ACCC issues record-keeping rules in relation to its annual division 12 report

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued record-keeping rules (RKRs) today specifying information to be provided by telecommunications carriers and carriage service providers to the ACCC for its annual Division 12 report.

The Division 12 report provides estimates of changes in the prices paid by different classes of consumers for a range of fixed and mobile telecommunication services. The Trade Practices Act 1974 requires the ACCC to provide this report to the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts annually.

"The RKRs were issued following a public consultation process with carriers and carriage service providers who would be required to submit information under them", an ACCC Commissioner, Mr Ed Willett, said.

"Issue of these RKRs should ensure that reporting carriers and carriage service providers submit more timely and reliable information. This in turn should enhance the robustness and usefulness to stakeholders of the Division 12 report", Mr Willett said.

The RKRs will take effect immediately. Reporting carriers and carriage service providers will be required to make their first information submission by 30 September 2005, in relation to the 2004/05 financial year. Copies of the RKRs are available from the ACCC's website (see below).

Background

The ACCC is required by Part XIB, Division 12 of the Trade Practices Act to report annually to the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts on the prices paid by Australian consumers for telecommunications services.

The telecommunications services covered in the 2002-03 report include public switched telephone services (PSTN), which are fixed-line services, and mobile telephony services provided on the global system for mobiles (GSM) and code division multiple access (CDMA) networks. For PSTN services, the prices paid by residential, small business and other business consumers were monitored for basic access, local calls, national long distance calls, international calls and fixed-to-mobile calls. For mobile telephony services, prices paid for prepaid and post-paid services by very low, low, average, high and very high users of these services were analysed and reported on.

Future Division 12 reports are also likely to include indexes for Internet and 3G/WCDMA mobile services. The ACCC's power to issue RKRs emanates from s. 151 BU of the Act.