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For 2023-24, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has vowed to protect consumers by curbing the negative effects of gambling, address fraudulent SMS scams, tackle the distribution of unreliable devices online, and ensuring proper enforcement of spam unsubscribe regulations.
ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said the ACMA would prioritise addressing scams due to the significant detrimental impact they have on consumers’ financial and social wellbeing.
“These scams are run by sophisticated international criminal networks. Over the next 12 months the ACMA will work with government and industry to further reduce the risk of harm caused by scams by targeting them at their source, before they hit people’s phones,” she said.
Protecting vulnerable telco customers, including those experiencing financial hardship or domestic or family violence, is also among the compliance priorities set by the ACMA for 2023–24.
“With many Australian families facing cost of living pressures it is particularly important for telcos to do more to support their most vulnerable customers.
“Telecommunications is clearly an essential service, with Australians relying on connectivity to access work, education, health, government services and more. Without reliable phone and internet it is incredibly challenging for people to fully participate in today’s society,” O’Loughlin said.
The ACMA’s compliance priorities were informed by submissions made through a public consultation process. More details on the 2023–24 compliance priorities are available on the ACMA website.
The ACMA has also released its Outcomes: compliance priorities 2022–23 report, which sets out the ACMA’s actions and outcomes against its priorities for last year.
“This report shows significant results for our 2022–23 compliance priority activities. For example, our registration and enforcement of telco industry codes has seen more than 360 million scam calls and around 172 million scam messages blocked since July 2022.
“This means that since new rules were introduced in December 2020, more than 1.15 billion scam calls have been blocked from reaching Australians,” O’Loughlin said.
