EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Approved by the Australian Communications and Media Authority
Telecommunications (Numbering Charges) Act 1997
Telecommunications (Numbering Charges) (Allocation Charge) Amendment Determination 2017 (No. 1)
Authority
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) makes the Telecommunications (Numbering Charges) (Allocation Charge) Amendment Determination 2017 (No. 1) (the instrument) under subsection 13(1) of the Telecommunications (Numbering Charges) Act 1997 (the Numbering Charges Act) and in reliance on section 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (the AIA).
Subsection 13(1) of the Numbering Charges Act allows the ACMA to determine the amount of the allocation charge imposed on the allocation of a number by making a legislative instrument.
Subsection 33(3) of the AIA provides that where an Act confers a power to make a legislative instrument, the power shall be construed to include 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.
The instrument determines the amount of charge imposed on the allocation of numbers by the Numbering Charges Act.
Purpose and operation of the instrument
Since August 2015, the majority of the ACMA’s numbering allocation and administration functions have been provided under delegation by ZOAK Pty Ltd (Zoak). The delegated services are provided pursuant to a contract with Zoak.
In June 2015, the ACMA made the Telecommunications (Numbering Charges) (Allocation Charge) Determination 2015 (the Charges Determination), which set allocation charges for numbers in accordance with the Numbering Charges Act. The charges were intended to recover the cost of the provision of numbering services under the contract with Zoak. The Charges Determination set a flat-fee allocation charge of $19.50 for each number allocated under the Telecommunications Numbering Plan 2015, other than “geographic numbers” and “smartnumbers”[1]. The charge was calculated by dividing the annual recoverable contract value by the anticipated number of transactions per annum.
The ACMA regularly reviews its costs of providing numbering services under contract and has determined that an increase in the allocation charges set under the Charges Determination is required in order to recover the costs of these services.
Consequently, the ACMA has decided to increase the flat-fee allocation charge to $35.
A provision-by-provision description of the instrument is set out in the notes at Attachment A.
The instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003 (the LA).
Consultation
Before the instrument 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.
On 16 December 2016, the ACMA released a consultation paper which set out options to recoup the identified and anticipated under-recovery, as well as inviting any comments on future demand for numbers and models for cost recovery. The consultation paper was also published on the ACMA’s website and was provided to the ACMA’s Numbering Advisory Committee, which includes representatives from government, consumer organisations, the peak communications organisation (Communications Alliance) and telecommunications carriers and carriage services providers.
The ACMA received four written submissions in response to the consultation paper and all relevant issues were considered when making the instrument. The ACMA adopted the model for an increase to the flat-allocation charge per allocation transaction, which was supported by the majority of submitters who stated a preference.
Regulatory impact assessment
The Office of Best Practice Regulation has determined that the regulatory change effected by the instrument is minor or machinery in nature and has therefore verified that a Regulatory Impact Statement is not required (Exemption reference ID: 21587).
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 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 instrument
The Telecommunications (Numbering Charges) (Allocation Charge) Amendment Determination 2017 (No. 1) has been made by the ACMA to amend the amount of charge imposed on the allocation of numbers to carriage service providers under the Charges Determination made under the Numbering Charges Act.
Human rights implications
The ACMA has assessed whether the instrument 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 instrument and the nature of the applicable rights and freedoms, the ACMA has formed the view that the instrument does not engage any of those rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
The instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.
Attachment A
Notes to the Telecommunications (Numbering Charges) (Allocation Charge) Amendment Determination 2017 (No. 1)
Part 1–Preliminary
Section 1 Name
This section provides for the instrument to be cited as the Telecommunications (Numbering Charges) (Allocation Charge) Amendment Determination 2017 (No. 1).
Section 2 Commencement
Section 2 provides that the instrument commences on 1 April 2017.
Section 3 Authority
This section identifies the provision that authorises the making of the instrument, namely subsection 13(1) of the Telecommunications (Numbering Charges) Act 1997 (the Act).
Section 4 Amendments
This section gives effect to the amendments set out in Schedule 1.
Schedule 1 - Amendments
Item 1
This item amends table 1 in subsection 5(1) of the Charges Determination, so that the charge for the allocation of freephone and local rate numbers (other than smartnumbers) and premium rate numbers that are 6 or 8 digits long is $35.
The terms “freephone number”, “local rate number”, “premium rate number” and “smartnumber”, have the meanings given by the Telecommunications Numbering Plan 2015.
Item 2
This item amends table 2 in subsection 5(2) of the Charges Determination, so that the charge for the allocation of access codes, special services numbers, premium rate numbers that are 10 digits long, assigned, unallocated smartnumber and international signalling point codes and mobile network codes is $35.
The terms “access codes”, “assigned, unallocated smartnumber”, “special services numbers”, “premium rate number”, “international signalling point codes” and “mobile network codes” have the meanings given by the Telecommunications Numbering Plan 2015.
Item 3
This item amends the calculation in the Example test following table 2 in subsection 5(2) of the Charges Determination, so that the example provided reflects the new relevant charge of $35.
[1] These terms are defined in the Telecommunications Numbering Plan 2015.