explanatory statement
Telecommunications Labelling (Customer Equipment and Customer Cabling) Amendment Notice 2005 (No. 1)
Issued by the Authority of the Australian Communications Authority
Legislative Provisions
This instrument is the Telecommunications Labelling (Customer Equipment and Customer Cabling) Amendment Notice 2005 (No. 1) (the Amendment Instrument). The Amendment Instrument amends the Telecommunications Labelling (Customer Equipment and Customer Cabling) Notice 2001 (the Labelling Notice).
Subsection 407 (1) of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (the Act) allows the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) to make a written instrument (the Labelling Notice) requiring any person who is a supplier (a manufacturer in Australia or an importer in Australia) to apply a label to specified items of customer equipment (CE) and customer cabling (CC) to indicate whether the item meets the requirements of the section 376 standards specified in the Labelling Notice.
Background
Part 21 of the Act establishes the scheme for technical regulation of telecommunications in Australia. The fundamental policy approach reflected in the scheme is to rely on industry self-regulation with the regulatory body empowered to intervene only where it is considered necessary for limited purposes relating to the maintenance of certain safeguards.
The telecommunications regulatory arrangement for CE and CC require each supplier to apply a compliance label to its product prior to supply to the market. Compliance is determined against technical standards made under section 376 of the Act and applied to particular items of CE and CC by the Labelling Notice.
A technical standard made under section 376 can only consist of such requirements as are necessary or convenient for:
- protecting the integrity of a telecommunications network or facility;
- protecting the health and safety of persons who are likely to be affected by the operation of the network or facility to which the equipment or cabling is connected;
- ensuring equipment can be used to give access to an emergency call service;
- ensuring interoperability of equipment with a network facility used to provided the standard telephone service; or
- achieving an objective specified in the regulations (no regulations have been made to date).
The applicable section 376 technical standards for each item of CE or CC, the level of testing required for each standard in order to demonstrate compliance (the compliance level) and, the labelling requirements including placement, type and form of the label, amongst other things, are specified in the Labelling Notice. The Labelling Notice also allows for the parallel operation of ‘old’ and ‘replacement’ standards, in the event that an existing (old) standard is amended or replaced. This parallel operation, known as the overlap period, allows suppliers of CE and CC to continue to use the ‘old’ standards for the duration of the overlap period assisting industry in the transition from one standard to the next. The overlap period is only implemented where the changes do not substantively affect integrity or safety of the telecommunications network.
The Labelling Notice and the appropriate section 376 technical standards are the major components of the telecommunications regulatory arrangements and help to ensure the integrity, safety and continued availability of telecommunications networks within Australia.
Purpose and Operation
This Amendment Instrument will make applicable two new technical standards made under section 376 of the Act which give effect to two replacement industry standards. It will also include a provision to cover items imported for use during significant events such as the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, and implement several minor changes related to improving the accuracy and consistency of the Labelling Notice.
The Amendment Instrument will have no effect on the implementation of the telecommunications compliance arrangements nor will it have any substantive effect on industry.
Impact and Effect
The incorporation of new standards into the Labelling Notice is part of the ongoing process to keep the telecommunications regulatory arrangement contemporary and adaptable. These standards are developed by the Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) and recommended to the ACA for adoption as mandatory standards under section 376 of the Act. The ACA works in close cooperation with ACIF and other industry partners to ensure the standards are relevant and within the heads of power of section 376 of the Act.
The Amendment Instrument also includes a provision so that items specifically imported for use during significant events such as the forthcoming Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games can be connected to a network or facility without a compliance label. There is a small amount of CE brought into Australia for use by international media representatives, participants and organisers during significant events. The equipment presents a very low level risk and can be effectively managed through the changes to the Labelling Notice proposed in this amendment. The equipment is authorised for connection to a network in Australia where the equipment is imported specifically for use in conjunction with a significant event and where the equipment is only connected at a specified locations with network manager consent.
Because a person who travels to Australia and carries goods into Australia is effectively an importer, this CE would usually have a requirement to go through the same regulatory processes, requiring compliance testing and labelling, as if the importer were intending to sell this equipment to the Australian Market. The amendment exempts equipment from the compliance and labelling requirements where that CE is imported for connection during the significant event.
The term significant event is introduced and defined in this amendment as an event listed on an ACA webpage developed specifically for the purposes of the ACA regulatory arrangements. The webpage details the event, its location(s) and other details such as the duration over which the event will be conducted. Only the Chair of the ACA can authorise that an event be identified as a special event for the purposes of this arrangement. The term significant event has been coined to extend the useability of this arrangement to other events where there is a significant international presence, such as the Grand Prix.
Provisions are included in the Amendment Instrument to fix a typographical error and a drafting error from the previous amendment. Provisions are also included to fix an industry identified inconsistency in the application of requirements in relation to Hybrid Fibre Cable (HFC) interface equipment.
Consultation
The Office of Regulation Review (ORR) has advised that the making of the Amendment Instrument does not impose a substantial additional regulatory burden on manufacturers and importers of CE and accordingly a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) is not required. The ORR RIS exception ID number is 6661.
Through ACIF’s public consultation processes on the technical standards, industry and consumer stakeholders have been consulted on the making of the technical standards and their subsequent incorporation in the Labelling Notice. The labelling exemptions for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games have been discussed at length with representatives from Telstra. Industry and consumer stakeholders fully support the changes and arrangements. Consequential amendments, regarding issues of accuracy and consistency, were not discussed with industry and consumers as they only arise as a result of the amendments to the Labelling Notice and have no effect on industry requirements or consumers.
Other Documents Incorporated in this Instrument by Reference
Schedule 1 of the Labelling Notice lists all the section 376 standards that are applicable standards under the Notice. This list incorporates the Standards by reference as it would not be practicable to individually annex each standard to the Labelling Notice itself.
Detailed Description of the Amendment Instrument
Details of the Amendment Instrument are in Attachment 1.
ATTACHMENT 1
Notes on the instrument
Section 1—Name of Notice
This section details the name of the notice as the Telecommunications Labelling (Customer Equipment and Customer Cabling) Amendment Notice 2005 (No. 1).
Section 2—Commencement
This section provides that the Notice commences on the day after it is registered.
Section 3—Amendment of Telecommunications Labelling (Customer Equipment and Customer Cabling) Notice 2001
This section introduces Schedule 1. Schedule 1 contains the amendments to the Telecommunications Labelling (Customer Equipment and Customer Cabling) Notice 2001.
Schedule 1—Amendments
Item [1] Subsection 4.6 (1)
This item corrects a typographical error by changing an “It” to an “If”.
Item [2] Subsection 4.7 (5), second occurring
This item corrects a drafting error from the last amendment by removing the second occurrence of a duplicated subsection.
Item [3] Paragraph 6.1 (4) (a)
This item replaces a reference to AS/ACIF S043.2-2003 with AS/ACIF S043.2-2005.
Item [4] Paragraph 6.1 (4) (c)
This item replaces a reference to AS/ACIF S043.2-2003 with AS/ACIF S043.2-2005.
Item [5] Section 6.1, note
This item removes a note which is no longer relevant.
Item [6] Schedule 1, Part 1
This item amends the table to indicate that the replacement standard for AS/ACIF S003-2001 is AS/ACIF S003-2005 and to insert AS/ACIF S003-2005 as a new standard.
Item [7] Schedule 1, Part 1
This item amends the table to indicate that the replacement standard for AS/ACIF S043.2-2003 is AS/ACIF S043.2-2005 and to insert AS/ACIF S043.2-2005 as a new standard.
Item [8] Schedule 1, Part 2
This item amends the applicable standards in categories A3 and A4 to introduce AS/ACIF S003-2005 as a replacement standard for AS/ACIF S003-2001.
Item [9] Schedule 1, Part 2
This item amends category A16 to withdraw it as a category of customer equipment to which applicable standards apply.
Item [10] Schedule 1, Part 2
This item amends category A50 to introduce AS/ACIF S043.2-2005 as a replacement standard for AS/ACIF S043.2-2003.
Item [11] Schedule 1, Part 2
This item corrects a drafting error from the previous amendment by amending category A52 to remove a reference to Note 22 in column 6 which is not applicable.
Item [12] Schedule 1, Part 2
This item amends category B29 to introduce AS/ACIF S003-2005 as a replacement standard for AS/ACIF S003-2001.
Item [13] Schedule 1, Part 2
This item amends category B31 to introduce AS/ACIF S003-2005 as a replacement standard for AS/ACIF S003-2001.
Item [14] Schedule 1, Note 1
This item inserts a reference to category A16 in Note 1 which refers to categories that have been withdrawn. It is consequential to item 9.
Item [15] Schedule 1, Note 3
This item inserts a reference to AS/ACIF S003-2005.
Item [16] Schedule 1, Note 20
This item changes Note 20 to the past tense.
Item [17] Schedule 2, clause 6
This item clarifies the meaning of the clause by inserting the word “solely” so that the exemption to labelling only applies to a set top box that is solely used to provide a subscription broadcasting service or a subscription narrowcasting service.
Item [18] Schedule 2, after clause 7
This item inserts a new clause 8 so that items specifically imported for use during significant events such as the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games can be connected to a network or facility without a compliance label. A list of significant events will be approved by the Chair of the ACA and will be accessible from the ACA’s website. Items imported for connection during a significant event will also be required to have a label applied by the Network Manager or a person importing the item will have obtained a letter from the Network Manager indicating consent to the item being connected to the network or a facility.
Item [19] Schedule 6, schedule reference
This item corrects a typographical error by correcting the reference from paragraph 6.1 (3) (b)) to (paragraph 6.1 (4) (b)).