ACMA proposes more payment choice and mobile coverage remedies for small businesses

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) wants telcos to give qualifying small businesses at least two fee-free ways to pay their bills, including one the customer starts themselves. For a bookkeeper whose provider offers direct debit as its only free option, that would put a useful choice back on the accounts desk.

The regulator’s 29 September announcement introduces a draft Telecommunications (Consumer Protections) Industry Standard. It would replace the existing industry-developed code with directly enforceable rules covering selling, payments, disconnections and remedies.

It is still a proposal. The draft uses a placeholder for its commencement date. The payment flexibility and mobile coverage exit described here are proposed protections, so businesses shouldn’t treat them as new rights available today.

There is a decision to make now, though. ACMA is taking submissions until 5pm AEDT on Tuesday 10 November 2026. Our time-zone conversion puts that at 2pm in Perth on the same day.

The A$40,000 test matters more than headcount

The draft’s business coverage turns on the purchase and contract, rather than a staff limit.

Under section 5, a business would qualify when it buys, or may buy, telecommunications products other than for resale and, when entering the contract:

• it has no genuine and reasonable opportunity to negotiate the contract terms; and
• its annual spend with that provider is no greater than A$40,000, or the provider reasonably estimates it will be within that amount.

That makes the contract terms and provider-level spending the useful starting points for an owner checking the proposal. Count the annual spend with the provider, rather than looking only at the monthly price of one handset. A business’s size alone doesn’t establish coverage.

A free manual payment option, with more room to move debit dates

ACMA’s consultation paper says the current code requires at least one free payment method, often direct debit. It doesn’t require the same flexibility over debit dates.

Section 86 of the draft would require at least two fee-free methods. One must be manual, meaning the customer initiates the payment. The definition allows in-person, telephone, electronic or mail payments; it doesn’t prescribe all four.

The draft uses fee-free to mean freedom from the provider’s payment-processing charges. It doesn’t include late-payment fees. A choice of payment method would therefore leave the due date worth checking.

For direct debit, section 87 would require the provider and customer to agree on the initial and recurring payment dates. Customers would also be able to change the recurring date free of charge at least once every six months and defer a debit by up to 10 business days.

On our reading, that would give the person managing cash flow more room to line up the telco payment with incoming money. It changes the timing and method of payment, rather than reducing the bill. An owner responding to the consultation can explain whether those choices would solve a real problem in their accounts routine.

Poor mobile coverage would have a defined exit route

The proposed coverage remedy has a short clock. Section 46 would apply when a customer asks to terminate within 20 business days after purchasing a mobile service because coverage doesn’t meet their reasonable expectations.

The provider would have to end the contract without an early-exit fee. For associated telecommunications goods, the customer could choose to keep paying on the same terms and schedule, or return the goods in good working order for a full refund. Packaging wouldn’t have to be returned.

A repeat request made less than six months after a previous request under that section would be treated differently. The provider could provide the remedy or assess whether the request was made in good faith. That assessment could involve reasonable evidence of experienced coverage and the coverage information available before sale. A good-faith request would still receive the remedy; otherwise, the provider would have to notify the customer of its decision.

ACMA says the current code has no specific remedy for mobile coverage falling short of reasonable expectations. That is a criticism of the code’s provisions, rather than a statement that customers have no protections under other law.

Put the business experience into the submission

Our recommendation is to describe the practical snag: the payment option that costs extra, the debit date that can’t move, or the gap between expected and experienced mobile coverage. Explain which proposed provision addresses it and what remains unresolved.

The consultation page accepts uploaded submissions. ACMA prefers PDF, Word or Rich Text Format. Check confidentiality before uploading: it says submissions, including names and contact details, will be published unless confidentiality is claimed and accepted. Its publication policy asks submitters to identify the confidential material and explain the claim in writing. Even accepted confidential material can be released where the law requires or authorises it.

Keep this consultation separate from ACMA’s SMS Sender ID Register rules, which concern branded customer texts. In our rules and costs section, the date to act on here is the submission deadline. The proposed standard’s start date is still unsettled.

Checklist

• Check eligibility with the owner and bookkeeper. Compare the business’s non-resale purchases, opportunity to negotiate contract terms and annual spend with each provider against the draft’s A$40,000 limit.
• Record the payment or coverage problem. Have the person managing the telco account describe the experience and the proposed provision that would address it.
• Prepare a submission for ACMA. Explain the practical effect on the business in a PDF, Word or Rich Text Format document.
• Review identifying details before uploading. Identify confidential material and explain the claim in writing. ACMA must accept the claim; release required or authorised by law remains possible.
• Upload the submission by 10 November 2026. Use ACMA’s consultation page before 5pm AEDT, which we calculate as 2pm Perth time.