Commonwealth Numbered Acts

TELECOMMUNICATIONS (CONSUMER PROTECTION AND SERVICE STANDARDS) ACT 1999 - SECT 8

* This Part establishes a universal service regime.

* The main object of the universal service regime is to ensure that all people in Australia, wherever they reside or carry on business, should have reasonable access, on an equitable basis, to:

(a) standard telephone services; and

(b) payphones; and

(c) prescribed carriage services; and

(d) digital data services.

* The key elements of the universal service regime are as follows:

(a) the specification of the universal service obligation and the digital data service obligation;

(b) the declaration of universal service providers and digital data service providers;

(c) the carrying out of universal service plans and digital data service plans;

(d) the regulation of universal service charges and digital data service charges;

(e) the assessment, collection, recovery and distribution of the levy imposed by the Telecommunications (Universal Service Levy) Act 1997 .