The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has been directed to enforce standards on telecommunications providers to better communicate with customers, especially during major service outages.

Federal Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP, announced the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages Industry Standards) Direction 2024 on Tuesday, requiring the media authority to compel telcos to keep customers informed and updated during outages through “website updates, email updates to customers, social media updates and radio and television news bulletins” for example.

The direction follows in the wake of the Post-Incident Review of the Optus outage that occurred on 8 November 2023, which has defined a framework to mitigate the impact of future outages on the Australian community and to focus on improving the avenues of communication and for complaints.

“The Optus outage on 8 November 2023 shone a light on systems and processes in the telecommunications ecosystem that are in critical need of reform. The directions I have issued today will help improve how telcos communicate and engage with their customers in outage situations,” Rowland said.

“Telecommunications services are essential for participation in modern life, and ensuring that systems and processes are working to support people during stressful outages is fundamental.”

The direction also seeks to put in place clear regulatory requirements to improve industry-to-consumer communications during both major and smaller-scale outages.

“I am conscious that we cannot achieve these important outcomes without all stakeholders working together including Government, regulators, consumer groups, industry and the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman. I thank all stakeholders for their continued engagement and efforts in prioritising this work,” Rowland said.

As part of the direction, the ACMA will also review the current Complaints Handling Industry Standard and assess the effectiveness of the complaint processes available for consumers during network outages.