Media releases: 24 Hot Issues articles: 61 Our Facebook posts had a combined reach of over 106,000 We posted 1,140 tweets and achieved 969 retweets Website stats: 163,616 page views Consumer education – we launched a new website, Top tips for phones and internet, Satellite Guide, Mobile Black Spots Community Consultation Guide 2nd Edition 7 research projects commissioned and completed 6 Grants projects completed Chair report The 2015-16 financial year saw ACCAN delivering further beneficial outcomes for Australia’s communications consumers, reinforcing the need to maintain a strong, united and consumer voice in the industry. As the voice of all consumers – general residential, small business and disadvantaged – ACCAN plays a crucial role in representing to Government and industry the ongoing and emerging communication concerns of all consumer sectors. Core to our success in doing so are the strong, productive relationships we have established with Government, regulators, industry groups, consumer organisations and individual industry stakeholders. During the year I was appointed to the Reference Group of Australian/International communications and regulatory experts established to advise Government on its Review of the ACMA. This provided an invaluable opportunity to reinforce the importance of strong, telecommunications-specific consumer protection regulation and proactive regulator enforcement. ACCAN’s new member consultative framework proved hugely successful this year, with four Advisory Forums convened in four different sectors – General Member, Indigenous, Disability and Small Business. These Forums catalysed lively debate, provided invaluable insights into the communications challenges facing sector members and highlighted a range of emerging issues and areas of focus for future work. The ACCAN Board continues to provide clear strategic direction and solid professional governance to the organisation, with strong continuity in Board membership. This year saw only one change, with Len Bytheway stepping down and Chris Dodds joining the Board. I warmly welcome Chris to the team and extend a heartfelt thank you to Len, both for his enormous contribution to ACCAN and the Board since 2009 and for being such a wonderfully supportive colleague since my appointment.
Media releases: 24 Hot Issues articles: 61 Our Facebook posts had a combined reach of over 106,000 We posted 1,140 tweets and achieved 969 retweets Website stats: 163,616 page views Consumer education – we launched a new website, Top tips for phones and internet, Satellite Guide, Mobile Black Spots Community Consultation Guide 2nd Edition 7 research projects commissioned and completed 6 Grants projects completed Chair report The 2015-16 financial year saw ACCAN delivering further beneficial outcomes for Australia’s communications consumers, reinforcing the need to maintain a strong, united and consumer voice in the industry. As the voice of all consumers – general residential, small business and disadvantaged – ACCAN plays a crucial role in representing to Government and industry the ongoing and emerging communication concerns of all consumer sectors. Core to our success in doing so are the strong, productive relationships we have established with Government, regulators, industry groups, consumer organisations and individual industry stakeholders. During the year I was appointed to the Reference Group of Australian/International communications and regulatory experts established to advise Government on its Review of the ACMA. This provided an invaluable opportunity to reinforce the importance of strong, telecommunications-specific consumer protection regulation and proactive regulator enforcement. ACCAN’s new member consultative framework proved hugely successful this year, with four Advisory Forums convened in four different sectors – General Member, Indigenous, Disability and Small Business. These Forums catalysed lively debate, provided invaluable insights into the communications challenges facing sector members and highlighted a range of emerging issues and areas of focus for future work. The ACCAN Board continues to provide clear strategic direction and solid professional governance to the organisation, with strong continuity in Board membership. This year saw only one change, with Len Bytheway stepping down and Chris Dodds joining the Board. I warmly welcome Chris to the team and extend a heartfelt thank you to Len, both for his enormous contribution to ACCAN and the Board since 2009 and for being such a wonderfully supportive colleague since my appointment.