiring the regulator to conduct a review of the existing Complaints Handling Industry Standard. The aim of this review is to ensure that the current standards for operators’ complaints processes meet the needs of consumers in the event of network outages. ACMA is expected to complete the work required by both directives within 12 months.
The Government and ACMA’s work is aiming to restore trust in the reliability of networks and limit future consumer distress
Both of the Government’s directions emerged from its response to the post-incident review of the Optus outage conducted by Richard Bean (former Deputy Chair, ACMA). As identified in the Bean Review and reiterated by the Government, the scale and range of services impacted during the Optus outage, including health data, education materials and business systems, resulted in significant confusion and ultimately dissatisfaction among consumers. In response, the direction will require operators to provide consumers with additional information and updates on the status of an outage. Noting the likelihood that some common communications channels would be impacted by network outages, ACMA has also been directed to make requirements about how operators should publish information, including through website, social media and email updates but also through radio and television news bulletins. Even during geographically smaller but significant outages, operators will be required to improve their communications with impacted communities as the Government described its concern that rural and remote communities with limited alternate connectivity options are disproportionately impacted by outages. In the context of consumer complaints, the Government is seeking an industry-wide standard that creates a consistent approach to offering resolutions to consumers impacted by outages or other crises. Through these directions, the Government aims to prevent the sort of distress caused by the Optus outage and repair the resulting damage to consumers’ confidence in the reliability of communications networks and the access they provide to critical services.
Other governments have introduced similar measures related to communicating about outages and securing access to emergency services
Though unaddressed in these two consumer-focused directives, the Government also used its response to the Bean Review to detail its aims for improved coordination between operators and public officials, as well as for more reliable access to emergency services (Triple Zero services) during outages. Regulators elsewhere in the world have similarly introduced standards for operators on communicating outages with government agencies and local authorities, as well as establishing – and even regularly testing – roaming capabilities to support emergency service access for consumers. Governments have also begun to look to satellite infrastructure as an alternative to or back-up for terrestrial networks during extreme weather events. These efforts broadly reflect a growing focus in a number of jurisdictions around improving resilience in the context of intensifying climate-related and geopolitical threats to networks.
