IAA Newsletters
We proudly sponsored the NetThing event this year and hosted a round table, Internet as an Essential Service. Alongside representatives from across the internet industry, civil society and government, we discussed the nature and implications of the internet as an essential service.
The discussion began with participants unpacking the definition of ‘essential service’, with various understandings raised, including a minimum level of guaranteed connectivity, specific data service obligations for internet providers and retailers and consumer safeguard provisions. We then discussed the necessity of broadband services for Australians today, especially in a post-COVID-19 world, and the wider implications for ISPs and RSPs. Overall, it was noted that the definition of essential services varies, and varies from state to state, which in turn changes the conversation, both for industry obligations and consumer rights.
As the roundtable ended, participants shared their perspectives on the importance of regulation throughout this process, especially when addressing market failures and facilitating equity.
We would like to thank all who watched our round table and would like to further extend our thanks to the incredible participants. Your knowledge and insights made the round table constructive, meaningful and interesting.
If you missed out, please head over to the NetThing YouTube channel to catch up. Feel free to jump forward to 2 hours and 30 minutes to our session. Enjoy!
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Earlier this month, some of our Admin Team attended the Women in Technology WA (WiTWA) Tech [+] Conference. The event drew a large crowd of women eager to create change for women in the tech industry. They enjoyed the variety of inspiring, motivating and enthusiastic speakers and even had the opportunity to engage in an interactive Lego play session! Starting with a beautiful welcome to country, the day was broken into three parts: digital transformation and disruption, how women will change the tech future, and IQ, EQ and Adversity Quotient.
Thank you, WiTWA, for having us; we look forward to your next fantastic event!
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We would like to express our thanks and appreciation to David Hooton for his service to our Board as Chair over the past two years. As the Chair, he has helped the association achieve many things, including the transition to a company limited by guarantee.
We are pleased to inform members that David will continue to serve on the Board as a nominee of corporate member, Field Solutions. We are very fortunate to have him remain on the Board!
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Another virtual AGM this year kicked off with Matthew Enger’s Acknowledgement of Country. The Chair, David Hooton, officially opened the meeting just after 5pm AEDT acknowledging the previous AGM minutes, thanking the staff and the Board for all their hard work and extending a special thanks to Matthew McDonough and Washif Ahmed for their service to the Association.
Deputy Chair, Matthew Enger, provided a quick report of the audited financials and the motion that Crunch Auditing be adopted as the IAA auditors for FY 21-22 passed.
CEO, Narelle Clark, provided an update from the operational staff that looked back over the past year. The report was a testament to what a busy year it has been, providing insights drawn from our IX statistics and finishing off with thoughts for the future.
Returning Officer, Kitty Hibble, announced the nominees and election results for the Board Election, with both Daryl Collins and Richard Thompson being elected for three-year terms and Nate Garr a one-year term.
If you would like to view any of the documents contained in our AGM pack, including our beautiful Annual Report, please head over to our website.
We would like to thank all the members who voted in the election and attended the meeting. We hope to see you at the next AGM, who knows, and it may even be in person!
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We would like to remind members that our network change embargo period is from 22nd December 2021 through to 10th January 2022 inclusive. During this time, we will not be provisioning any new services or changing any existing services. Rest assured, support staff will be on call to deal with urgent issues or network emergencies should they arise.
If you have any orders or change requests, please submit them by 10th December 2021.
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It was with much sadness that our team farewelled Washif Ahmed, who joined Ausgrid as a Network Engineer. Washif joined us in 2019 and has been an asset to our technical team right from the outset. His caring and kind nature, fantastic work ethic, knowledge, skills and abilities and funny memes will be greatly missed. We wish him all the best with his future career.
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Privacy Act Review | Attorney General’s Department | 10 January 2021
The AGD is consulting on proposals for reform and questions on the Privacy Act 1988 Discussion Paper. This will focus on aspects including on the scope and application of the Privacy Act, whether a statutory tort should be introduced for privacy invasions, the effectiveness of enforcement powers and mechanisms under the Privacy Act and the feasibility of an independent certification scheme to monitor compliance.
Superfast Broadband Access Service Access (SBAS) Determination Inquiry Discussion Paper | ACCC | 10 December 2021
The ACCC is in the process of confirming a final access determination for SBAS, following which a provider needs to ensure access to a declared service on the request of an access seeker. The inquiry will consult on price and non-price terms and conditions of access to the service, whether the Regional Broadband Levy should be absorbed by SBAS providers or passed onto RSPs and users and whether network providers should disclose network service quality and reliability indicators to RSPs. It also inquires about exemptions from the access determination applying to small scale operators (with less than 12,000 end users) and competition-based exemptions.
Consumer Data Right – Telecommunications Draft Designation Instrument | Treasury | 13 December 2021
The Treasury is seeking feedback on the Draft Designation, which outlines the datasets and data holders to be covered by the CDR.
Telecommunications Service Provider (Customer Identity Verification) (CIV) Determination 2021 | ACMA | 15 December
The CIV Determination imposes carriage service providers (CSPs) to introduce two-factor authentication for all customer interactions at high-risk of fraud. Although Communications Alliance released a Code covering similar ground earlier, this Determination is more specific on definitions (of high-risk interaction) and the process for identity verification. It also requires CSPs to collect information to show their compliance.
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NBN SIO Record Keeping Rules | ACCC
IAA responded to the ACCC’s Proposed Changes to the NBN Services in Operation Record Keeping and Reporting Rules (NBN SIO RKR) Consultation Paper. We conveyed our support for the publishing of high-level CVC overage and utilisation data, but opposed the publication of data disaggregated by access seekers as this should be considered confidential information. We also supported reporting metrics include NBN Co performance against service levels and performance objectives.
Basic Online Safety Expectations (BOSE) | Department of Communications
In collaboration with 10 associations, IAA made a submission to the Basic Online Safety Expectations. Here, we raised our concerns about the extensive and vague nature of the scope of services discussed, which in its current form could incorporate website, app or communication services accessible to Australian users. We also raised the potential impact BOSE could have on over-cautious censorship and surveillance.