Communications Alliance chief executive John Stanton welcomes the telco-related measures within the Omnibus Repeal Day (Autumn 2014) Bill, introduced into Federal Parliament.

John says the Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, Parliamentary Secretary Paul Fletcher, their advisers and Department had engaged effectively to date with industry to identify regulation that can be removed to the benefit of consumers and industry.

If passed, the repeal bill will remove most of Part 23 of the Telecommunications Act, dealing with standard form agreements. This move recognises that the requirements were made obsolete by the provisions of the revised Communications Alliance Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code, which came into force in 2012.

“We are also pleased with the streamlining of the requirements for carriage service providers to lodge access agreements with the ACCC, and with the newly created ability for Comms Alliance to amend Codes, rather than having to open them up for full revision,” John says.

He said priority was now being given to reaching agreement on a larger and more complex package of telco-related reforms which industry hoped to see included in the second repeal day, later in 2014.