Telecommunications (Standard Form of Agreement Information) Determination 2003 (Cth)
Telecommunications (Standard Form of Agreement Information) Determination 2003
as amended
made under subsection 480A (2) of the
Telecommunications Act 1997
This compilation was prepared on 8 May 2006
taking into account amendments up to Telecommunications (Standard Form of Agreement Information) Amendment Determination 2006 (No. 1)
Prepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing,
Attorney-General’s Department, Canberra
Contents
1Name of Determination [see Note 1] 3
2Commencement [see Note 1] 3
3Revocation of Telecommunications (Standard Form of Agreement Information) Determination 1999 3
4Definitions 3
5Application of Determination 4
6Provider to prepare summary of standard form of agreement 5
7Existing customers notified of summary of standard form of agreement 7
8New customers given summary of standard form of agreement 8
9Ordinary customer may request summary at any time 9
11Variations to standard form of agreement — general 9
13Summaries etc to be made available in a form accessible to all customers 9
14Provider to publish summary 10
15Review of decision to give notice 10
Schedule 1Matters to be included in summary of standard form of agreement 11
Notes 13
Name of Determination [see Note 1]
This Determination is the Telecommunications (Standard Form of Agreement Information) Determination 2003.
Commencement [see Note 1]
This Determination commences on gazettal.
Revocation of Telecommunications (Standard Form of Agreement Information) Determination 1999
The Telecommunications (Standard Form of Agreement Information) Determination 1999 is revoked.
Definitions
In this Determination:
Act means the Telecommunications Act 1997.
casual customer, of a carriage service provider, means an ordinary customer of the provider to whom the provider supplies a designated service without the customer having first made any arrangements with the provider for:
(a) connection to the service; or
(b) registration with the provider.
Examples
1 A customer who accesses a service supplied by a carriage service provider by using a code to override the service normally used by the customer.
2 A customer whose first contact or dealing with a carriage service provider is using a 190 service supplied by the provider.
3 A customer who accesses a service supplied by a carriage service provider by using a pre-paid phone card.
designated goods or services has the meaning given by subsection 480A (1) of the Act.
late billing, by a carriage service provider, means the billing of charges for the supply to an ordinary customer by the provider of designated goods or services for a period before the period covered by the most recent bill issued by the provider for the supply of the goods or services.
non-mobile standard telephone service means a standard telephone service that is not a public mobile telecommunications service
Note Public mobile telecommunications service is defined in section 32 of the Act.
ordinary customer, of a carriage service provider, has the meaning given by subsection 480A (1) of the Act.
Note Ordinary customers are divided into 3 categories for this Determination; regular customers, casual customers and pre-paid mobile customers.
pre-paid mobile customer, of a carriage service provider, means an ordinary customer of the provider to whom the provider supplies a pre-paid public mobile telecommunications service.
pre-paid public mobile telecommunications service has the meaning given by section 1.5 of the Telecommunications (Service Provider — Identity Checks for Pre-paid Public Mobile Telecommunications Services) Determination 2000.
regular customer, of a carriage service provider, means an ordinary customer of the provider who is neither a casual customer nor a pre-paid mobile customer.
standard form of agreement means the form of an agreement formulated for paragraph 479 (2) (b) of the Act.
summary, of a standard form of agreement, means a summary of the material terms and conditions of the standard form of agreement prepared under section 6.
Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman means the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman appointed under the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman scheme mentioned in section 128 of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999.
Application of Determination
(1) This Determination applies to a carriage service provider that formulates a standard form of agreement relating to its supply of designated goods or services to an ordinary customer.
(2) However, this Determination is not intended to affect the provider’s obligations under the following legislation:
(a) the Trade Practices Act 1974;
(b) a law of a State or Territory that deals with fair trading or consumer protection;
(c) the Disability Discrimination Act 1992;
(d) a law of a State or Territory that deals with disability discrimination;
(e) the Racial Discrimination Act 1975;
(f) a law of a State or Territory that deals with racial discrimination.
Background information
Section 479 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 applies to the supply to an ordinary person by a carriage service provider of:
(a) a standard telephone service; or
(b) a carriage service of a kind specified in regulations made under the Act; or
(c) ancillary goods of a kind specified in the regulations; or
(d) an ancillary service of a kind specified in the regulations.
The terms and conditions on which the goods or services are supplied are:
(a) so far as the provider and the person agree on the terms and conditions on which the goods or services are supplied — the agreed terms and conditions; and
(b) if the provider and the person do not agree on terms and conditions, but terms and conditions are set out in a standard form of agreement that:
(i) is formulated by the provider for the purpose of section 479; and
(ii) relates to the goods or services; and
(iii) is in force at the time of the supply;
the terms and conditions so set out, so far as they are applicable to the supply of the goods or services.
Under section 480A of the Act, if a standard form of agreement formulated for section 479 sets out terms and conditions that are applicable to the supply of goods or services to a person:
(a) the person is an ordinary customer of the carriage service provider; and
(b) the goods or services are designated goods or services.
The ACA may make a written determination requiring carriage service providers to:
(a) give ordinary customers specified information relating to the supply of designated goods or services; or
(b) give specified kinds of ordinary customers specified information about the supply of designated goods or services; or
(c) publish information relating to the supply of designated goods or services.
The determination may specify the manner and form in which information is to be given or published.
The determination may make provision for customers to be informed of, or of a summary of, any or all of their rights as customers, including their rights under Part 5 of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 (which deals with the customer service guarantee).
Before making a determination, the ACA must consult the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.
A carriage service provider must comply with a determination made under subsection 480A (2) of the Act.
The ACA must ensure that a determination is in force under subsection 480A (2) of the Act at all times after the commencement of section 480A of the Act.
Provider to prepare summary of standard form of agreement
(1) Subject to subsection (8), a carriage service provider must prepare a written summary of the terms and conditions of a standard form of agreement.
Note The provider must publish the summary: see section 14.
(2) The summary:
(a) must include:
(i) general information about each matter specified in Schedule 1 that is the subject of a term or condition of the standard form of agreement; and
(ii) if the provider offers a non-mobile standard telephone service on terms and conditions set out in the standard form of agreement — a statement about whether the provider offers priority services to particular regular customers; and
(b) may include information about any other matter the provider considers appropriate.
Example
A carriage service provider may offer priority services to customers with a health condition that may be life threatening, and who may need to use a non-mobile standard telephone service to request urgent health care.
(3) If the provider considers that the general information required by subparagraph (2) (a) (i) is excessively lengthy or detailed, the summary may, instead of setting out the information in full:
(a) refer to another document prepared by the provider that includes information about the matter; or
(b) give details of where additional information about the matter may be obtained.
(4) The provider must, as far as practicable, prepare the summary:
(a) in language that is concise, clear and simple; and
(b) in a form that is:
(i) clearly legible; and
(ii) not longer than 4 sides of pages in A4 format, whether or not the summary is printed in A4 format.
Example
If the provider prepares the summary in A4 format, the summary may be prepared as 2 double-sided sheets or 4 single-sided sheets of A4 paper.
(5) The provider must include in the summary:
(a) the heading ‘Important Customer Information: Your Rights and Obligations’; or
(b) a heading that is substantially the same.
(6) The heading must be:
(a) in a prominent position; and
(b) either:
(i) printed in bold type that is 2 points larger than the largest font used for the rest of the summary; or
(ii) printed in a different colour from the colour used for rest of the summary.
(7) The provider may present the summary in a document that includes information about other goods or services supplied by the provider (including other summaries prepared by the provider).
(8) If a standard form of agreement formulated by a carriage service provider meets the requirements stated in subsections (2), (3) (if applicable), (4), (5) and (6), and sections 11 and 13, that are applicable to a summary of a standard form of agreement:
(a) the standard form of agreement is taken to be a summary of the agreement for the purposes of this Determination; and
(b) a reference in this Determination (other than in this paragraph) to a summary of the standard form of agreement is taken to be a reference to the standard form of agreement itself.
(9) However, if the ACA:
(a) considers that a provider’s summary is not an adequate summary of the terms and conditions of a standard form of agreement; and
(b) gives the provider a notice setting out either or both of:
(i) content that must be included in the summary; and
(ii) a form of presentation with which the summary must comply;
the provider must prepare a new summary that complies with the notice.
Note A decision to give a provider a notice is reviewable by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal: see section 15.
Existing customers notified of summary of standard form of agreement
(1) In this section:
existing customer, of a carriage service provider, means a person who:
(a) was a regular customer of the provider on the date of commencement of this Determination; or
(b) is taken, under subsection 8 (6), to have become an existing customer.
(2) A carriage service provider must give to each existing customer a notice stating that:
(a) an up-to-date copy of the summary of the standard form of agreement that relates to the designated goods or services supplied to the customer by the provider is available from the provider; and
(b) the customer may obtain a copy of the summary:
(i) by calling a number specified in the notice; or
(ii) by downloading it from a website maintained by or for the provider; or
(iii) by requesting it from a website maintained by or for the provider; and
(c) the provider will supply the copy free of charge.
(3) If the provider acts under subsection (2), the provider must give the notice to the customer:
(a) before the end of the period of 12 months starting on the date of commencement of this Determination; and
(b) at least once in each subsequent period of 24 months.
(4) The provider may give the notice to the customer:
(a) by delivering it to the customer in person; or
(b) by sending it by pre-paid post to the address listed in the provider’s records for the customer; or
(c) if the customer:
(i) has an electronic mail address; and
(ii) gives his or her consent to the sending of notices by the provider to the customer to that address;
by transmitting it to that address; or
(d) using a short messaging service.
Note The provider may decide to send the notice with a bill, rather than sending it by itself.
New customers given summary of standard form of agreement
(1) In this section:
new customer, of a carriage service provider, means a person who becomes a regular customer of the provider at any time after the date of commencement of this Determination.
(2) A carriage service provider must give to each new customer an up-to-date copy of the summary of the standard form of agreement that relates to the designated goods or services supplied to the customer.
(3) However, in the period of 6 months starting on the date of commencement of this Determination:
(a) the provider may give to the customer a copy of a summary that complies with the Telecommunications (Standard Form of Agreement Information) Determination 1999 as in force immediately before the date of commencement of this Determination; and
(b) if the provider gives a copy of that summary to the customer, the provider is not required to comply with subsection (2).
(4) The provider must give the copy to the customer:
(a) at the time when the provider first supplies the designated goods or services to the customer; or
(b) as soon as practicable after that time.
(5) The provider may give the copy to the customer:
(a) by delivering it to the customer in person; or
(b) by sending it by pre-paid post to the address listed in the provider’s records for the customer; or
(c) if the customer:
(i) has an electronic mail address; and
(ii) gives his or her consent to the sending of notices by the provider to the customer to that address;
by transmitting it to that address.
Note The provider may decide to send the notice with a bill, rather than sending it by itself.
(6) If a new customer is given a copy of a summary under this section:
(a) the new customer is taken to have become an existing customer for section 7 when the customer is given the copy; and
(b) the first period of 24 months mentioned in paragraph 7 (3) (b) is taken to commence when the customer is given the copy.
Note Being treated as an existing customer ensures that the customer will receive regular notifications about the standard form of agreement in accordance with section 7.
Ordinary customer may request summary at any time
If an ordinary customer of a carriage service provider asks the provider for a copy of the summary of the standard form of agreement that relates to the designated good or services supplied to the customer by the provider, the provider must, without charge, give an up-to-date copy of the summary to the customer as soon as practicable.
Variations to standard form of agreement — general
(1) This section applies to an ordinary customer if a carriage service provider varies, or intends to vary, the terms and conditions of a standard form of agreement, and the variation could be reasonably expected to adversely affect the customer.
(2) The provider must give reasonable notice to an ordinary customer to whom this section applies, having regard to:
(a) the nature of the variation; and
(b) the means by which notice is to be provided; and
(c) the length of time remaining before the variation is to occur; and
(d) any other matter that is reasonably relevant.
(3) If the obligation in subsection (2) is inconsistent with a provision of the Trade Practices Act 1974, the provision of that Act prevails to the extent of the inconsistency.
Summaries etc to be made available in a form accessible to all customers
(1) A carriage service provider must take reasonable steps to make a summary of the terms and conditions of a standard form of agreement accessible to customers who have difficulty reading information written in English.
Example
It may be possible for a provider to satisfy the requirement in subsection (1) by:
(a) including in a summary a statement, written in several languages other than English, to the effect that if a customer has difficulty reading information written in English, the customer may contact the provider to request a copy of the summary, or variation, in a language other than English; and
(b) providing the summary to customers in languages other than English, on request.
(2) The provider must also take reasonable steps to make the summary accessible to each customer with a disability that impedes his or her ability to read information printed in a standard form.
Example
A provider may:
(a) provide a copy of a summary in braille or large print form, on request; and
(b) publish the summary on the provider’s Internet website in a form that is accessible to visually impaired customers; and
(c) advertise the availability of the summary in the forms mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) on radio and television programs designed to meet the information needs of visually impaired persons.
Provider to publish summary
(1) If a carriage service provider operates or controls an Internet website, the provider must:
(a) publish a copy of a summary prepared by the provider under section 6 on the website within 6 months after the commencement of this Determination; and
(b) publish a revised summary, including any variation to the terms and conditions of a standard form of agreement, on the website within 4 weeks after making the variation; and
(c) ensure that the summary or revised summary is:
(i) displayed prominently on the website; and
(ii) clearly identified as a summary of the standard form of agreement.
(2) If a provider does not operate or control an Internet website, the provider must:
(a) publish a hard copy of a summary prepared by the provider under section 6 within 6 months after the commencement of this Determination; and
(b) publish a hard copy of a revised summary, including any variation to the terms and conditions of a standard form of agreement, within 12 weeks after making the variation; and
(c) ensure that the copy is clearly identified as a summary of the standard form of agreement; and
(d) make a copy of the summary or revised summary available for public inspection during regular business hours at the provider’s head office.
Review of decision to give notice
Application may be made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of a decision under paragraph 6 (9) (b) to give a carriage service provider the notice mentioned in that paragraph.
Schedule 1 Matters to be included in summary of standard form of agreement
(subsection 6 (2))
1. Identification of the kind of designated goods or services to which the standard form of agreement relates.
2. Whether the provider requires customers to pay a security bond for particular goods or services supplied by the provider and, if so, the circumstances in which the requirement arises.
3. Charging, including the following matters:
(a) the types of charges applying to the supply of the designated goods or services;
(b) the amount or rate of each type of charge;
(c) any circumstances that must exist before a charge becomes payable;
(d) the cost of connection, or reconnection, for the supply of the designated goods or services;
(e) whether a discount, credit or rebate is available to ordinary customers, and, if so:
(i) the amount of the discount, credit or rebate; and
(ii) how it is worked out;
(f) peak and off-peak times (if any), including:
(i) the amounts of the charges for those times; and
(ii) how those times are worked out.
4. Billing, including the following matters:
(a) if the bills are to be issued, the frequency of billing (including any options available to customers);
(b) the charges (if any) for particular billing options;
(c) the standard way in which bills will be issued (including any options available to customers);
(d) the ways for paying a bill;
(e) the policy (if any) in relation to late billing;
(f) the penalty (if any) for late payment of a bill.
5. The terms of a contract for the supply of designated services, including the following matters:
(a) if applicable, the minimum term of the contract;
(b) if applicable, the minimum period of notice to be given by either party to terminate the contract;
(c) the events that would give either party a right to terminate the contract;
(d) the charge, or method of working out the charge, for terminating the contract before the end of its term;
(e) if applicable, the terms and conditions applying to the renewal of the contract.
6. Variations of the terms and conditions of the standard form of agreement, including the following matters:
(a) in relation to variations that would cause detriment to ordinary customers:
(i) the minimum period of notice to be given to customers before the variations take effect; and
(ii) the way in which customers will be informed of the variations;
(b) in relation to any other variations — the place where an up-to-date copy of the standard form of agreement may be obtained.
7. The way in which customers may gain access to or obtain the complete terms and conditions of the standard form of agreement.
8. The rights of, or remedies available to, customers, including information about the following matters:
(a) the warranty offered by the carriage service provider applying to goods supplied by the carriage service provider;
(b) the carriage service provider’s internal processes for handling complaints;
(c) the process for reporting faults to the carriage service provider;
(d) the rights of customers under Part 5 of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 (which deals with the customer service guarantee);
(e) the role of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman and the Office of Fair Trading of each State or Territory.
9. Any terms and conditions applying to the use of personal details of customers, including information about the following matters:
(a) whether any inquiries will be made about a customer’s credit record by the carriage service provider;
(b) any other ways that a customer’s personal details may be used in relation to the supply of the designated goods or services.
Notes to the Telecommunications (Standard Form of Agreement Information) Determination 2003
Note 1
The Telecommunications (Standard Form of Agreement Information) Determination 2003 (in force under subsection 480A (2) of the Telecommunications Act 1997) as shown in this compilation is amended as indicated in the Tables below.
Under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, which came into force on 1 January 2005, it is a requirement for all non-exempt legislative instruments to be registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Table of Instruments
| Title | Date of notification | Date of | Application, saving or |
| Telecommunications (Standard Form of Agreement Information) Determination 2003 | 29 Aug 2003 (see Gazette 2003, No. S331) | 29 Aug 2003 | |
| Telecommunications (Standard Form of Agreement Information) Amendment Determination 2006 (No. 1) | 5 May 2006 (see F2006L01408) | 6 May 2006 | — |
Table of Amendments
| ad. = added or inserted am. = amended rep. = repealed rs. = repealed and substituted | |
| Provision affected | How affected |
| S. 4......................................... | am. 2006 No. 1 |
| S. 10....................................... | rep. 2006 No. 1 |
| S. 11....................................... | rs. 2006 No. 1 |
| S. 12....................................... | rep. 2006 No. 1 |
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