Aussie Broadband fined over $200K for safety breaches

The $213,120 infringement notice handed down by the ACMA was in regards to Aussie Broadband’s failure to provide vital customer information for the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND), which feeds data to the Emergency Alert Service and other services. These services are vital to alerting Aussies of emergencies such as bushfires, and assists law enforcement.

ACMA: Breach could put customer’s safety at risk

An investigation undertaken by the ACMA found that on more than 30,000 occasions between November 2021 and May 2022, Aussie Broadband had failed to provide customer information to the IPND. The IPND is used by emergency services including Triple Zero to locate people in an emergency, along with sending out warnings for emergencies such as bushfire or floods.

Not providing this information to the IPND can put customers’ safety at risk, said ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin. “While we are not aware anyone was harmed due to the breaches, it is alarming that Aussie Broadband did not have effective processes in place to identify that its customer information was not being provided for over six months.”

Aussie Broadband has paid the $213,120 infringement notice issued by the ACMA. The ACMA has also issued a direction for ongoing compliance, otherwise Aussie Broadband risks further action, including more financial penalties.

“While the breaches should not have occurred, we are pleased to see Aussie Broadband moved quickly to upload the missing data once it was brought to its attention and has taken steps to comply in future,” said Ms O’Loughlin.

Aussie Broadband identified an error in its reporting software, which caused the infringement. In a statement from Aussie Broadband, the telco states that while there are procedures in place to comply with the IPND requirements, a software failure was undetected during compliance checking. It has now implemented further measures to ensure compliance in the future.

“We are deeply sorry that this software failure went undetected leading to inaccurate records in the IPND database. Whilst we had several checks and balances in place, these did not go far enough and I’m confident that our new compliance checks will ensure this never happens again,” said Aussie Broadband’s Managing Director, Phillip Britt.

Safety breaches more widespread with action taken against 30 telcos

Ensuring compliance with the IPND rules is nothing new to the ACMA. Aussie Broadband isn’t the only telco to be handed an infringement over non-compliance with IPND rules, with action taken against 30 telcos and nearly $4 million in penalties issued since 2018.

“Aussie Broadband is far from the only – or biggest – telco to breach these specific safety rules in recent years, but to the provider’s credit it has moved to address the failure. Unfortunately, oversights like this aren’t something customers are aware of until the misstep is uncovered by bodies such as the ACMA, or until the telco itself publicises the error,” said Canstar Blue’s Telco Editor, Tara Donnelly.

Smaller telco Lycamobile paid a $604,800 penalty in 2021, but was then issued with a $186,480 penalty for further contraventions in June 2022. Telstra had also been issued an infringement notice of $2.53 million in December 2021, for breaches across both the Telstra and Belong brands. In the past, the ACMA has also found several telcos in breach of the rules including well-known providers such as Dodo, MyRepublic and Vaya.

“While you can take past breaches into account when comparing internet or mobile providers, there’s a significant list of brands who have been slugged with ACMA fines in the past few years. However, there’s nothing stopping you shopping around if you’re uncomfortable with your current telco’s customer service standards,” said Ms Donnelly.

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