Consumer rights

This page contains information about your rights in relation to connecting a fixed telephone service, repairing faults and appointment keeping, and priority assistance in medical emergencies.

Information is also provided on reporting arrangements to monitor the quality of services supplied by telephone companies.

The Government considers that encouraging effective competition between as many service providers and carriers as possible is the best strategy for looking after the long-term interests of consumers and improving telecommunications services over time.

The Government has underpinned its competition framework with a range of consumer rights and a regulatory safety net that is among the tightest in the world. Consumer rights such as the Customer Service Guarantee, the Network Reliability Framework and the Universal Service Obligation allow telephone services to be made reasonably available to all individuals and organisations in Australia and ensure that services are provided quickly, reliably and are restored promptly following a service disruption.

Connecting the telephone
The supply of fixed telephone services, connection times and the legal obligations of telecommunications providers under the Universal Service Obligation.

Reliability and fault repair
Initiatives for improving the reliability and quality of telephone services, including the Customer Service Guarantee and the Network Reliability Framework.

Quality of service monitoring
Arrangements for monitoring and reporting of the performance of telecommunications providers.

Priority assistance for consumers with life threatening medical conditions
Consumers with certain life threatening medical conditions can get priority assistance when problems arise with their telephone services.

• Document ID: 3964 |
• Last modified: 6 February 2008, 12:28pm