Performance report 2008–09
JANUARY 2010
Canberra
Purple Building
Benjamin Offices
Chan Street
Belconnen ACT
PO Box 78
Belconnen ACT 2616
T +61 2 6219 5555
F +61 2 6219 5353 / Melbourne
Level 44
Melbourne Central Tower
360 Elizabeth Street Melbourne VIC
PO Box 13112
Law Courts
Melbourne VIC 8010
T +61 3 9963 6800
F +61 3 9963 6899 / Sydney
Level 15 Tower 1
Darling Park
201 Sussex Street
Sydney NSW
PO Box Q500
Queen Victoria Building
NSW 1230
T +61 2 9334 7700
1800 226 667
F +61 2 9334 7799
© Commonwealth of Australia 2010
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced
by any process without prior written permission from the Commonwealth. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction
and rights should be addressed to the Manager, Communications and Publishing, Australian Communications and Media Authority,
PO Box 13112 Law Courts, Melbourne Vic 8010.
Published by the Australian Communications and Media Authority
ISSN 1833-0754
acma | xiv
Contents (Continued)
Introduction 1
Overview of the service 1
What is the National Relay Service? 1
Who delivers the NRS? 1
How does the NRS work? 2
Who can be contacted via the NRS? 2
What is the ACMA’s role in the management of the NRS contracts? 3
Who pays for the NRS? 3
What is the NRS plan? 4
Snapshot of the National Relay Service 4
Call minutes 4
Number of NRS users 5
Inbound call types 5
Outbound call types 5
Relay service provider performance in 2008–09 6
Availability and operation of the NRS 6
Service options 6
Call charges and billing 7
Relay service provider performance standards 7
The NRS Customer Consultative Committee 10
Outreach service provider performance in 2008–09 10
Background 10
Approach to the delivery of the outreach service 11
Outreach service provider performance indicators 14
acma | xivIntroduction
This report has been prepared by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) in accordance with subsection 97(2) of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999, which requires the ACMA to give a written report to the Minister on the performance of the National Relay Service (NRS) providers against the requirements of the NRS Service Plan (NRS plan) as soon as practicable after the end of each financial year.
Subsection 97(3) of the Act requires the Minister to table the report in the Commonwealth Parliament within 15 sitting days of receipt.
This report has four parts:
1/ an overview of the service, which describes what it is and how it is delivered
2/ a statistical snapshot of the service
3/ a review of the performance of the relay service provider against its obligations and commitments in the NRS plan
4/ a review of the performance of the outreach service provider against its obligations and commitments in the NRS plan.
The ACMA is satisfied with the performance of both the relay service provider and the outreach service provider against their obligations in the 2008–09 NRS plan. The relay service provider fully met two of the three performance standards, and fell just short of meeting both components of the third performance standard. The outreach service provider fully met five of the eight performance standards with a set target, and partially met the remaining three performance standards.
Overview of the service
What is the National Relay Service?
The NRS is a legislated consumer protection under Part 3 of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999. The NRS provides persons who are Deaf or who have a hearing and/or speech impairment with access to a standard telephone service on terms and in circumstances that are comparable to the access other Australians have to a standard telephone service.
The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and operates as a communication bridge for Deaf, hearing-impaired and speech-impaired people in the community.
Who delivers the NRS?
The NRS is delivered under contract to the Australian Government by two companies, Australian Communication Exchange Ltd (ACE) and WestWood Spice Pty Ltd (WWS). ACE is responsible for delivering the relay service component of the NRS, and WWS is responsible for delivering the outreach service component.
These arrangements commenced on 1 July 2006. Previously, ACE had delivered both components of the NRS.
ACE is an Australian not-for-profit company with a particular focus on the Deaf sector. Its head office and call centre are located in Brisbane.
WWS is a Sydney-based specialist consulting group with particular experience and expertise in working in the community and public sectors. With the Australian Federation of Deaf Societies and specialist social marketing consultants as subcontractors, WWS has established a national network of seven information and education officers and three customer service officers, who are involved in providing a help desk for users, troubleshooting and representing the NRS at conferences. Training and information activities, research studies and marketing campaigns remain the key components of the outreach service.
How does the NRS work?
The NRS usually involves a relay officer converting text communication to voice and voice communication to text to enable text and voice users to have a telephone conversation.
Text users can contact the NRS via a telephone typewriter (TTY) or via the internet. There are also options for users who can speak while being able to read the other party’s responses in text. A description of the various call types made through the NRS is provided below.
Who can be contacted via the NRS?
Calls via the NRS can be made to anyone anywhere, although suitable billing arrangements must be in place before calls can be made to overseas and premium rate numbers. Otherwise, calls within Australia can be made for the cost of contacting the NRS using its 13 or 1300 number, which is generally around the cost of a local call.
There are also 1800 access numbers—for NRS users wishing to contact freecall 1800 numbers.
The relay service provider is also named as an Emergency Call Person in the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Persons) Determination 1999 and operates a text emergency service on the number 106.
There are a number of call options available to suit different users of the relay service. These options are described from the perspective of someone who is Deaf, hearing impaired or speech impaired, and probably uses specialist equipment such as a TTY. However, the relay service is also used by voice callers with a standard handset to contact someone who is Deaf or has a hearing or speech impairment.
Type and Read
The Type and Read service (also known as ‘text to voice’) is for users who cannot hear and do not use their voice. The relay officer ‘becomes their voice’ and reads aloud what the user has typed (on a TTY) to the recipient of the call, then listens to what the recipient says in reply and types it back for the user to read. Type and Read, which includes Internet Relay, is the most commonly used form of relay service.
Speak and Read
The Speak and Read service (also known as ‘voice carryover’) is for users who cannot hear but prefer to use their voice to speak their side of the conversation instead of typing it. They can speak directly to the person they have called via the relay service. The relay officer listens to what the recipient of the call says in reply and types it back for the user to read.
Type and Listen
The Type and Listen service (also known as ‘hearing carryover’) is for users who have difficulty speaking or communicating but can hear. The user types their side of the conversation and the relay officer reads it aloud to the person they have called. The user can then listen directly to the other person’s reply.
Speak and Listen
The Speak and Listen service (also known as ‘speech-to-speech relay’) is for users who may have trouble having their speech understood over the telephone. The relay officer, who is experienced in listening to people with speech impairments, will re-speak all or part of the conversation as required. No specialist equipment is required to use this service.
Internet Relay
The Internet Relay service, introduced in 2007, is a form of Type and Read service. It allows people to make NRS calls from some internet-enabled mobile phones or a computer, using an internet browser or chat applications such as MSN or AOL Messenger. Since its introduction, Internet Relay has continuously grown in popularity and, at of the end of 2008–09, accounted for around 30 per cent of call minutes made through the NRS.
What is the ACMA’s role in the management of the NRS contracts?
The ACMA has certain legislated responsibilities for the NRS, including collection of the NRS levy, monitoring the performance of the two providers and reporting to the Minister annually on their performance. Further details of these functions are set out below.
From 1 July 2006, the ACMA assumed full contract management responsibilities, for both NRS contracts, from the (now) Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. The ACMA’s responsibilities include maintaining relationships with both contractors, monitoring contract compliance, providing necessary approvals under the contracts (including the approval of government branding on all NRS materials) and the development of appropriate performance standards.
Who pays for the NRS?
The NRS is funded through a levy on eligible telecommunications carriers. Carriers holding a carrier licence and covered by the ACMA’s most recent annual eligible revenue assessment are liable to pay the levy each quarter. A ministerial determination registered on 1 December 2005 restricts payment of the levy to carriers that have annual gross telecommunications revenue of $10 million or more and are covered by the most recent eligible revenue assessment. The proportion of the levy costs payable by each eligible carrier is calculated based on its share of total eligible revenue in the relevant year.
The ACMA is responsible for the collection of the NRS levy on behalf of the Australian Government.
The quarterly NRS levy is based on a forward estimate of providing the relay and outreach services in the current quarter, adjusted by the actual cost of providing the NRS in the relevant preceding quarter.
The total cost of providing the NRS in 2008–09 was $16.4 million (including GST). This is a small increase (less than two per cent) compared to $16.1 million in the previous financial year.
Expenditure on outreach activities was within the capped budget of $3 million annually (including GST) for the outreach program. The relay service budget is variable, as it is based on a set rate for every call minute delivered.
What is the NRS plan?
Subsection 95(2) of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 requires the NRS providers to prepare service plans which must include at least the following:
timetables for supply of the NRS
performance standards to be met by the NRS providers.
Before preparing the service plans, the NRS providers must consult with the ACMA regarding the content of the plans, including the nominated performance standards. The plans must then be submitted to the ACMA for approval.
The NRS plan is complied annually by the ACMA from these service plans and is available on the NRS website at www.relayservice.com.au. The NRS providers give the ACMA quarterly reports on their performance, which the ACMA uses to regularly review and discuss the delivery of the NRS with both providers. The ACMA also prepares this annual report on the NRS providers’ performance under the NRS plan.
Snapshot of the National Relay Service
Call minutes
The term ‘call minutes’ in this report refers to the cumulative time duration of successful outbound calls made from the relay service. Call minutes are the basis of payment to the relay service provider, where a fixed amount is paid for each call minute relayed.
While the total number of call minutes relayed in 2008–09 declined by three per cent, the number of inbound calls to the NRS has increased compared to 2007–08. The relay service provider reported to the ACMA, however, that these calls may not be an accurate indication of legitimate use of the NRS in 2008–09, due to an abnormally high volume of calls made by people inappropriately dialling the NRS contact numbers listed on contact information for government agencies.[1] These people did not proceed to outbound relay calls, as they were not part of the particular communities that the NRS is designed to service. The relay service provider advised that the number of incorrect calls was significant, therefore distorting the inbound call data. Consequently, inbound call data has not been included in this report.
Table 1: Call minutes relayedFinancial year / Total call minutes / Percentage change
2003–04 / 3,780,741 / 1.04
2004–05 / 3,641,559 / –3.68
2005–06 / 3,408,420 / –6.40
2006–07 / 3,162,046 / –7.23
2007–08 / 3,343,112 / 5.73
2008–09 / 3,243,722 / –3.06
The factors underlying the decline in the use of the NRS call minutes in 2008–09 compared to five years ago are thought to be extraneous to the NRS performance and are likely to continue to affect the use of the service. For example, the popularity of mainstream text-based communication methods, such as email, instant messaging and SMS within the communities which use the NRS, appears to have reduced the need to make as many calls using the service. This trend mirrors the uptake of text-based communication in the wider community.
Nonetheless, the introduction of Internet Relay indicates that the application of new technologies to the service can enhance or maintain its usefulness. By the last quarter of the 2008–09 financial year, statistics provided by the relay service provider confirmed that almost a third of outbound call minutes were generated by callers who contacted the NRS via Internet Relay.
Number of NRS users
It has been estimated that each month nearly 8,000 Australians are using the NRS.[2] This figure includes those using the NRS to contact people who are Deaf, hearing-impaired or speech-impaired.