Communities across regional, rural and remote Australia can now have their say on telecommunications issues as public submissions open on the Regional Telecommunications Review.
Input from local communities will form an essential part of the review – held once every three years – which will see the Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee deliver recommendations to the federal government.
The review is closely examining the experiences of people in regional, rural, and remote parts of Australia with telecommunications delivery, as well as considering the needs of First Nations’ communities.
Residents, businesses and community organisations can make a submission, with the terms of reference – announced by Communications Minister Michelle Rowland – outlining key issues for the committee to examine.
An issues paper has been released to help frame ideas.
The 2024 review is being led by Alannah MacTiernan, former Western Australian Regional Development Minister, as chairperson of the review committee.
She is supported by Fiona Nash, Kristy Sparrow, Dr Jessa Rogers and Ian Kelly.
Ms MacTiernan said access to telecommunications services was critical for regional residents and businesses across so many aspects of everyday life.
“We want to understand the lived experience of these services so that future policy actions are well-targeted and backed up by evidence,” she said.
“With technology changing rapidly we also want your ideas about how things can be improved and what would make the most difference for you and your community.
“We really encourage Australians in the bush to have their say via a submission or completing the survey in coming months, while we continue our face-to-face consultations across the country.”
There is a focus on how the universal service arrangements could be modernised to meet today’s needs, the potential of emerging technologies, the effectiveness of existing government investment programs, and the improvement of telecommunications in emergencies.
Public feedback has been essential in previous reviews to ensure the committee’s recommendations are well-targeted and based on evidence.
For this review there are three options available to have your say: attending a face-to-face consultation, providing a formal submission or completing a survey.
The survey will be published in May 2024.
To have your say, visit infrastructure.gov.au/have-your-say/2024-regional-telecommunications-review
