Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025
Dr HAINES (Indi) (09:46): by leave—I move amendments (1) and (2) and (4) to (7) on the sheet revised on 7 September 2026, as circulated in my name, together: (1) Schedule 1, item 7, page 4 (after line 15), after the definition of designated mobile telecommunications service in subsection 5(2), insert: equitable basis, in relation to the availability of mobile coverage or a designated mobile telecommunications service, includes: (a) the affordability of the service for end-users; and (b) the ability of end-users to obtain and use the service, including the availability of compatible devices and service plans.
(2) Schedule 1, item 7, page 5 (after line 6), after the definition of primary universal outdoor mobile provider in subsection 5(2), insert: temporary disaster roaming means temporary access to a mobile telecommunications network other than the network ordinarily used for an end-user's service, provided to the end-user in an affected area during an emergency period to enable voice calls and short message service communications.
(4) Schedule 1, item 16, page 9 (line 25) to page 9 (line 27), omit subsection 12H(2), substitute: (2) A designated mobile telecommunications service is available outdoors at a location if the service is available in a manner that enables end-users to access and use the service in practice, including: (a) the technical capability of the service to be used at a location; and (b) the affordability of the service for end-users; and (c) the accessibility of the service, including the availability of compatible devices and service plans necessary to use the service.
(7) Schedule 1, item 16, page 18 (after line 5), after section 12R, insert: 12RA Temporary disaster roaming (1) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make rules requiring a primary universal outdoor mobile provider to provide temporary disaster roaming to end-users in an affected area during an emergency period. (2) Rules under subsection (1) may prescribe any or all of the following: (a) the definition of affected area and emergency period, including by reference to an instrument made under any other Act; (b) timeframes for temporary disaster roaming; (c) minimum service performance requirements for designated mobile telecommunications services supplied by means of temporary disaster roaming; (d) information-sharing and operational coordination between carriers and carriage service providers reasonably necessary to implement temporary disaster roaming; (e) wholesale arrangements reasonably necessary to implement temporary disaster roaming, including terms as to price, technical interfaces and dispute resolution; (f) record-keeping and reporting requirements.
(3) Rules made under subsection (1) may confer a power on the ACMA to make a legislative instrument in relation to technical, operational or performance matters for the purposes of this section. These amendments address three concerns about whether this bill delivers for regional Australians. The first is the fact that the terms 'reasonably available' and 'equitable access' aren't defined in the legislation.
I'm worried that, without a clear definition of these terms, commercial interests will be allowed to override the needs of consumers. This is because we know that direct-to-device technology is only available on the most recent smartphones, such as the iPhone 13 and beyond. Many Australians don't have one of these phones and simply cannot afford to upgrade.
This creates a real risk that less-well-off users will see less benefit or indeed no benefit from UOMO compared to those who can afford premium devices and premium plans. The bill's explanatory memorandum refers to consumers' choice not to buy an appropriate handset or plan. But for people in my community struggling with the cost of food, housing and health care, purchasing a $1,000 phone is not a choice.
Shifting responsibility onto consumers in this way is unfair. My concern is shared by ACCAN, which has warned that this open ended language will let telcos circumvent their obligations, and the National Farmers' Federation, which is worried about regional consumers being priced out. In fact, the NFF says: If the UOMO is to be truly universal, it must be accessible not only in terms of coverage, but also in terms of cost.
My amendments create definitions that capture not just whether a service is technically available but whether it's truly affordable and accessible to people who need it. They also allow the minister to make affordability standards that providers must comply with. Secondly, my amendments make sure performance benchmarks take into account timelines for fault rectification.
The best coverage in the world doesn't mean much when you're waiting for it to come back on after an outage. This is a significant issue for regional Australia. It's a significant issue for the many people I represent where faults take much longer to fix, on average, than in metropolitan areas.
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman has recommended that we do much better in this space, and part of that is ensuring there are clear standards to cover the restoration of reliable service following a fault. Finally, my amendments give the minister the power to make rules that require temporary disaster roaming during declared emergencies. I've spoken at length many times in this House about the crying need to have this.
Temporary disaster roaming is an overdue reform that has been recommended by inquiry after inquiry and is already operational in many other countries around the world. It ensures your phone will connect to any network that's available when you need to make a potentially life-saving call or access emergency warnings or information. I know that work is underway to implement temporary disaster roaming as an industry led initiative, but a hands-off approach isn't good enough for my electorate, where earlier this year bushfires destroyed hundreds of homes and left communities disconnected for prolonged periods, which put them at enormous risk.
This truly is too important to leave up to the telcos, so my amendment makes sure that the government can play its role. The UOMO bill promises better connectivity in Australia, but these amendments would make it stronger, fairer and more effective for the people who rely on it most. I'm disappointed that the government will not support my remaining amendments—unless, perhaps, they've changed their mind—but I'm encouraged by my ongoing engagement with the minister on these issues.
I know she takes these things seriously. I wish it would be written into the legislation to give us all the guarantees and comfort that we need, in particular, in rural and regional Australia. I understand that some of the things I've raised will be addressed in forthcoming standards and rules and I look forward to continuing to work with the minister to ensure that UOMO benefits everyone, no matter where they live or what they can afford.