It’s been yet another busy quarter in all things telco and internet policy; from holding our quarterly PPAP meeting, to our CEO and Senior Policy Officer presenting at various industry events on telco regulation and all the submissions we’ve made in between! And with the ACMA’s recent announcement to reject the TCP Code, we’re expecting more busy times ahead. Industry has been given 30 days to address ACMA’s concerns, and while we’re disappointed the last revision of the Code was not accepted, we are committed to continue working to develop an industry code that is practicable while also upholding consumer safeguards.
In September, Sophia gave a lightning talk at AusNOG to brief industry on the new Risk Management Program rules, which kicked off on 4 October this year! So, a reminder to all Members that if you are a carrier, or a CSP that has over 20,000 services in operation or provides services to the Commonwealth government, you need to develop your RMP. If you need help doing so, IAA has partnered with the WISPAU for Members to receive discounted RMP training which includes template materials. Contact us at policy@internet.asn.au if you would like to join. You can also access the presentation slide-deck on our website for a summary of the RMP and other critical infrastructure legislation obligations.
On the flipside, if your business has gone through the process of becoming ISO27001 compliant (or other cyber security framework), we’d love to hear from you! Compliance with a cyber security framework is a requirement under the SOCI regime.
Also, a reminder that many of the obligations under the Telco DFSV Standard will come into effect from 1 January 2026 for large providers with ≥30,000 SIOs, or 1 April 2026 for smaller providers with less than 30,000 SIOs. This includes having a DFV Policy, DFV Statement and conducting DFV training, all of which must be developed in consultation with DFV support organisations and a panel of victim-survivors or representatives of groups disproportionately affected by DFV. Smaller providers can rely on industry representatives to consult on their behalf. IAA is looking at doing this on behalf of our Members and will let you know further details in due course. If this is something you would be interested in, please let us know at policy@internet.asn.au. In the meantime, read this explainer article to help understand your obligations.
Narelle moderated a multistakeholder panel discussion at the auIGF 2025, talking all about trust in the sector! When we organised the session, we weren’t expecting a series of large-scale Triple Zero outages to occur, which led to a fiery discussion on regulatory ways forward for the telco sector. IAA is proud to have sponsored the auIGF again as a valuable forum for different stakeholders to discuss the future of internet governance. You can watch the session on YouTube.
Narelle then made her way to the CommsDay Wholesale Congress where she gave a speech on the speed and volume at which telco regulation is being introduced, and the need for an improved approach that doesn’t disproportionately affect smaller telcos. Similar sentiments were shared at a panel later the same day that also featured IAA Chair, and Leaptel CEO, Matt Enger.
As always, please get in touch to share any thoughts on any of the open consultations below and/or previous submissions as we really appreciate your feedback.
Completed submissions:
October 2025
Inquiry into Combatting Crime as a Service | Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement
September 2025
Review of the TOLA Bill | PJCIS
IAA’s submission to Horizon 2 of the Australian Cybersecurity Strategy
5 Pillars of Productivity Inquiries Interim Report | Productivity Commission
August 2025
Record Keeping Rules Review 2025 | ACCC
Public Inquiry into whether to vary the SBAS Access Determination | ACCC
Draft Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints) Record Keeping Rules Amendment 2025 (No. 1) | ACMA
