Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages) Industry Standard Variation 2026 (No. 1)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Approved by the Australian Communications and Media Authority

Telecommunications Act 1997

Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages) Industry Standard Variation 2026 (No. 1)

Authority

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) has made the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages) Industry Standard Variation 2026 (No.1) (the Standard Variation) under subsection 125AA(1) of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (the Act) and subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (the AIA), and in accordance with sections 5 and 6 of the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages Industry Standard Amendment) Direction 2025 (the 2025 Direction).

The Minister for Communications (the Minister) has the power under subsection 125AA(4) of the Act to direct the ACMA to:

1.            determine a standard under subsection 125AA(1) of the Act that:
   1.           applies to participants in a specified section of the telecommunications industry; and
   2.           deals with one or more specified matters relating to the telecommunications activities of those participants; and
2.            do so within a specified period.

The 2025 Direction was given to the ACMA under subsection 125AA(4) of the Act and commenced on 13 December 2025. The 2025 Direction requires the ACMA to amend the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages) Industry Standard 2024 (the Standard) to create obligations on carriers to establish and publish a register of outages. The 2025 Direction requires the amendments to be made and commence in full no later than 31 March 2026, and for registers to be operational by 30 June 2026.

Section 6 of the 2025 Direction sets out additional objectives and content requirements. These include making the register publicly available, specifying the minimum information it must contain, ensuring information is presented in plain English and in an accessible format, and requiring publication in a form that allows end-users and the public to download the information for analytical purposes. The Standard Variation gives effect to these objectives and requirements.

The ACMA previously made the Standard in accordance with the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages Industry Standards) Direction 2024 (the 2024 Direction), addressing obligations relating to major outages and significant local outages. The Standard Variation introduces additional obligations required by the 2025 Direction.

Subsection 33(3) of the AIA provides that where an Act confers a power to make a legislative instrument, the power shall be construed as including a power exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions (if any) to repeal, rescind, revoke, amend or vary any such instrument.

Purpose and operation of the instrument

Purpose

The Standard Variation varies the Standard to require carriers to establish and publish a register containing information about major outages and significant local outages that affected the carrier’s telecommunications network that is used to supply relevant carriage services to end-users. The register must contain accurate historical information about major outages and significant local outages. Carriers must make the register publicly available from 30 June 2026, which is to include information about outages dating back to 31 March 2026 (see the definition of relevant outage in section 21).

The Standard Variation also introduces obligations on carriage service providers (CSPs) to ensure visibility of these registers. A CSP who uses a carrier’s telecommunications network to supply relevant carriage service to end-users must display a prominent link to the carrier’s outage register on the CSP’s website.

In broad terms, the variations are intended to:

• improve transparency and accessibility of information about resolved outages. The register is intended to be a historical record, not a source of real‑time or live outage information, which continues to be governed by Part 2 of the Standard;
• provide consistent and a standardised presentation of the minimum information required for each outage, supporting clearer public understanding;
• ensure the register is written in plain English and accessible, including for people with disability through conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 (WCAG 2.2 Guidelines);
• enable the public to download outage information to support situational awareness, coordination and post‑incident analysis.

The new Part 4 requirements do not replace the Part 2 obligations that require carriers and CSPs to provide notifications and updates during a major outage or a significant local outage.

Operation

Sections 1 to 4 of the Standard Variation set out the title of the instrument, its commencement date (31 March 2026), the authority for making the instrument, and specify that the variations to the Standard are set out in Schedule 1.

A provision-by-provision description of the Standard Variation is included at Attachment A.

The Standard Variation is a disallowable legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003 (the LA).

Documents incorporated by reference

The Standard Variation incorporates or refers to the following Acts and legislative instruments (including by adopting certain definitions). These documents are available free of charge on the Federal Register of Legislation (www.legislation.gov.au) and, for NSW legislation, the NSW legislation website (legislation.nsw.gov.au):

The Acts and the Directions listed above are incorporated as in force from time to time, in accordance with section 10 of the AIA, subsection 13(1) of the LA and section 589 of the Act.

The Standard Variation also incorporates the WCAG 2.2 Guidelines, published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) as in force or existing from time to time. The WCAG 2.2 Guidelines are widely used by industry and their incorporation under section 589 of the Act reduces regulatory burden and avoids repeated legislative amendment. The WCAG 2.2 Guidelines are freely available online from the World Wide Web Consortium’s website at www.w3.org.  

Public consultation

Before the Standard Variation was made, the ACMA was satisfied that consultation was undertaken to the extent appropriate and reasonably practicable, in accordance with section 17 of the LA and subsection 125AA(3), and sections 132-135 of the Act.

In accordance with these requirements, the ACMA undertook a public consultation process on the proposed variations to the Standard. The ACMA consulted with the Australian Telecommunications Alliance (being a body that represents the telecommunications industry), the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) (being a body representing the interests of consumers), industry stakeholders, consumer groups and the public.

Between 19 January and 18 February 2026, the ACMA released the draft proposed variations to the Standard (the Consultation Draft) and an accompanying consultation paper on its website. On 20 January 2026, and in accordance with subsection 132(1) of the Act, the ACMA also published a notice in The Australian newspaper (being a newspaper circulating nationally) advising that a draft variation instrument had been prepared and was available on the ACMA website and inviting submissions by 18 February 2026. The ACMA informed key stakeholders of the publication of the documents and invited interested persons to provide comments.

The consultation paper sought comment on key issues raised in the Consultation Draft and also invited general comments. The ACMA received 17 submissions from a range of stakeholders including the telecommunications industry, consumer advocates and government agencies.

All non-confidential submissions were published on the ACMA website prior to finalising the Standard Variation.

The submissions

The submissions provided a broad range of feedback on the draft proposed variations to the Standard and the ACMA considered all relevant issues raised by the submissions in the consultation process when making the Standard Variation.

Most submissions responded on the understanding that the public outage register would contain both live and historical information. Many comments, particularly those concerning update frequency, version history, and real‑time detail were based on this understanding.

After considering the submissions and feedback, the ACMA refined its policy position so that the register will operate only as a historical record, with all real‑time and operational notification obligations remaining in Part 2 of the Standard. This change directly addressed concerns from industry and emergency service organisations about duplication, accuracy, and possible user confusion.

As a result, several comments that were relevant to a combined live/historical register are no longer directly applicable. These will instead be considered as part of a broader review of the Standard to be undertaken by the ACMA.

Key issues raised and the ACMA’s response:

• Purpose and nature of the register (historical vs live)

Carriers and industry groups strongly opposed a live or mixed register model, submitting that it would duplicate Part 2 obligations, risk the publication of inaccurate or provisional information and confuse end‑users. Several carriers referred to the Telecommunications Service Provider (Network Outages Register) Determination 2025, which requires publication of information after an outage is resolved. In response, Part 4 requires carriers to establish and maintain a historical register of major outages and significant local outages. All real‑time communication obligations remain in Part 2 of the Standard. This avoids duplication, preserves clarity for end-users, and reduces the risk of inconsistent or premature outage information.

• Minimum content requirements

Stakeholders provided detailed feedback on the proposed minimum content requirements of the register. In response to these submissions, a number of refinements were made to improve feasibility, consistency, and clarity.

        Number of premises impacted by the outage

Many submissions noted that the number of impacted premises cannot be reliably determined for mobile services and wholesale networks, even with a “to the extent technically practicable” qualifier. The Standard now limits this requirement to premises supplied with a fixed‑line carriage service where that service has been impacted by the outage. If the information is not known, carriers are able to state in the register “information not available – no technical visibility”. The definition of fixed‑line carriage service is the same as in Part 8 of the Act.

        Reporting numbers of affected services by service type

Stakeholders raised concerns about the feasibility of determining the number of impacted services for each service type. The 2025 Direction requires reporting of “the types and respective numbers of carriage services impacted by” an outage to the extent technically practicable and appropriate. The Standard Variation retains this requirement but notes that a carrier is only required to report on this “to the extent technically practicable and relevant”. Schedule 1 sets out some alternative text where information cannot be determined.

        Entity responsible for resolving the outage

The Consultation Draft proposed that the register include the name of the entity responsible for resolving an outage. Stakeholders observed that CSPs often do not resolve outages and that responsibility may rest with other entities, such as utilities. The Standard Variation adopts the 2025 Direction’s wording, “if appropriate”, enabling carriers to identify the responsible entity only when it is appropriate to do so.

        Meaning of “resolved”

Submitters sought clarity about when an outage is considered to be “resolved”. The Standard Variation now makes clear that an outage is resolved when all relevant carriage services impacted by the outage have been restored. There may be circumstances where a carrier implements a temporary repair to the network where significant remediation work to enable a permanent fix is required (such as significant storm damage to towers or exchanges that may take several weeks or months to permanently repair). In these circumstances, if all end user services are restored and working using the temporary repair (and there are not further interruptions to the end-user's services), the outage could be considered resolved.

        Addition and refinement of the information about the cause

In response to feedback seeking clearer categorisation and consistency across carriers, the Standard Variation requires carriers to select from five potential ‘causes’ of an outage to be included in the register. The causes are: power interruption, equipment or system fault or failure, damage by a third party, other and unknown. This ensures a consistent level of cause information being included in the register while avoiding technical detail. A carrier is not required to include the cause of an outage if it has reasonable grounds to believe that disclosing that information could prejudice the security of its telecommunications or national security. The term national security has the same meaning as in the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018.

        Clarification of natural-event impacts

The Standard Variation requires carriers to indicate whether the cause of a major outage or significant local outage is attributable to a natural event or weather. This is intended to provide clearer and standardised reporting of outages arising from environmental causes.

        Clarification of “entry”

Some stakeholders sought clarity on whether an “entry” referred to the whole record or its component parts. The Standard Variation inserts a definition for the term entry which clarifies that the term entry is the entire record for a relevant outage (and not each individual data field). 

        Triple Zero impacts information

Some stakeholders suggested adding Triple Zero impact indicator and dependency‑impact flags. These matters go beyond the minimum content requirements set out in the 2025 Direction and will be considered in the broader review of the Standard which the ACMA intends to undertake.

• Accessibility and extractability

ACCAN and emergency management stakeholders supported explicit accessibility and extractability requirements. In response, the Standard Variation now requires that the published version of an outage register meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA Success Criteria and that outage information be made downloadable as a Comma Separated Values (CSV) format. The Standard Variation also requires that the download be presented with the information set out in Schedule 1. This is intended to facilitate consistent analysis of outage information contained in outage registers.

• Downstream carrier obligation

Some stakeholders suggested that downstream carriers should not be required to maintain their own register and should instead publish a link to a register, similar to obligation imposed on CSPs. After considering supply‑chain arrangements, the ACMA has decided that all carriers must maintain their own outage register. CSPs who are not carriers retain an obligation provide a link on the CSP’s website to an outage register.

• Carriers acting as CSPs (dual-role provider)

Some stakeholders, including major carriers, argued that carriers who also supply retail services should not be required to meet the CSP visibility obligation in section 26, on the basis that this duplicates their existing publication obligations as carriers. Consumer groups and emergency stakeholders supported applying the link requirement to these dual‑role providers to assist end‑users who may not know which network underlies their service. The 2025 Direction requires CSPs who are not carriers to display a link to an outage register, and the Standard Variation clarifies that the link must appear in a prominent position on webpages relating to network status or outages. A definition for website has been inserted which provides that, for the purposes of the Standard, a website means a website that is generally available to the public. This is consistent with the 2025 Direction which requires that the register be published on a publicly available website.

Broader matters raised outside the scope of this variation

Some stakeholders also provided feedback on broader structural elements of the Standard, such as the thresholds that determine major outages and significant local outages, the treatment of planned outages, and the interaction between outage classifications. The consultation paper noted that these matters were not within the scope of the variation and were raised to assist the ACMA’s broader review of the Standard to be undertaken. The ACMA has noted this feedback and will consider it as part of its later review.

Statement of compatibility with human rights

Subsection 9(1) of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 requires the rule-maker in relation to a legislative instrument to which section 42 (disallowance) of the LA applies to cause a statement of compatibility with human rights to be prepared in respect of that legislative instrument.

The statement of compatibility with human rights set out in Attachment B has been prepared to meet that requirement.

Attachment A

Notes to the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages) Industry Standard Variation 2026 (No. 1)

Section 1 Name

This section provides for the instrument to be cited as the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages) Industry Standard Variation 2026 (No.1) (the Standard Variation).

Section 2 Commencement

This section provides for the Standard Variation to commence on 31 March 2026.

Section 3 Authority

This section provides that the Standard Variation is made under subsection 125AA(1) of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (the Act) and in accordance with sections 5 and 6 of the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages Industry Standard Amendment) Direction 2025 (the 2025 Direction).

Section 4 Variations

This section provides that the Standard is varied as set out in the applicable items in Schedule 1.

Schedule 1 - Variations

Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages) Industry Standard 2024 (F2024L01447)

Item 1

This item repeals and replaces section 3 of the Standard to clarify that the Standard is made under subsection 125AA(1) of the Act and in accordance with the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages Industry Standards) Direction 2024 (the 2024 Direction) and the 2025 Direction.

Items 2 and 3

These items amend section 4 of the Standard so that section 4 refers to both the 2024 Direction and the 2025 Direction (see paragraphs 4(d) and (e)).

Item 4

This item removes the definition of Direction as the previous definition referred only to the 2024 Direction. The Variation Standard now refers to both the 2024 Direction and the 2025 Direction.

Item 5

This item inserts new definitions for 2024 Direction, 2025 Direction and fixed-line carriage service.

Item 6

This item inserts a note at the end of the definition of major outage to clarify that an end‑user is unable to establish and maintain a service when they cannot use the service in the way it is ordinarily able to be used.

The example in the note illustrates this for a standard telephone service, so that if an end‑user cannot make a call, including a call to an emergency service number, the end-user is unable to establish and maintain that service.

The note is also relevant to internet services. For these services, an end‑user is unable to establish and maintain the service where they are unable to send or receive data in the way the service is ordinarily used, rather than in circumstances involving normal speed degradation. The clarification supports consistent interpretation across different types of carriage services.

Item 7

This item inserts a definition for NSW Telco Authority.

Item 8

This item inserts a note at the end of the definition of relevant carriage service to clarify that this term  covers different types of carriage services including standard telephone services and other carriage services that are “emergency telephone services” within the meaning of the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2019. The outage‑related obligations in the Standard are intended to apply to these service types, and the note removes any ambiguity about the scope of the definition as it relates to services used to access emergency call services.

Item 9

This item amends the definition of relevant stakeholders to add the NSW Telco Authority as a relevant stakeholder for a major outage or significant local outages that affects New South Wales. Including the NSW Telco Authority reflects its role in emergency and public safety communications within New South Wales.

Item 10

This item inserts a note at the end of the definition of significant local outage, mirroring the clarification inserted for the definition of major outage in Item [6]. The note explains that an end‑user is unable to establish and maintain a relevant carriage service when they cannot use the service in the way it is ordinarily used, illustrated through the example of a standard telephone service.

As with Item [6], this clarification also informs the interpretation of internet services by indicating that the concept applies where an end‑user cannot send or receive data in the way the service is ordinarily used, rather than in circumstances involving ordinary degradation. The clarification promotes consistency across outage definitions.

Item 11

This item inserts definitions for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 and website.

The definition of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines supports the accessibility requirement in subsection 25(7) of the Standard, by identifying WCAG 2.2 as published by the World Wide Web Consortium, and allowing for successor guidelines. This supports consistent accessibility expectations across carrier outage registers. WCAG 2.2 can be accessed free of charge from the World Wide Web Consortium’s website at www.w3.org.

The definition of website clarifies that the publication and visibility obligations in subsections 25(3) and (4) and section 26 apply to websites that are generally available to the public. This promotes consistent interpretation of the publication obligations associated with the outage register and the prominent display of links to that register. It is also consistent with the 2025 Direction which requires registers to be established and published on a publicly available website.

Item 12

This item updates the note at the end of section 5 to adopt the meaning of the term standard telephone service from the Telecommunications Act 1997.

Item 13

This item inserts a new Part 4 (sections 20-27) to establish the outage register framework.

Part 4 – Outage Register

Section 20 – Application

This section specifies that Part 4 applies to:

• carriers whose telecommunications networks are used to supply relevant carriage services to end-users; and
• carriage service providers who supply relevant carriage service to end-users.

Under Part 4, carriers are responsible for establishing, maintaining and publishing an outage register (see section 22). Carriage service providers who are not carriers have obligations relating to the visibility of that register on or from their public‑facing websites (see section 26).

Section 21 – Definitions

This section defines key terms used in Part 4.

The term entry is defined to mean a record containing information about a relevant outage that has been entered on the outage register. This refers to the complete record for that outage, rather than to each separate and individual piece of information or update contained in the record.

Outage register is defined as the register established and maintained by a carrier under section 22.

Relevant outage, in relation to a carrier, means a major outage or significant local outage affecting the carrier’s telecommunications network that either commenced before, but continued beyond, 31 March 2026, or commenced on or after that date. Including these dates in the definition allows Part 4 to apply both to outages that have commenced but remain unresolved before 31 March 2026 and also to outages that commence on or after 31 March 2026.

Unique identifier is defined as an identifier that is assigned to a relevant outage, is unique to that outage and remains associated with the outage even if the entry is later rectified, removed or otherwise changed. The identifier is intended to be created by the carrier responsible for its outage register and to operate as a unique reference for each major outage or significant local outage that is contained in the carrier’s register. Carriers may generate this identifier for register‑keeping purposes, and there is no expectation that other internal incident or ticketing system identifiers also be disclosed. The requirement is directed at supporting continuity and traceability within each outage register.

Section 22 – Outage Register

Subsection 22(1) requires carriers to establish and maintain an outage register containing historical information about each relevant outage. Part 4 places the obligation to keep the register on carriers, who must maintain a record of the outages that fall within the definition of relevant outage.

Subsection 22(2) prescribes the minimum information to be included in the outage register for each relevant outage, to the extent known to the carrier. Carriers may include additional information. The information required is set out in paragraphs (a) to (m). For paragraph 22(2)(j), “attributable” includes circumstances where a natural event or weather is a materially contributing cause of the outage. For subparagraph 22(2)(i)(iv), “something else” should be entered as “other” in the register if the cause is not one of the causes listed in subparagraph 22(2)(i)(i), (ii), (iii) or (v). The register does not need to indicate what the “something else” cause is as the field is intended to be high-level only. A carrier may include additional information about the cause of an outage in the “Additional information” free-text field.

The qualifiers “to the extent that it is known by the carrier”, “to the extent technically practicable and relevant” and “if appropriate” recognise differences in network architecture, data visibility and supply chain roles, and are intended to avoid publication of incomplete or misleading information. They are intended to ensure proportionality and reflect operational feasibility while also preserving transparency. They are not intended to diminish the minimum information requirements. Rather, the qualifications apply only where a carrier genuinely lacks visibility of the information that would otherwise be expected to be available.

Subsection 22(3) requires carriers to include required information in the outage register no later than three days after the relevant outage is resolved.

Subsection 22(4) provides that a carrier is not required to include information about the cause or likely cause of a major outage or significant local outage as required under paragraph 22(2)(i) where it has reasonable grounds to believe that disclosing the information could compromise its telecommunications network security or national security (within the meaning of the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018). This qualification is similar to the limitation in subsection 13(3) of the Standard and preserves and aligns with existing safeguards by allowing carriers to withhold certain information where publication could create security risks.

Subsection 22(5) requires a carrier’s outage register to be operational at all times on and after 30 June 2026. This means the register must be publicly available (subject to ordinary website maintenance) and record historical outages from that date. Given the definition of relevant outage (which refers both to outages that have commenced but remain unresolved before 31 March 2026 and also to outages that commence on or after 31 March 2026) carriers are expected to have information for these outages entered in the register when it first becomes operational.  

Section 23 – Outage register must be kept up to date and accurate

Subsection 23(1) imposes a general obligation on a carrier to keep the information contained in its outage register up to date and accurate. Subsection 23(2) requires a carrier to rectify, within three days, any information in the outage register it becomes aware is out of date or inaccurate.

Section 24 – Entry about relevant outage must remain on outage register

This section requires that an entry about a relevant outage remain on the outage register for at least two years after the date on which the outage is resolved. The retention period supports the purpose of Part 4 as a historical record of outages by ensuring that information remains publicly available for a defined period to facilitate review, analysis and reference by end‑users and the public of outages affecting a carrier.

Section 25 – Other requirements for outage register

Subsection 25(1) requires each entry about a relevant outage to contain, at a minimum, all of the field categories set out in Column 1 of Schedule 1 and the corresponding information for that field category set out in Column 2, and to be expressed in plain English. Plain English refers to content that is clear and concise and avoids technical jargon where possible. A note clarifies that the entry may otherwise be presented in a manner the carrier considers appropriate. This means a carrier may present the information set out in Schedule 1 in any register layout or format it considers appropriate for presentation purposes on a public facing website, provided the information corresponds to, and can be clearly mapped to, the categories and corresponding information set out in Schedule 1.

Subsection 25(2) requires the outage register to be maintained by electronic means. Maintaining the register electronically supports accuracy and consistency and allows information to be updated efficiently. An electronic register also assists users who need to view or download historical outage information.

Subsection 25(3) requires that the outage register be published on the carrier’s website or, if the carrier does not operate a website, another carrier’s website or another website the carrier considers suitable for the purposes of inspection. The provision allows flexibility for carriers that do not maintain their own websites, while ensuring that the register remains publicly accessible.

Subsection 25(4) requires that the outage register, or a link to it, be displayed in a prominent position on a webpage that relates to network status or outages. For clarity, a prominent position refers to clear and readily visible placement on the primary network-status or outages page such that a reasonable user can locate the register or link without additional navigation. The provision does not prescribe the specific layout or design of the webpage, allowing carriers to determine placement within the context of their existing website structure, provided the register or link to the register is displayed prominently.

Subsection 25(5) requires that information in the register must be downloadable as a Comma Separated Values (CSV) file. Subsection 25(6) sets out the requirements for the format of the CSV file that must be made available for download. The CSV file must include all the field categories listed in Column 1 of Schedule 1, together with the information required for each field category in accordance with Column 2. Each field category must also be displayed as a horizontal column header, with corresponding information presented directly beneath the relevant header. This ensures that the downloadable CSV presents the outage information in a clear, standardised and machine-readable structure that aligns with the field categories and information set out in Schedule 1.

Subsection 25(7) requires that the published register must also satisfy the Level AA Success Criteria of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2). The Standard incorporates WCAG 2.2 by reference as in force or existing from time to time, in accordance with subsection 589(2) of the Act, which permits incorporation of external documents as in force or existing from time to time. These requirements promote accessibility for people with disability and others who rely on assistive technologies or specific content formats. The accompanying note identifies that the guidelines can be accessed from www.w3.org.

Section 26 – Carriage service provider’s obligation in relation to outage register

Section 26 applies to a carriage service provider that supplies relevant carriage services to end‑users but is not a carrier. It requires such a CSP to display, on and after 30 June 2026, in a prominent position on its website, a link to the outage register published by the carrier whose network the CSP uses to supply the relevant carriage services.

Section 27– Relationship with other requirements

This section clarifies that obligations in Part 4 are in addition to the other requirements in the Standard and do not replace or limit any requirements in other Parts.

Item 14

This item inserts Schedule 1 which specifies the field categories and the information to be included in each field to complete a register entry. The Schedule is deliberately prescriptive to support consistent, comparable and machine‑readable outage data across all carriers. The information descriptors in Column 2 set out what, and how, information should be entered into each field. This ensures that any downloaded CSV file contains consistent data that can be reliably analysed after download.

In addition to the title, unique identifier and outage type, the Schedule specifies:

• the start/end dates of a relevant outage (to be expressed as DD/MM/YYYY);
• the start/end times of a relevant outage (to be expressed in 24-hour format followed by the relevant time zone);
• the duration of the relevant outage measured from start to end and expressed in hours.minutes;
• the areas affected by the relevant outage, presented in separate fields by suburb/town, State/Territory and postcode;

• the types of service affected based on the list specified in Column 2, and number of each type of service affected where known. The options, which include FTTB, FTTC, FTTN, FTTP, HFC and Fixed Wireless, may be chosen where, for example, NBN Co or a Statutory Infrastructure Provider (SIP) is able to provide this level of specificity. It is also acceptable for NBN Co, a SIP or other carrier to select “Fixed broadband” if this is more appropriate;
• the number of premises supplied with a fixed‑line carriage service affected by the relevant outage (where known);

• the high‑level cause of the outage (power interruption / equipment or system fault or failure / damage by a third party / other / unknown). Carriers are expected to choose only one of these options;
• an indication of whether the high level cause was also attributable to a natural event or weather;
• the carrier or CSP responsible for resolution (where appropriate);
• any additional information the carrier considers relevant or useful. This field is optional and free-text. It may include, for example, further detail about the cause of the outage where ‘other’ has been selected, or brief context about unusual circumstances that are not otherwise captured by any other field;

• the date the entry was first published (expressed at DD/MM/YYYY); and
• the date the entry was last rectified, if relevant (expressed at DD/MM/YYYY). Carriers are not expected to include a detailed history in this field, and only need to include the date of the most recent rectification of the entry.

Where multiple values are recorded for certain fields (for example, suburbs/towns, States/Territories, postcodes or service types) the form specifies that the delimiter “;” is to be used between each of those values. In addition, in relation to the number of each type of service affected and the number of premises affected, the number should be expressed as a whole number and not include any decimals commas, or spaces.

Carriers are required to include in their register all of the information field categories listed in Column 1. A carrier may, however, present the information in the outage register on the public website in any layout or format it considers appropriate for presentation purposes, provided the information corresponds to, and can be clearly mapped to, the categories set out in Column 1 of Schedule 1 and the corresponding information in Column 2 of Schedule 1.

Consistent with subsection 25(6), the format of a downloadable CSV file of a carrier’s outage register is to be presented slightly differently to Schedule 1. Rather than have each of the items in Column 1 of Schedule 1 appearing in a new row, the CSV file must include all the field categories listed in Column 1 of Schedule 1 in a horizontal column header, with corresponding information (from Column 2 of Schedule 1) presented directly beneath the relevant header.

Attachment B

Statement of compatibility with human rights

Prepared by the Australian Communications and Media Authority under subsection 9(1) of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages) Industry Standard Variation 2026 (No.1)

Subsection 9(1) of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 requires the rule-maker in relation to a legislative instrument to which section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislation Act 2003 applies to cause a statement of compatibility with human rights to be prepared in respect of that legislative instrument.

The statement of compatibility set out below has been prepared to meet that requirement.

Overview of the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages) Industry Standard Variation 2026 (No.1)

The Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages) Industry Standard 2024 (the Standard) was made under subsection 125AA(1) of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (the Act). It was drafted to meet the requirements and objectives in section 5 and section 6 of the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages Industry Standards) Direction 2024 (the 2024 Direction).

In 2025, the ACMA received the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages Industry Standard Amendment) Direction 2025 (the 2025 Direction) which requires the ACMA to vary the Standard to create obligations relating to the establishment and publication of a register that contains information about major outages and significant local outages.

The Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages) Industry Standard Variation 2026 (No.1) (Standard Variation) requires carriers to establish, maintain and publish a public outage register that contains standardised historical information about major outages and significant local outage. CSPs that are not carriers must display a prominent link to a carrier’s register on their websites. The form of the register is set out in Schedule 1, and the information in a register must be made available in plain English, in an accessible format, and be downloadable in CSV format.

The purpose of the Standard Variation is to meet the objectives and requirements of the 2025 Direction. The Standard Variation meets these objectives by improving transparency, supporting public access to information about outages that affected telecommunications networks and ensure that this information is presented in a clear, accessible and standardised manner. 

Human rights implications

The ACMA has assessed whether the Standard Variation is compatible with human rights, being the rights and freedoms recognised or declared by the international instruments listed in subsection 3(1) of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 as they apply to Australia.

Having considered the likely impact of the Standard Variation and the nature of the applicable rights and freedoms, the ACMA has formed the view that the Standard Variation engages the same rights or freedoms as those identified for the Standard, including:

• The right to freedom of expression in Article 19(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which states:

2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.

• The following rights for persons with disabilities under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the CRPD):
  • to access, on an equal basis with others, information and communications (Article 9); and
  • the right to freedom of expression and opinion, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas on an equal basis with others and through all forms of communication of their choice (Article 21).

Right to freedom of expression

The ACMA considers that the Standard Variation promotes the right to seek and receive information by requiring carriers to publish standardised historical outage information in a publicly accessible format. The obligation enhances transparency and helps individuals and communities – including those in remote and regional areas that may be reliant on a single telecommunications network – understand the nature and scale of past outages that have affected the telecommunications services on which they rely.

The obligations imposed on carriers relate only to the publication of information about outages that have already occurred. These obligations do not restrict the ability of carriers, or any other person, to impart information, nor do they limit public access to alternative sources of information. Accordingly, the Standard Variation does not limit the right to freedom of expression. To the extent that it regulates the manner of publication, those requirements are reasonable, necessary and proportionate to the legitimate objective of improving access to important public information.

The ACMA considers that the Standard Variation promotes and enhances the right to freedom of expression by improving access to information relevant to the public’s use of telecommunications services.

Rights for persons with disabilities

The Standard Variation positively advances the rights of persons with disabilities by requiring outage registers to meet the Level AA Success Criteria of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2). This ensures that the historical outage information is accessible to people who use assistive technologies or have specific accessibility needs.

The requirement to publish the information in plain English and in downloadable CSV format further supports equal access by improving comprehensibility and enabling the use of adaptive tools. 

The obligations therefore enhance, rather than limit, the rights of persons with disabilities under Articles 9 and 21 of the CRPD.

Conclusion

The Standard Variation is compatible with human rights, including the right to freedom of expression and the rights of persons with disabilities. These rights are positively engaged by requiring carriers and CSPs to publish and make available standardised, accessible and easily understood information about major outages and significant local outages.