Telstra was penalised again, having identified additional violations of consumer privacy and safety rules after Australia’s communications watchdog put monitoring arrangements in place as part of a compliance improvement programme.

The operator paid an AUD306,360 ($203,225) infringement notice issued by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for failing to provide accurate details of thousands of subscribers to the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND). The omission meant the numbers could be published in public phone directories.

ACMA found Telstra failed to provide accurate customer information to the IPND on more than 19,000 occasions between October 2010 and August 2022.

In late 2021, the operator was fined AUD2.5 million after the ACMA found large-scale violations of rules intended to protect customers. Telstra committed to a significant compliance improvement programme.

ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin said the new breaches indicate Telstra has more to do.

“We will keep Telstra focused on fixing these long-standing issues and giving consumers confidence that their data is being accurately recorded.”

In addition to the financial penalty, the ACMA accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Telstra requiring an independent review of steps taken to improve IPND compliance. The operator must also check the accuracy of its IPND data quarterly and report to the regulator.