063/05
27 May 2005

Priority Assistance Review—Helping the Seriously Ill Stay Connected

A review into Telstra’s priority assistance arrangements, designed to ensure people with serious illnesses have continuous access to a working home phone service, has found the service is working well and consumers are satisfied with Telstra’s performance, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan, said today.

Since May 2002, the Government has required Telstra (via a licence condition) to offer a priority assistance service to customers with a life-threatening medical condition. The arrangements require the highest level of service available for fault repair and service connection of a standard telephone service for people in this condition.

In 2004 the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) was asked to review the priority assistance arrangements to see if Telstra’s implementation of them was meeting the Government’s policy intent.

“The ACA’s review concludes that Telstra’s priority assistance arrangements are efficient and adequate and there is a high level of customer satisfaction with the provision of the service,” Senator Coonan said.

The ACA made 32 recommendations regarding Telstra’s priority assistance arrangements.

These include improvements to Telstra’s reporting procedures, streamlining of the application process, a recommendation to extend the time period before priority customers must renew their priority status (from one year to three years) and removing the need for customers to renew their priority status when they move house.

The ACA’s recommendations seek minor changes to build on the existing administrative and reporting arrangements so that priority assistance customers continue to receive an effective level of service.

“The Government has asked Telstra and the ACA to modify their reporting requirements to fulfil some of the recommendations of the review,” Senator Coonan said.

As part of its review, the ACA consulted with existing priority service customers, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, the Australian Communications Industry Forum and Telstra.

The ACA’s Priority Assistance Review Report is available at www.aca.gov.au.

The Government’s response to the Report is available under ‘Key Issues’ at www.dcita.gov.au/tel