ACCAN CEO Andrew Williams welcomes delegates to ACCANect 2022 and explains how to get the most out of the online conference platform. 

Uncle Allan Murray of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council Welcomes delegates to Country to commence the conference. 

ACCAN Chairperson, Deirdre O’Donnell, provides introductory remarks and welcomes delegates to the conference. Deirdre reflects on the changes at ACCAN over the past year and speaks to the organisation’s role in representing consumers to industry, government and regulators. 

ACCAN is very pleased to welcome the Hon. Michelle Rowland MP, Minister for Communications, to deliver a pre-recorded address to open the conference 

Given the changes of the past couple of years, it’s important to do a stocktake and consider what has been achieved, and what we’re still working towards for communications consumers. The purpose of this conference is to outline some of the key issues that are of continuing importance to consumers, and to highlight the work being done by industry, regulators, politicians, and consumer advocates to improve the communications sector and get the basics right for consumers. 

Outgoing ACCC Deputy Chair, Delia Rickard, reflects on her expertise as a consumer advocate, and offers her suggestions on what is needed to help get the basics right for communications consumers across Australia. 

At a time when being connected to communications services is so crucial to everyday life, the reliability of services is essential. In this session, we hear from industry about measures they’re undertaking to ensure that consumers have reliable access to broadband, mobile and landline services, no matter where they live across Australia. 

In this session, Commpete Chair Michelle Lim and ACCAN CEO Andrew Williams will discuss the importance of competition to support better outcomes for consumers. 

With a new Ombudsman now at the helm, what is the TIO’s vision for the future of the telecommunications sector? In this session, Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert shares her thoughts on the TIO’s role in ensuring the basics are achieved for consumers. She also shares what the TIO is doing to make sure that it is accessible, available, and responsive to consumer needs.