New domestic and family violence protections for telco customers in the works

Alex Angove-Plumb - Digital Content Editor

Last updated 08 October 2024

The Australian Federal Government is moving to create enforceable standards within the telecommunications industry to protect survivors of domestic and family violence (DFV). Once created, the government will require mobile and internet providers to follow the new guidelines, which will cover how situations involving family and domestic violence are identified and managed, with regards to communications services.

The Minister for Communications will instruct the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to begin creating the new framework, but the ultimate details are yet to be determined.

Example safeguards offered by the Minister’s office include:

Minimum requirements for policies and staff training, with compliance reporting
Prohibiting alleged perpetrator involvement in discussions with a victim-survivor
Obligations relating to the privacy, safety and security of accounts
Removing requirements for victim-survivors to provide evidence or tell their story multiple times
Requirements for telcos to recognise domestic and family violence as a potential cause of payment difficulties and to consider the impact of any service suspension or disconnection

The Minister’s office also cited a 2023 report from the Communications Alliance as providing practical and detailed guidance. The 60-page report, titled Assisting Consumers Affected by Domestic and Family Violence, outlines recommendations for staff training and support, customer access to assistance, account management and security, managing DFV during the sales process, financial matters, and more. But there’s currently little indication as to what part the report’s findings will play in ACMA’s final proposal.

As for how many Australians might be helped by DFV guidelines, the latest Personal Safety, Australia release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) estimated 4.2 million adults in Australia have experienced physical, sexual, emotional, or economic abuse by a current or previous cohabiting partner – about 21% of the country’s adult population. According to the release, 2.7 million were women and 1.5 million were men.

“Victim-survivors should not be forced to contact alleged perpetrators when making necessary changes to their telco accounts and services, provide evidence of abuse or tell their often harrowing stories multiple times,” said Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP.

“We also need to ensure that frontline staff are educated and supported to provide appropriate services to victim-survivors of domestic and family violence, with a clear priority to keep them connected.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic or family violence of any kind, there are 24/7 services available where you can speak to trained counsellors for advice or support.

Call: 1800 737 732 – 24/7 service
Text: 0458 737 732 – 24/7 service
Online chat: 1800RESPECT.org.au – 24/7 service
Video calls: 1800RESPECT.org.au – Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm AEST except national public holidays

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Alex Angove-Plumb

Digital Content Editor

Alex Angove-Plumb is a Digital Content Editor at WhistleOut and an award-winning journalist. He's been in the tech publishing industry since 2010, putting him a few short years away from the title of Grizzled Ancient in his chosen profession. He was an original WhistleOut-er before running NBN Co's corporate blog for two years, then moving on to a lengthy stint at CHOICE. Now he's come home.

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