The Morrison Government has today registered a formal legal instrument to give it additional powers to compel the outgoing provider of the National Relay Service (NRS), Australian Communications Exchange (ACE), to support CapTel captioned telephone handset users to transition to alternate services.
The Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) (National Relay Service Rules) Determination 2019 requires ACE to provide information to the Department of Communications and the Arts on request to help transition CapTel users to the new NRS provider, Concentrix, including information about current CapTel users. Despite repeated requests from Government, ACE has not provided details of CapTel users to the Commonwealth.
“It is surprising and disappointing that it is necessary to take this step” the Hon Paul Fletcher, Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts
“I would have expected greater cooperation from ACE in either providing the information or seeking it from other parties, to allow the Government to give comprehensive information to CapTel users about the wide range of service options they will have under the NRS as we transition from ACE to a new provider”.
The contract with ACE was originally negotiated by the Telecommunications Universal Service Management Agency (TUSMA), established by then Labor Communications Minister Stephen Conroy in 2013. TUSMA failed to include a contractual provision giving the responsible Minister, or the Commonwealth, critical information detailing the location of CapTel handsets and contact details for current CapTel users.
Concentrix was chosen as the new provider following a competitive selection process in which ACE also participated.
“The Morrison Government is committed to maintaining a world-class relay service that meets the needs of key user groups amongst the hearing and speech impaired communities – those who speak, those who text and those who communicate through Auslan” Minister Fletcher said.
The Determination also provides that the Commonwealth may request ACE to communicate to CapTel users about the handset being discontinued as part of the NRS from 1 February 2020 and to recommend they contact the NRS Helpdesk to explore alternatives to meet their individual needs.
