The ACMA has just issued a consultation paper seeking feedback from industry prior to presenting its findings to the federal government for consideration by May next year.

Submissions are being sought for the regulatory functions, or parts of the functions, to be referred to industry for self-regulation including:

• The Integrated Public Number Database (IPND);
• The Do Not Call Register (DNCR) and responsibilities in relation to the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 and related industry standards; and
• The regulation of commercial electronic messages under the Spam Act 2003.

In a preamble to the consultation paper the ACMA says its purpose is to advise the minister in relation to the telecommunications industry and matters affecting consumers of carriage services so that the legislation and regulations remain “fit-for-purpose and operate in the public interest”.

The consultation paper has been released following a report of the Review of the Australian Communications and Media Authority by the Department of Communications and the Arts in May 2017 which recommended that the ACMA consider the potential for self-regulation of various functions and whether it could outsource certain functions, or parts of functions.

The ACMA says all of the functions — technical standards, Integrated Public Number Database, Do Not Call Register, and action on unsolicited communications including spam — have been in place for many years under mature enabling legislation.

According to the authority, while the various regulations have provided important safeguards to Australians, the modern communications environment continues to evolve rapidly, raising issues of whether the regulations still serve the public interest - or whether they have been diminished to the point where regulation could be wound back and/or be moved to industry for management.

The ACMA also notes that broader reforms could be required to facilitate any move to self-regulation or alternate regulatory responses.

“Broader reforms may also allow for more effective and efficient ways of implementing the government’s stated policy in relation to the functions,” the ACMA says.

A review into the ACMA Review has said that for a greater reliance on self-regulation to be effective, an essential element will be a strong commitment from industry, and for industry to remain responsive to consumer needs and support codes through high levels of voluntary compliance.

The review also noted that it will be necessary for self-regulatory codes to incorporate effective compliance processes, with those processes supported by the establishment of independent industry bodies to implement complaint-handling procedures.