{"id":"F2024L01103","name":"Australian Communications and Media Authority (Emergency Call Service Determination) Direction 2024","slug":"australian-communications-and-media-authority-emergency-call-service-determination-direction-2024","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":442558,"registerId":"F2024L01103-fast-fetch-1775957532644","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Australian Communications and Media Authority (Emergency Call Service Determination) Direction 2024","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nAustralian Communications and Media Authority (Emergency Call Service Determination) Direction 2024\n\nI, Michelle Rowland, Minister for Communications, make the following direction.\n\nDated 21 August 2024\n\nMichelle Rowland\n\nMinister for Communications\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1  Name\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Definitions\n\n5  Direction to the ACMA\n\n6  Content of the Determination\n\n \n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Emergency Call Service Determination) Direction 2024.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This instrument commences the day after this instrument is registered.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under subsection 14(1) of the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005.\n\n4  Definitions\n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in section 7 of the Act, including the following:\n\n1.      ACMA;\n2.      carrier;\n3.      carriage service provider.\n\n\n \n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005.\n\ncarriage service has the same meaning as in the Telecommunications Act 1997.\n\ncontrolled facility has the same meaning as in the Telecommunications Act 1997.\n\nDetermination means the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2019.\n\nemergency call has the same meaning as in the Determination.\n\nemergency call person for 000 and 112 has the same meaning as in the Determination.\n\nemergency service organisation has the same meaning as in the Determination.\n\nfinancial hardship customer has the same meaning as in the Telecommunications (Financial Hardship) Industry Standard 2024.\n\npayment assistance policy has the same meaning as in the Telecommunications (Financial Hardship) Industry Standard 2024.\n\nprovider means a carrier or carriage service provider.\n\n5  Direction to the ACMA  \n\n1.     I direct the ACMA to amend the Determination in accordance with section 6 of this Direction.\n2.     The amendments to the Determination provided in subsection 6(1) of this Direction are to:\n\n\n1.     be determined by 30 April 2025; and\n2.     commence in full at the earliest practical opportunity and no later than 1 November 2025.\n\n\n1.     The amendments to the Determination provided for in subsection 6(2) of this Direction are to be determined and commence in full by 1 November 2024.\n\n\n6  Content of the Determination\n\n1.     The Determination be amended to:\n\n\n1.     impose clear requirements on providers, in relation to ensuring emergency calls are delivered to the emergency call person for 000 and 112, to:\n\n\n1.             wilt controlled facilities in the event they lose connectivity to a core network, to ensure emergency calls can be carried by other networks;\n2.             take all reasonable steps to ensure that, during an outage, the provider’s network or controlled facilities do not impede emergency call camp on functionality;\n3.             test that emergency calls originating on their network can be delivered to the emergency call person for 000 and 112, including when using the emergency call camp on functionality; and\n4.             configure networks to carry emergency calls originating on their network to the emergency call person for 000 and 112 regardless of the mobile phone used to initiate the call;\n\n\n1.     impose requirements on providers to share real time network information relating to outages with relevant emergency services organisations, the emergency call person for 000 and 112 and other appropriate entities;\n2.     impose requirements on providers to report to the ACMA and the Department the following information, within a specified timeframe after a major outage that affected the delivery of emergency calls to the emergency call person for 000 and 112:\n\n\n1.             the cause of the major outage;\n2.             steps taken to resolve the major outage;\n3.             the impact of the major outage on the delivery of emergency calls to the emergency call person for 000 and 112, including an estimate of the number of impacted end-users; and\n4.             a clear and detailed plan, with timeline, detailing steps that will be taken to rectify the issues identified as contributing to the outage and to avoid similar outages in the future;\n\n\n1.     include a comprehensive disruption protocol section, relating to actions that must be taken during and after a major outage that affects the delivery of emergency calls to the emergency call person for 000 and 112; and\n2.     include a requirement for providers to submit to the ACMA and other appropriate entities, within a specified timeframe in advance of any proposed changes to their operations or their networks that will impact the delivery of calls to the emergency call person for 000 and 112, a management plan that details the steps the provider will take to minimise any detrimental impacts of those changes on end-users.  \n\n\n1.     The Determination be amended to give effect to the following objectives:\n\n\n1.     carriage service providers be required to identify if the mobile phone of an end-user requesting the supply of carriage services from the provider is able to access the emergency call service using both:\n\n\n1.             the provider’s own network; and\n2.             the networks of other carriage service providers who provide carriage services to the public;\n\n\n1.     where an end-user’s mobile phone is unable to access the emergency call service using either the provider’s own network or the networks of other carriage service providers who provide carriage services to the public, the carriage service provider is:\n\n\n1.             to notify the end-user that the mobile phone is not able to access the emergency call service;\n2.             not to supply carriage services to the end-user in connection with that mobile phone;\n3.             to provide the end-user with information about alternative mobile phones available, including low cost or no cost mobile phones, which are able to access the emergency call service; and\n4.             to ensure the carriage service provider’s payment assistance policy includes avenues for financial hardship customers to receive assistance to obtain a low cost or no cost alternative mobile phone which is able to access the emergency call service;    \n\n\n1.     carriage service providers be required to use best endeavours to promptly identify if an end-user’s mobile phone to which carriage services are being provided is no longer able to access the emergency call service using either:\n\n\n1.             the provider’s own network, or\n2.             the networks of other carriage service providers who provide carriage services to the public;\n\n\n1.     where an end-user’s mobile phone is no longer able to access the emergency call service using either the provider’s own network, or the networks of other carriage service providers who provide carriage services to the public, the carriage service provider is to:\n\n\n1.             within a specified period, notify the end-user that the mobile phone is no longer able to access the emergency call service;\n2.             at the end of a specified period, cease supplying carriage services to the end-user in connection with that mobile phone;\n3.             provide the end-user with information about alternative mobile phones available, including low cost or no cost mobile phones, which are able to access the emergency call service; and\n4.             ensure the carriage service provider’s payment assistance policy includes avenues for financial assistance customers to receive assistance to obtain a low cost or no cost alternative mobile phone which is able to access the emergency call service; and\n\n\n1.     there be an exception to the objectives referred to in (2)(b)(ii) and (2)(d)(ii) where:\n\n\n1.             the mobile phone is being used by a foreign traveller in Australia who intends to remain in Australia for a period of time which is less than a specified period of time; and\n2.             the foreign traveller has been notified by the carriage service provider that the mobile phone is not able to access the emergency call service.\n\n\n1.     In amending the Determination, the ACMA may define any terms that it considers appropriate or necessary, including terms used in this direction but not defined in section 4.\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Direction stays within its original scope of regulating emergency call services. While it expands the 2019 Determination significantly with new outage reporting, network resilience, and consumer notification requirements, these additions are directly related to the core purpose of ensuring access to 000/112 emergency services. The expansion responds to recent events (major outages) but does not drift into unrelated policy areas."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple nested lists in section 6 creating hierarchical requirements (subsections 6(1) and 6(2) with multiple levels of (a), (b), (i), (ii) numbering)","Heavy reliance on external definitions — terms defined in three different instruments (ACMA Act 2005, Telecommunications Act 1997, and the 2019 Determination itself)","Conditional logic with exceptions (foreign traveller exception in section 6(2)(e))","Multiple compliance timelines (1 November 2024 for some amendments, 30 April 2025 determination deadline with 1 November 2025 commencement for others)","Technical telecommunications jargon requiring domain knowledge ('wilt controlled facilities', 'camp on functionality', 'core network')","Cross-referencing between this Direction and the Determination it amends (requires reading both instruments together to understand full effect)"],"plain_english_summary":"The Minister directs ACMA to tighten rules so telcos must keep emergency calls working during network failures (e.g., by allowing phones to connect to other networks), regularly test call paths, share real‑time outage info with emergency services, report major outages, notify affected customers and help them get working replacements, and submit plans before changes that could affect 000/112 access.\n\nIt affects carriers, customers (notably with older phones), and emergency services, and responds to past outages that blocked calls to 000."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This Direction expands the Determination’s operational and regulatory reach by adding network failover, testing, real‑time data sharing, mandatory post‑outage reporting and remediation plans, and customer‑screening/cessation obligations tied to handset emergency‑call capability (see s5(1); s6(1)–(2)). It also links provider payment‑assistance policies to obtaining alternative devices for affected customers and gives ACMA definitional discretion to implement these obligations (s6(1)(f); s6(3))."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple new technical and operational obligations for providers (network configuration, failover, testing, s6(1)(a)(i)–(iv))","Real‑time outage information sharing with emergency services and other entities (s6(1)(b))","Detailed post‑outage reporting requirements to ACMA and the Department, including causes, impacts, remediation plans and timelines (s6(1)(c)(i)–(iv))","Comprehensive disruption protocol and advance management plans for operational changes (s6(1)(d)–(e) & s6(1)(f))","Obligations to identify, notify and eventually cease service to mobile phones that cannot reach emergency calls, plus customer assistance and financial‑hardship linkage (s6(2)(a)–(f))","Exception for short‑term foreign travellers requiring implementation of identification and notification rules (s6(2)(g))","Hard statutory deadlines for ACMA to make amendments and commencement dates (s5(2)–(3))","Delegated definitional discretion to ACMA to shape scope and terms (s6(3))","Cross‑agency coordination (ACMA and the Department) increases implementation and reporting complexity (s6(1)(c), s5)"],"plain_english_summary":"This Direction instructs the ACMA to change the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination so carriers and carriage service providers must ensure 000/112 calls are delivered during outages, share real‑time outage data with emergency services, report major outage causes and remedies to ACMA and the Department, and screen or stop supplying service to mobile phones that cannot access emergency calls. It affects all providers and their customers: providers pay compliance and operational costs and must change network configuration, testing, reporting and customer‑assistance practices."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/australian-communications-and-media-authority-emergency-call-service-determination-direction-2024","history":"/api/acts/australian-communications-and-media-authority-emergency-call-service-determination-direction-2024/history","analysis":"/api/acts/australian-communications-and-media-authority-emergency-call-service-determination-direction-2024/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/australian-communications-and-media-authority-emergency-call-service-determination-direction-2024/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/australian-communications-and-media-authority-emergency-call-service-determination-direction-2024/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/australian-communications-and-media-authority-emergency-call-service-determination-direction-2024/documents"}}