WISPAU releases member briefing on the ACMA’s draft TCP Standard 2026

WISPAU has released a member briefing on the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s (ACMA) consultation draft of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protections) Industry Standard 2026.

The draft Standard will replace the industry-developed TCP Code (C628:2019). Unlike the Code, the new Standard will be directly enforceable by the ACMA.

The briefing sets out what is changing, what WISPs will need to update, and where WISPAU believes the draft will fall hardest on small and medium regional, rural and remote providers. It is available to members now as a slide deck and PDF.

Download the member briefing

Key dates

• 10 November 2026: submissions to the ACMA close regards the new draft standard (for details see here – https://www.acma.gov.au/consultations/2026-09/proposal-make-telecommunications-consumer-protections-industry-standard)

What’s in the WISPAU briefing

• New obligations, Part by Part. A section-by-section guide to the draft, marking what is new and what has changed from the 2019 Code, with what WISPs need to update for each obligation.
• An update checklist. The changes grouped into policies and procedures, website, training, billing and CRM systems, notices and templates, and records and reporting.
• Twelve key concerns. One slide per concern, covering what the draft says, the impact on a small regional WISP, and practical alternatives to put to the ACMA.
• What to do now. Steps members can take before the consultation closes, and the information WISPAU needs from members to support its submission.

The main changes for WISPs

• Governance and accountability. Written policies and procedures for every obligation, approved by an accountable senior executive, with documented monitoring every quarter (s 8, 9, 13).
• Assessed training. Staff and contractors who deal with customers must pass an assessment before first contact and at least yearly. Training now also covers First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse consumers (s 11, 12).
• Credit assessments. A credit assessment, including an external credit check for new residential customers, before any contract that may result in a debt of more than $300. The 2019 Code figure was $1,000 (s 50 to 54).
• Disconnection. Three reminder notices over at least 20 business days before a service can be disconnected, replacing the single 5 working day notice. Restoration is required within 2 business days if a service is cut off in error (s 91 to 96).
• Quarterly mis-selling reports to the ACMA (s 41).
• Supporting customers. Recording and using each customer’s preferred contact method, and limits on asking for evidence of vulnerability (s 21, 23).
• Billing and payments. Notice before every direct debit, two fee-free payment methods (one of them manual), and notice before discounts expire (s 83, 86 to 88).
• New published policies. A human-operated contact channel, a customer service process, a deceased customer account policy and a simple cancellation process (s 59 to 64).

WISPAU’s key concerns

WISPAU supports strong, enforceable consumer protections. Our concern is proportionality. The draft removes the small-provider relief in the 2019 Code and applies rules designed around large mobile and handset retailers to providers that sell neither. The briefing sets out twelve concerns:

1. Mandatory credit checks from $300, for services that are mostly month-to-month and paid in advance.
2. A disconnection process of at least 20 business days, including for services paid in advance.
3. Restoration within 2 business days, even where a remote site needs a technician visit.
4. No small-provider tier. A WISP with a few hundred services carries the same governance, training and monitoring duties, at the same frequency, as a provider with 29,000.
5. Training content and start-up timing. Every role is trained on the whole Standard, there are no endorsed First Nations or CALD modules, and there is no transition period for existing staff.
6. A mis-selling definition so wide that a paperwork slip becomes reportable, with quarterly reports to the ACMA.
7. Billing rules, including a notice before every unchanged direct debit.
8. A machine-readable Critical Information Summary, required before any format has been set, and website accessibility upgrades.
9. Refund and technology-change remedies that do not fit installed fixed wireless equipment.
10. Authorised representatives, advocates and identity checks. Terms are unclear, including whether a customer on the phone or video counts as “present”.
11. Definitions, language help and automated or AI-assisted contact channels.
12. Drafting that assumes a mobile or voice network, such as emergency call access during suspension of a data-only service.

Better options, not exemptions

WISPAU is not asking for small providers to be just exempt. For each concern, the briefing proposes an alternative that balances the consumer protection to how regional WISPs operate. Examples include:

• a defined small-provider tier with scaled paperwork and frequency;
• credit checks limited to equipment financed over time;
• a shorter notice path for services paid in advance;
• realistic restoration timeframes where a site visit is needed;
• a harm-based definition of mis-selling;
• shared, endorsed training modules;
• a transition period after the Standard commences.

What members should do now

• Read the briefing and send WISPAU your comments, or lodge your own submission with the ACMA by 10 November 2026.
• Help us strengthen WISPAU’s submission. Tell us your services in operation, typical plans and installation charges, default rates and the travel times to your remote sites.
• Start on the low-cost items now: a human contact channel, a published customer service process, cancellation and deceased account pages, and a preferred contact method field.
• Hold off on costly changes, such as credit bureau access or rebuilt overdue workflows, until the final Standard is published.

The briefing is based on the ACMA’s September 2026 consultation draft, and section numbers may change in the final Standard. Members can find the briefing, along with WISPAU’s updated compliance levels guide, in the member area. Not yet a member? Join WISPAU