Explanatory Statement
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Communications
Telecommunications Act 1997
Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages Industry Standard Amendment) Direction 2025
Authority
The Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages Industry Standard Amendment) Direction 2025 (the Direction) is made by the Minister for Communications (the Minister) under subsection 125AA(4) of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (the Act).
Subsection 125AA(4) of the Act enables the Minister to, by legislative instrument, direct the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to make determinations setting standards regarding matters relating to the telecommunications activities of participants of specific sections of the telecommunications industry.
Purpose and operation
The Direction directs the ACMA to amend the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages) Industry Standard 2024 (the Standard) to create obligations on carriers, and where appropriate, carriage service providers to establish and publish a register of outages on their website.
The Direction builds on obligations imposed by the Telecommunications Service Provider (Network Outages Register) Determination 2025 (the 2025 Determination), made by the Minister for Communications, the Hon Anika Wells MP on 11 November 2025. The 2025 Determination requires carriage service providers who are mobile carriers to establish and publish a register of outages on their website by 15 December 2025. The 2025 Determination was intended to be a practical, efficient initial step to improve transparency while further options were considered for publication of telecommunications services outage information.
Amendments to be made under this Direction will require carriers, and where appropriate, carriage service providers, to establish and publish on a publicly available website a register (or registers) of outages. The register (s) must be maintained to ensure the information is accurate and up-to-date and information must be kept for a reasonable period of time.
The Direction will also put in place more sophisticated obligations by giving effect to additional objectives intended to improve transparency and accessibility of information about telecommunications services outages and settle obligations such as those related to Triple Zero. In developing these objectives, feedback from consultation on the 2025 Determination was taken into account.
This instrument is a legislative instrument for the purpose of the Legislation Act 2003. However, this instrument is not subject to disallowance or sunsetting, as it is a direction by a Minister to a person or body (see item 2 of the table in section 9 and item 3 in the table in section 11 of the Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015).
Details of the Direction are set out in Attachment A.
Background
Telecommunications have increasingly become a critical service, as Australians rely heavily on telecommunications services for many aspects of their daily life. Australia's telecommunications infrastructure enables health and safety, economic activity, education, and social connectivity. As access to services, including government services, become increasingly provided online, ensuring that all Australians have access to a reliable service has never been more important.
Of most importance is ensuring that Triple Zero is readily available for all people in Australia when they need it. As such, there is a need for greater transparency regarding network outages, noting in particular, the impact on Triple Zero.
The obligations in the Direction are intended to ensure more information about telecommunications services outages is made publicly available to provide consumers with transparency regarding network reliability.
The obligations in the Direction build on existing obligations under the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages) Industry Standard 2024 and the 2025 Determination.
The Direction will also put in place more sophisticated obligations by giving effect to additional objectives that intend to improve transparency and accessibility of information about telecommunications services outages and settle obligations such as those related to Triple Zero.
The Direction responds to the need for improved public access to outage information, particularly for consumers and organisations that rely on telecommunications services for critical functions. By maintaining and publishing telecommunications services outage register(s), the instrument promotes transparency, supports emergency services, and enhances consumer confidence.
Consultation
On behalf of the Minister, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts (the department) undertook targeted consultation on the Direction with the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the Australian Telecommunications Alliance and representatives of the telecommunications industry, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, the NSW Telco Authority, and the Internet Association of Australia. In addition, consultation on the 2025 Determination raised matters and feedback that have been incorporated into the Direction.
Impact Analysis
The Office of Impact Analysis advised that an Impact Analysis was not required for the 2025 Determination under the Australian Government's Policy Impact Analysis Framework OIA25-10472).
Noting that the feedback from consultation on the 2025 Determination was taken into account when developing the additional objectives to be given effect by the Direction, the Office of Impact Analysis further advised that an additional Impact Analysis for the Direction was not required.
Statement of compatibility with human rights
As section 42 of the Legislation Act 2003 does not apply to this instrument, being exempted under Part 4 of the Legislation (Exemption and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, a statement of compatibility with human rights is not required under section 9 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Attachment A
Details of the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages Industry Standard Amendment) Direction 2025
Section 1 – Name
This section provides that the name of the Direction is the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages Industry Standard Amendment) Direction 2025.
Section 2 – Commencement
This section states that the instrument commences the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Section 3 – Authority
This section states that the instrument is made under subsection 125AA(4) of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (the Act).
Section 4 – Definitions
This section sets out definitions for key terms used in the Direction, including “2024 standard”, “Act”, “Custodian”, “emergency service organisation”, “outage”, “outage register” and “relevant carriage service”.
The note to this section informs the reader that a number of expressions used in the instrument are defined in section 7 of the Act. The expressions are listed.
Section 5 – Direction to the ACMA
Subsection 5(1) directs the ACMA to amend the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages) Industry Standard 2024 (referred to in the Direction as the 2024 standard) so that it gives effect to the objectives, and includes the content, set out in section 6 of the Direction.
Subsection 5(2) provides that the amendments to the Direction required by subsection (1) are to be made and commence in full no later than 31 March 2026 and require the outage registers to be operational by 30 June 2026.
Subsection 5(3) provides that amendments required by subsection (1) may deal with deal with matters differently for different classes of carriers or carriage service providers and exempt certain classes of carriers or carriage service providers from particular requirements.
Subsection 5(4) permits the ACMA to further amend the 2024 standard as it considers necessary from time to time, provided that the standards in force under subsection 125AA(1) of the Act continue to comply with any directions in force under subsection 125AA(4) of the Act.
Subsection 5(5) permits the ACMA to define any terms that it considers appropriate or necessary, including terms used in the instrument but not defined in section 4 of the Direction, in amending the 2024 standard as required by subsection (1).
Subsection 5(6) provides that in amending the 2024 standard as required by subsection (1), the ACMA must have regard to other obligations and processes relating to the Emergency Call Service.
Section 6 – Additional objectives and content of the standard
Subsection 6(1) provides that the amendments to the 2024 standard required by subsection 5(1) of the Direction are to give effect to the additional objectives set out in paragraphs 6(1)(a) to (e), as they relate to the telecommunications activities of carriers, and as appropriate, carriage service providers.
Paragraph 6(1)(a) seeks to ensure the amended 2024 standard includes a requirement that a register is caused, by each carrier, to be established and published on a publicly available website (referred to as an “outage register”) that includes information about outages that have occurred, or have continued, on or after 31 March 2026.
Paragraph 6(1)(b) seeks to ensure the amended 2024 standard will require the outage register to be maintained to ensure information is included in the outage register about an outage as soon as practicable, and is kept up-to-date and accurate.
Paragraph 6(1)(b) intends to provide sufficient breadth for the ACMA to consult in detail with the impacted stakeholders and develop appropriate amendments to the 2024 standard that would see information included in the outage register as soon as practicable, while balancing both stakeholders’ ability to comply with the amended 2024 standard, and the criterion set out in subparagraph 6(1)(d)(iv) (that is, the presentation of accurate and up-to-date information about outages to the public).
Paragraph 6(1)(c) seeks to ensure the amended 2024 standard will require information to remain in the outage register for a reasonable period of time.
Paragraph 6(1)(d) seeks to ensure that the objectives set out in paragraphs 6(1)(a) to (c) are, to the extent technically practicable and appropriate, given effect to in a manner that reflects the criteria set out in subparagraphs 6(1)(d)(i) to (iv).
Subparagraph 6(1)(d)(i) identifies that the first criterion referred to in paragraph 6(1)(d) is the standardised presentation of outage information.
Subparagraph 6(1)(d)(ii) identifies that the second criterion referred to in paragraph 6(1)(d) is the presentation of information in a plain English and accessible format, including compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 and any replacement guidelines or other best practice regarding accessibility.
Subparagraph 6(1)(d)(iii) identifies that the third criterion referred to in paragraph 6(1)(d) is the publication in a manner that allows the information to be extracted by external entities (such as the Custodian or emergency services organisations) for analytical purposes.
Subparagraph 6(1)(d)(iv) identifies that the fourth criterion referred to in paragraph 6(1)(d) is the presentation of accurate and up-to-date information about outages to the public.
Paragraph 6(1)(e) seeks to ensure the amended 2024 standard includes a requirement that each carriage service provider who is not a carrier but who supplies a relevant carriage service ensures that, at all times on and after 30 June 2026, there is displayed on its publicly available website a link to the outage register published by the carrier for their service.
The note to subsection 6(1) informs the reader that objectives mentioned in this subsection are to be additional to, and not in substitution for, the objectives referred to in subsection 6(1) of the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages Industry Standards) Direction 2024.
Subsection 6(2) provides that the 2024 standard, as amended to give effect to the objective in subsection 6(1), must include a requirement for the outage register to display, at a minimum, the information specified in paragraphs 6(2)(a) to (f) about each outage, insofar as it is known by the carrier or carriage service provider.
Paragraphs 6(2)(a) to (f) specifies the information as: the date the outage commenced; the duration of the outage; the geographical areas impacted or likely to be impacted by the outage; to the extent technically practicable and appropriate, the types and respective numbers of carriage services impacted by the outage and the number of premises impacted by the outage; and if appropriate, the carrier or carriage service provider responsible for resolving the outage.
Paragraph 6(2)(d), which specifies the information as to the extent technically practicable and appropriate, the types and respective numbers of carriage services impacted by the outage, reflects that the objectives to be given effect to under subsection 6(1) will apply to all carriers, and where appropriate, carriage service providers (unless dealt with differently or exempted as permitted by subsection 5(3) of the Direction) who supply different types of carriage services over different types of networks, for example, mobile networks, fixed line networks or satellite networks.
Paragraph 6(2)(e), which specifies the information as to the extent technically practicable and appropriate, the number of premises impacted by the outage, reflects that some carriage services, for example, those delivered by a fixed line network, may terminate within a premises such that the carriage service can be accessed by an unknown number of people.
Stakeholder feedback collected during consultation acknowledged that there are limits to the ability of some carriers or carriage service providers to supply this information, either partially or entirely. The qualification “to the extent technically practicable and appropriate” intends to provide sufficient breadth for the ACMA to consult in detail with the impacted stakeholders, ascertain their respective capabilities to comply with the proposed requirements, and formulate amendments to the 2024 standard such the objectives of the Direction are satisfied, while acknowledging the practicalities associated with sourcing and providing such information.
The note to subsection 6(2) informs the reader that the content mentioned in this subsection is to be additional to, and not in substitution for, the content referred to in subsection 6(2) of the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages Industry Standards) Direction 2024.