Chapter 1


Chapter 1

Introduction

Conduct of the inquiry

1.1        On 28 February 2013 the Senate referred the feasibility of a prohibition on charging fees for an unlisted number service to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee for inquiry and report by 15 May 2013.

1.2        The terms of reference for the inquiry were:

The feasibility of a prohibition on the charging of fees for an unlisted (silent) number service, with particular reference to:

a) recommendation no. 72–17 contained in report no. 108 of the Australian Law Reform Commission on Australian privacy law and practice;

b) whether the payment of a fee unduly inhibits the privacy of telephone subscribers;

c) the likely economic, social and public interest impact for consumers and businesses, carriage service providers and the White Pages directory producer, if the charging of fees for unlisted (silent) number services was prohibited;

d) the implications of such prohibition for the efficacy of the national public number directory; and

e) any other relevant matters.[1]

1.3        In accordance with usual practice, the committee advertised the inquiry on its website and wrote to relevant organisations inviting submissions by 28 March 2013.

1.4        The committee received 19 submissions (for a list of submissions see Appendix 1).

1.5        Based on the high quality evidence in the written submissions, the committee resolved to prepare its report without holding a public hearing.

1.6        The committee would like to thank all individuals and organisations that contributed to this inquiry.

Unlisted or silent numbers

1.7        The Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth) provides that an unlisted number cannot be disclosed except in specified contexts. The Act however is silent on whether a fee can be charged for an unlisted number. The Carrier Licence Conditions (Telstra Corporation Limited) Declaration defines an unlisted number as a public number that is one of the following kinds:

  • a mobile number, unless the customer and the carriage service provider that provides the mobile service to the customer agree that the number will be listed;
  • a geographic number that the customer and the carriage service provider that provides services for originating or terminating carriage services to the customer agree will not be included in the directory;
  • the number of a public payphone; or
  • a number that, when dialled, gives access to a private telephone exchange extension that the customer has requested not be included in the directory.[2]

1.8        Mobile phone numbers are unlisted by default, without any fee imposed on customers.[3]

Integrated Public Number Database

1.9        Telstra’s carrier licence requires it to provide and maintain an Integrated Public Number Database (IPND). The IPND was established in 1998 and is a database of all listed and unlisted telephone numbers and associated customer data: the name and address of the customer, the customer’s service location, the name of the carriage service provider, and whether the telephone is to be used for government, business, charitable or private purposes.[4]

1.10      All telecommunications customers must provide required information to their telecommunications provider in order to receive service. In turn, telecommunications providers must provide required information to Telstra to maintain the IPND.

1.11      The data in the IPND may only be accessed for approved purposes as specified in Telstra's Carrier Licence Conditions, or as allowed by Part 13 of the Telecommunications Act 1997.[5] These are:

  • the operation of the emergency call service or assisting emergency services;
  • assisting enforcement agencies or safeguarding national security;
  • providing directory assistance services;
  • providing operator services or operator assistance services;
  • the publication and maintenance of public number directories;
  • providing location dependent carriage services;
  • the provision of telephony-based emergency warning systems;
  • undertaking approved research; and
  • assisting the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to verify the accuracy and completeness of information held in the IPND.[6]

1.12      When consumers provide their information to their telecommunications provider they can indicate their IPND display preference. The options are:

  • Listed Entry—details will be published in public number directories both hard copy and online;
  • Unlisted Entry—details will not be published in hard copy or on-line directories. Operator assisted services will have visibility of a flag, indicating that the information is unlisted;
  • Suppressed Address Entry—details of the name and relevant phone number will appear but the relevant address will not.

1.13      ACMA has a compliance monitoring and enforcement role in relation to the IPND.[7]

Review of the IPND

1.14      On 14 November 2011 the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy announced a review of the IPND.[8] The review is to examine and report on the effectiveness and utility of the IPND, the ability of the IPND to innovate and keep pace with technological and market changes and the privacy implications of the IPND. The inquiry has received 25 submissions and released a discussion paper.[9]

1.15      A final report has not yet been made publicly available.

Public number directories

1.16      The data contained in the IPND may be used for the publication and maintenance of public number directories.[10] The ACMA has responsibility for making and administrating rules governing who can access the IPND for the purposes of producing public number directories.[11] The Australian Communications Industry Forum has also developed an industry code of practice to govern the use of data contained within the IPND.[12]

1.17      Any entries listed in the IPND as an Unlisted Entry or a Suppressed Address Entry will not have their details published in hard copy or online directories, nor made available through directory related services.

White Pages

1.18      As part of its Carrier Licence Conditions, Telstra is required to produce an alphabetical public number directory annually—the White Pages.[13] The White Pages is to be made available free of charge to Telstra's own customers and the customers of other carriage service providers.[14]

1.19      Unlike other directory producers, who use output from the IPND to compile their products, Telstra's directory arm Sensis compiles the White Pages from substantially identical data supplied under commercial arrangements Telstra makes with individual telecommunication providers.

1.20      As part of its publication of the White Pages Telstra provides a commercial unlisting service called Silent Line which consists of directory unlisting and Calling Line Identification (CLI) Line Block (preventing a caller's number from being displayed to the other party before, during or after a call).[15]

1.21      Telstra's current fee for Silent Line is $2.93 per month (including GST).[16] The fee has remained unchanged since 1996, with the exception of the introduction of GST.[17]

1.22      For customers who are not with Telstra, their reseller telecommunication service provider is billed for the Silent Line service. The telecommunication service provider may then choose to pass the cost on to their customers at prices they determine.[18] According to data supplied by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), the current fees charged by telecommunications operators for the Silent Line service are:

Table 1: Fees for Telstra's Silent Line service[19]

Telecommunications Provider

Fee

Telstra

$2.93 per month

Optus

$0.00 per month

Internode

$4.00 per month

iPrimus

$3.50 per month

iiNet

$2.93 per month

Spintel

$2.95 per month

ACN

$2.93 per month

1.23      On 26 February 2013 Telstra announced that from May 2013 it would introduce a formal program to waive the fee for a silent line for customers whose personal safety is at risk.[20]

Australian Law Reform Commission Report

1.24      In August 2008, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) tabled its report: For Your Information: Australian Privacy Law and Practice.[21] During this comprehensive inquiry over 28 months, the ALRC considered the extent to which the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988 and related laws provided an effective framework for the protection of privacy in Australia.

1.25      This inquiry delivered a three volume report containing 295 recommendations for reform. The central theme of the report was that '...as a recognised human right, privacy protection generally should take precedence over a range of other countervailing interests, such as cost and convenience.'[22]

1.26      The inquiry considered the issue of whether charging a consumer a fee for maintaining an unlisted telephone number provided an appropriate level of privacy protection.

While telecommunications legislation provides for unlisted or silent telephone numbers, it does not prohibit the charging of a fee to an individual who requests that his or her number not be listed in a public directory. The charging of a fee limits the ability of individuals—particularly those on low incomes—to control the use and disclosure of their personal information. The ALRC recommends that the charging of a fee for an unlisted (silent) number on a public number directory be prohibited by law.[23]

1.27      A number of submitters to the ALRC inquiry noted that making it easy and without a cost imposition would benefit victims of family and domestic violence that would benefit from using an unlisted number to reduce the risk of being contacted by a perpetrator.[24]

1.28      In Recommendation 72–17, the ALRC recommended that:

The Telecommunications Act 1997 should be amended to prohibit the charging of a fee for an unlisted (silent) number on a public number directory.[25]

Committee comment

1.29      The committee acknowledges the comprehensive work undertaken by the Australian Law Reform Commission in examining Australian privacy laws and whether current laws continue to provide an effective framework for the protection of privacy. The ALRC report examined many issues associated with an individual's privacy, including telecommunications legislation and the regulation of public number directories.

1.30      The ALRC report, For Your Information: Australian Privacy Law and Practice, was tabled in August 2008 and made 295 recommendations. Although approximately half of the recommendations made by the ALRC were passed into legislation on 29 November 2012, the issue of charging a fee for an unlisted number on a public directory was not addressed.[26] The committee expresses its concern that the Commonwealth government has taken several years to duly consider and respond to many of the recommendations made by the ALRC.

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