The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has welcomed historic telecommunications laws passed in Parliament, but cautioned a crucial chance was missed to lock in more meaningful changes.
NFF President Hamish McIntyre said the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025, passed in Parliament today, should’ve been an opportunity for major reform.
“From the get-go, we warmly welcomed the introduction of the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation (UOMO),” Mr McIntyre said.
“The UOMO means telcos must provide outdoor mobile coverage to their customers from anywhere those customers can see the sky.
“Using Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite technology for the UOMO is undoubtedly a step forward for regional connectivity, and we hope to see it implemented as soon as possible.
“But it’s not a silver bullet. There is so much more to be done to strengthen telecoms in the bush.
“Farmers face regular outages that hamper productivity and cause Triple Zero calls to fail.
“Regional outages are not just a productivity issue – they’re a huge safety issue,” Mr McIntyre said.
Mr McIntyre said the NFF had pushed hard for broader telecoms changes as part of the UOMO Bill.
“It’s disappointing that this Bill wasn’t used as a vehicle for more ambitious reform,” Mr McIntyre said.
The NFF welcomed amendments that will require the Minister to create mobile network service standards, but is disappointed these won’t be required for another year or more.
“The Minister shouldn’t wait a year. Enforceable reliability standards would make a world of difference for farmers and their communities. We’re asking the Minister to get cracking on these right away,” Mr McIntyre said.
The NFF was disappointed that amendments to deliver mandatory domestic mobile roaming weren’t supported by the Government or Coalition.
“Enforcing reliability standards and domestic mobile roaming would be life-changing for farmers and their communities.”
“The NFF will, through the ACCC inquiry, keep pushing for mandatory domestic roaming and other improvements to deliver regional connectivity,” Mr McIntyre said.