IN CONSULTATION WITH THE ACMA REGARDING THE SCAM PREVENTION FRAMEWORK 

Background briefing 

You may be aware that the Australian government is currently undertaking significant regulatory activity aimed at reducing scams in the telecommunications space. Specifically, the government is seeking to regulate the sending of SMS messages that use Sender IDs (text messages that use alpha characters to identify the sender), as there has been a proliferation of scam activity in recent years using Sender IDs to impersonate legitimate government and commercial entities. Government legislation provides for the ACMA to regulate this activity, and as such, the ACMA is establishing a Sender ID registry​​​​​​. This activity is part of the government's overarching Scam Prevention Framework, which the ACMA also manages.

ADIA's commitment to public-sector collaboration 

These regulatory activities present both challenges and opportunities for ADIA members. The ACMA seeks to support the creation of a telecommunications ecosystem where scam activity targeting consumers and businesses is reduced, while facilitating the operation of legitimate commercial activities, such as those undertaken by ADIA members in the legitimate market and social research activities. 

• Recently, ADIA provided a submission to the public consultation process for the ACMA's Sender ID registry, which can be found here.
• The ACMA also invited ADIA to provide a confidential submission to its overarching Scam Prevention Framework.

In both cases, ADIA's position is to support the ACMA's creation of a telecommunications ecosystem that reduces consumer harms, while at the same time advocating for arrangements that allow our members to pursue their legitimate commercial interests in ways that minimise any costs borne by our members. Such arrangements may include, for instance, the creation and registration of an ADIA sender ID for use by our members, which may prove especially beneficial to smaller members who may only use sender IDs infrequently. We are maintaining regular engagement with the ACMA as its Scam Prevention Framework measures continue to be developed.

Additional regulatory changes  

Other government regulatory initiatives in progress that will impact our industry and operational environment include the Children's Online Privacy Code, which is being managed by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. ADIA will provide submissions for this initiative.