{"id":"F2018L00505","name":"Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Regulations 2018","slug":"telecommunications-consumer-protection-and-service-standards-regulations-2018","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":439583,"registerId":"F2018L00505-fast-fetch-1775955554271","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Regulations 2018","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![](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nTelecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Regulations 2018\n\nI, General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Ret’d), Governor‑General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following regulations.\n\nDated 19 April 2018\n\nPeter Cosgrove\n\nGovernor‑General\n\nBy His Excellency’s Command\n\nMitch Fifield\n\nMinister for Communications\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Definitions\n\nPart 2—Policy objectives\n\n5 Policy objective—use of mainstream communication services by people who are deaf or have a hearing and/or speech impairment\n\n \n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Regulations 2018.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The day after this instrument is registered. 24 April 2018\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999.\n\n4  Definitions\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999.\n\nPart 2—Policy objectives\n\n \n\n5  Policy objective—use of mainstream communication services by people who are deaf or have a hearing and/or speech impairment\n\n (1) For the purposes of paragraph 13(1)(k) of the Act, a policy objective of Division 3 of Part 2 of the Act is to assist in, and promote, the use of mainstream communication services by people who:\n\n (a) are deaf; or\n\n (b) have a hearing and/or speech impairment.\n\n (2) In this section:\n\nmainstream communication service means a communication service that:\n\n (a) is for use by the general community; and\n\n (b) is a carriage service, or is supplied using a carriage service.\n\nNote: Some examples of mainstream communication services are email, instant messaging and video chat services, including such services used through mobile telephones, tablets and computers.\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument sets a declaratory policy objective under the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 and supplies a definition for 'mainstream communication service' (Reg 5). It contains commencement and authority clauses (Regs 1–4) but does not expand or narrow the Act's statutory powers or create new obligations beyond the Act; therefore the instrument does not change the original statutory scope."},"complexity_factors":["Very narrow substantive scope — Reg 5 is the sole policy provision, limited to a single objective.","Relies on the parent Act for operative force and enforcement (Regs 3 and cross‑reference to s13(1)(k) of the Act).","Simple definitions provided (Reg 4 and Reg 5 definition of 'mainstream communication service').","No detailed compliance, penalties or procedural rules in the instrument — implementation detail deferred to the Act and other instruments.","Limited administrative content (name, commencement table) reduces interpretive complexity but creates dependence on external documents for effect.","Potential interpretive ambiguity in terms like 'assist' and 'promote' because the regulation does not set measurable standards (Reg 5)."],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation declares a policy objective: to assist and promote use of mainstream communication services by people who are deaf or who have hearing and/or speech impairments (Reg 5). \"Mainstream communication service\" is defined as services for the general community that are carriage services or use carriage services (Reg 5).\n\nIt records commencement and authority under the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 (Regs 1–4). The instrument sets a guiding objective for regulators and service providers but does not itself create operational obligations."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose. It was made to specify a single policy objective under the parent Act (the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999), and it does exactly that — no more, no less. There is no evidence of scope creep or expansion beyond the original intent to support accessibility for people with hearing and speech impairments."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short instrument — only 5 sections total","Only 2 defined terms ('Act' and 'mainstream communication service')","No cross-references beyond a single reference to the parent Act (section 13(1)(k))","No conditional logic, exceptions, or procedural requirements","Single substantive provision (section 5) with straightforward declaratory purpose","No penalties, enforcement mechanisms, or compliance obligations directly imposed"],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations add an official objective to Australia’s telecommunications consumer protection law: to help people who are deaf or have hearing or speech impairments use mainstream communication services (email, messaging, video calls, SMS, etc.).  \n\nThat makes accessibility for these users a recognised policy goal for telcos, reinforcing inclusion by prioritising access to everyday communication tools rather than separate specialised services."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/telecommunications-consumer-protection-and-service-standards-regulations-2018","history":"/api/acts/telecommunications-consumer-protection-and-service-standards-regulations-2018/history","analysis":"/api/acts/telecommunications-consumer-protection-and-service-standards-regulations-2018/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/telecommunications-consumer-protection-and-service-standards-regulations-2018/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/telecommunications-consumer-protection-and-service-standards-regulations-2018/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/telecommunications-consumer-protection-and-service-standards-regulations-2018/documents"}}