Telecommunications (Service Provider Determinations) Regulations 1997

Telecommunications (Service Provider Determinations) Regulations 1997

Statutory Rules 1997 No. 377 as amended

made under the

Telecommunications Act 1997

This compilation was prepared on 12 April 2001
taking into account amendments up to SR 2001 No. 65

[Note: This Statutory Rule is repealed by SR 2001 No. 65]

Prepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting,
Attorney-General’s Department, Canberra

Contents

Page

Part 1 Preliminary

 1 Name of Regulations [see Note 1] 

 2 Purpose 

 3 Definitions 

Part 2 Pre‑paid carriage services

 4 Collecting information for selling a pre-paid carriage service — purchaser at point of sale             

 5 Verification and identity checks for selling a pre-paid carriage service — purchaser at point of sale             

 5A Collection of information, verification and identity checks — end-user after sale             

 5B Verification and identity checks 

 6 Records of information and identifying documents 

 7 Restriction for giving false information 

 8 Restriction at request of criminal law-enforcement agency 

 9 Telling users about the determination 

 10 Information in relation to the telecommunications industry 

Notes 

Part 1 Preliminary

1 Name of Regulations [see Note 1]

  These Regulations are the Telecommunications (Service Provider Determinations) Regulations 1997.

2 Purpose

 (1) Under subsection 99 (1) of the Act, the ACA may make a written service provider determination setting out rules that apply to service providers in relation to the supply of either or both of the following:

 (a) specified carriage services;

 (b) specified content services.

 (2) Under subsection 99 (3) of the Act, the ACA must not make a service provider determination unless it relates to a matter specified in the regulations or in section 346 of the Act.

 (3) These Regulations set out matters about which the ACA may make a service provider determination.

3 Definitions

  In these Regulations:

Act means the Telecommunications Act 1997.

activate, in relation to a pre-paid carriage service, means to enable the service to be used:

 (a) to make calls other than to the emergency call service or to the carriage service provider; and

 (b) to receive calls.

criminal law-enforcement agency has the same meaning as in section 282 of the Act.

end-user, of a pre-paid carriage service, means the person who uses the service to make calls.

pre-paid carriage service means a carriage service with the following characteristics:

 (a) it can only be supplied to a customer if the customer is issued with a public number to be used in connection with the supply of the service;

 (b) the customer must pay for the service before using it;

 (c) no service provider or other person gives the customer an account for the service after the customer has used it.

Note   The SIM card (Subscriber Identity Module) is an example of current technology that is used to supply a pre-paid carriage service.

public number means a number specified in the numbering plan as mentioned in subsection 455 (3) of the Act.

purchaser, of a pre-paid carriage service, means the person who pays for the service at the point of sale of the service.

senior officer, for a criminal law-enforcement agency, has the same meaning as in section 282 of the Act.

Part 2 Pre‑paid carriage services

4 Collecting information for selling a pre-paid carriage service — purchaser at point of sale

 (1) The ACA may make a determination about a service provider not supplying to a person (the purchaser) a pre‑paid carriage service, as a sale of the service, unless the service provider collects, at the point of sale, information from the purchaser.

 (2) However, the determination must not relate to a sale to the purchaser of a pre-paid carriage service associated with a public number if:

 (a) the requirements of the determination have been satisfied for a previous sale (if any) to the purchaser of the same kind of pre-paid carriage service for the public number; or

 (b) the requirements of the Telecommunications (Conditions for Allocation of Numbers) Determination 1997 have been satisfied for an allocation (if any) of the public number to the purchaser.

 (3) The determination may only mention information for collection if it is:

 (a) information about the purchaser that the service provider may be required to give a person or association in connection with the person’s or association’s fulfilment of the obligation to provide and maintain an integrated public number database; or

 (b) information about how many public numbers are currently issued to the purchaser for use in connection with the supply of the same kind of pre-paid carriage service as the service for sale; or

 (c) for a purchaser that is not an individual — information identifying the purchaser.

Example

Information that may be collected from a purchaser that is not an individual includes its Australian Business Number, Australian Company Number or Australian Registered Business Number.

5 Verification and identity checks for selling a pre-paid carriage service — purchaser at point of sale

 (1) The ACA may make a determination about a service provider not supplying to a person (the purchaser) a pre‑paid carriage service, as a sale of the service, unless the service provider conducts, at the point of sale, verification and identity checks on the purchaser.

 (2) However, the determination must not relate to a sale to the purchaser of a pre-paid carriage service associated with a public number if:

 (a) the requirements of the determination have been satisfied for a previous sale (if any) to the purchaser of the same kind of pre-paid carriage service for the public number; or

 (b) the requirements of the Telecommunications (Conditions for Allocation of Numbers) Determination 1997 have been satisfied for an allocation (if any) of the number to the purchaser.

5A Collection of information, verification and identity checks — end-user after sale

 (1) The ACA may make a determination that requires a service provider to do either or both of the following:

 (a) to collect information from an end-user after the sale of a pre-paid carriage service and before the service is activated;

 (b) to conduct verification and identity checks on the end-user after the sale of a pre-paid carriage service and before the service is activated. 

 (2) However, the determination must not relate to a sale of a pre-paid carriage service associated with a public number if:

 (a) the requirements of the determination have been satisfied in relation to the end-user for a previous sale (if any) of the same kind of pre-paid carriage service for the public number; or

 (b) the requirements of the Telecommunications (Conditions for Allocation of Numbers) Determination 1997 have been satisfied for an allocation (if any) of the public number to the end-user.

 (3) A determination under paragraph (1) (a) may only mention information for collection if it is:

 (a) information about the end-user that the service provider may be required to give a person or association in connection with the person’s or association’s fulfilment of the obligation to provide and maintain an integrated public number database; or

 (b) information about how many public numbers are currently issued to the end-user for use in connection with the supply of the same kind of pre-paid carriage service as the service sold; or

 (c) for an end-user that is not an individual — information identifying the end-user.

Example

Information that may be collected from an end-user that is not an individual includes its Australian Business Number, Australian Company Number or Australian Registered Business Number.

5B Verification and identity checks

  The verification and identity checks to be mentioned in a determination under regulation 5 or paragraph 5A (1) (b) may only differ on the basis of 1 or more of the following:

 (a) whether the person is issued with 5 or more public numbers used in connection with the supply of the same kind of pre-paid carriage service as the service for sale;

 (b) how the service is to be, or was, purchased;

 (c) whether the verification and identity checks are conducted at the point of sale or after the sale. 

Examples

1. If a person offers to buy a pre‑paid carriage service using a credit card or debit card, the service provider must:

(a) see a current credit card or debit card showing the person’s name and signature; or

(b) obtain from the person the number and expiry date of the credit card or debit card. 

2. If a person offers to buy a pre‑paid carriage service using a method of payment other than credit card or debit card, the service provider must see 1 or more of the following documents:

• a current licence or permit issued in the person’s name under a law of the Commonwealth, or a State or Territory

• a current passport issued in the person’s name

• a birth certificate issued in the person’s name, or a name the person has previously used

• a current credit card, debit card or ATM card showing the person’s name and signature

• a current Medicare card issued in the person’s name

• a statement of account for a fixed network telephone service, issued in the last year, showing the name and address used by the person for the purchase.

6 Records of information and identifying documents

 (1) The ACA may make a determination about a service provider keeping records of the information, mentioned in regulation 4 or paragraph 5A (1) (a), that a person offers the provider.

 (2) The ACA may make a determination about a service provider keeping records of documents, used for verification and identity checks mentioned in regulation 5 or paragraph 5A (1) (b), that a person offers the provider.

7 Restriction for giving false information

  The ACA may make a determination about a service provider not allowing a person to use a public number for a pre‑paid carriage service if the service provider knows that the person has given information, mentioned in a determination made for regulation 4, 5 or 5A, that is false or misleading in a material particular.

8 Restriction at request of criminal law-enforcement agency

 (1) The ACA may make a determination about a service provider not allowing a person to use a public number for a pre-paid carriage service if subregulations (2) and (3) are satisfied.

 (2) The service provider must:

 (a) have an incomplete record of information, about the person, mentioned in a determination made for regulation 4 or paragraph 5A (1) (a); or

 (b) suspect on reasonable grounds that its record of the information contains incorrect information.

 (3) The service provider must also have been asked in writing by a senior officer of a criminal law-enforcement agency not to allow the person to use the number because:

 (a) the officer has a suspicion on reasonable grounds that the person has used, or is likely to use, the service to engage in serious criminal conduct; and

 (b) the action is necessary for a purpose mentioned in subsection 313 (3) or 313 (4) of the Act.

9 Telling users about the determination

  The ACA may make a determination about service providers telling users of their pre‑paid carriage services of the effect of a determination made for regulation 4, 5, 5A, 7 or 8.

10 Information in relation to the telecommunications industry

  The ACA may make a determination that specifies:

 (a) information in relation to the telecommunications industry that a carriage service provider must publish or distribute; and

 (b) the method or way in which the carriage service provider must distribute or publish that information.

Notes to the Telecommunications (Service Provider Determinations) Regulations 1997

Note 1

The Telecommunications (Service Provider Determinations) Regulations 1997 (in force under the Telecommunications Act 1997) as shown in this compilation comprise Statutory Rules 1997 No. 377 amended as indicated in the Tables below.

Table of Statutory Rules

Table of Amendments