2020 Extension of Carrier Licence Conditions Declaration for Superfast Carriage Services

The Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, is considering amending the Carrier Licence Conditions (Networks supplying Superfast Carriage Services to Residential Customers) Declaration 2014 (the CLCs) to extend them. This will provide further time to progress the longer-term legislative changes set out in the Government’s Telecommunications Reform Package currently before the Parliament.

The CLCs require certain types of superfast telecommunications networks servicing residential customers to operate on a functionally separated basis and to offer wholesale services on a non-discriminatory basis.

This is designed to:

• support fairer and more effective competition at the network and retail levels by ensuring providers operate on a more level playing field.
• ensure competing retail providers can access new residential broadband networks to provide alternative offerings, thus increasing choice for residential consumers.

The Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Competition and Consumer) Bill 2019 includes clauses to remove the expiry date of the CLCs. The Bill is currently before Parliament.

Relevant Documentation

DRAFT Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Conditions) Amendment (Networks supplying Superfast Carriage Services to Residential Customers) Instrument 2020

Published 7th May 2020

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DRAFT Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Conditions) Amendment (Networks supplying Superfast Carriage Services to Residential Customers) Instrument 2020

Marked-up DRAFT Carrier Licence Conditions (Networks supplying Superfast Carriage Services to Residential Customers) Declaration 2014

Published 7th May 2020

Download PDF (481.6 KB) Download DOC (98.67 KB)

Marked-up DRAFT Carrier Licence Conditions (Networks supplying Superfast Carriage Services to Residential Customers) Declaration 2014

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications received feedback from:

• the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (which can be found on pages 3 and 4 of its submission to the department's consultation on Telstra's request for extensions to Ministerial exemptions for its South Brisbane and Velocity networks); and
• an organisation that provided informal confidential feedback.

Both parties provided support for extending the Carrier Licence Conditions (CLCs).

After considering this feedback, the Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts has decided to progress with the proposal to extend the CLCs indefinitely by removing the expiry date.

The amending declaration is now available on the Federal Register of Legislation and is referred to as the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Conditions) Amendment (Networks supplying Superfast Carriage Services to Residential Customers) Instrument 2020. The Explanatory Statement for the amending declaration is also available on the Federal Register of Legislation.

The CLCs will be exempted from sunsetting on the commencement of the relevant provisions on 25 August 2020 in the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Competition and Consumer) Act 2020.