Phone Companies Must Meet Minimum Standards for Outdoor Mobile Coverage
Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2026
House of Representatives
Senate
Assent
Introduced by: The Hon Anika Wells MP (ALP)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Anika Wells ALP
“I move: That this bill be now read a second time. The Albanese government is committed to keeping Australians connected. We believe in a simple principle: no-one held back and no-one left behind. Access to telecommunications is not a luxury; it is an essential service that underpins public safety. Australians rely on mobile phones for their connectivity more than ever.”
Melissa McIntosh LIB
“I rise to speak on the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025, and I move: That all words after ”That” be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: ”whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House is of the opinion that the bill: (1) does not provide sufficient certainty that universal outdoor mobile connectivity fo…”
“I still remember my first mobile phone, which I got back in 2002. It was the Nokia 5510. It was pretty great. It had a full Qwerty keyboard, a calculator, a stopwatch and, for the first time in a phone, a built-in MP3 player which held a whopping 11 songs, about a third of which were by Christina Aguilera on my phone. Back in the early 2000s, coverage could be patchy.”
Anne Webster NAT
“I note that we are talking about the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025. As the shadow minister for regional communications, I want to assure the House and anyone who happens to be listening that I have been very involved in looking at this bill in its entirety.”
Kristy McBain ALP
“I think everyone in this House can agree that mobile service requirements across regional communities are very, very different than they are across metropolitan communities.”
Tom French ALP
“Another wild ride in the chamber! I rise to speak in support of the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025. On its face, this appears to be a technical reform, a structural amendment to telecommunications legislation.”
Sophie Scamps IND
“Today I rise to speak in support of the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025. This bill establishes a regulatory framework for a universal outdoor mobile obligation so that mobile providers ensure that mobile coverage is reasonably available outdoors to all people in Australia on an equitable basis.”
Susan Templeman ALP
“For the past 15 years, I have worked hard to improve the connectivity for the community of Macquarie. This region might only be 75 to 100 kilometres from the centre of Sydney, but you can find yourself in remote and rugged country. In many places, even those that appear to be quite suburban, you might be outside the reach of mobile coverage.”
“This legislation is being referred to as the UOMO legislation. It could also be called the FOMO legislation. I appreciate that UOMO means universal outdoor mobile obligation.”
Simon Kennedy LIB
“In modern Australia, reliable mobile phone coverage is not a luxury, it’s not an optional extra and it’s not a lifestyle perk. It’s foundational national infrastructure. Just as our roads connect our communities physically, telecommunications connect them digitally. In 2026, these digital connections underpin our economy, they underpin our social cohesion and, critically, they underpin our safety.”
Fiona Phillips ALP
“I rise today to support the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025 and to applaud the Albanese Labor government’s commitment to strengthening the resilience of Australia’s telecommunications service.”
Sam Birrell NAT
“I rise to speak on the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025. As the member for Riverina pointed out, it is 2026, and this was supposed to be delivered over 12 months ago. But here we are. Communications is foundational infrastructure. My electorate of Nicholls is regional and it is rural, but it is far from remote.”
Dan Repacholi ALP
“I rise today to speak in strong support for the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025. I do so as the member for Hunter, representing one of the most diverse regions in the country. It’s a place of regional cities, mining towns, farming communities and some of the very best wine in the world.”
David Moncrieff ALP
“The Albanese Labor government was re-elected last year with a mandate to build Australia’s future. Australia’s future is a connected one. We inhabit a vast and ancient continent, but we live in a time when technology has drastically changed what distance can mean to us. In 1854 we had the first telegram line connect Sydney to Melbourne.”
Barnaby Joyce PHON
“This issue in regional Australia is so very, very important. At the start, we had a thing called CDMA. It didn’t carry much data, but it had a huge range. It used to be remarkable. When I was out at Saint George—you’d be miles away and you could get CDMA. You could get on the phone. If you broke down or something happened or there was a crash or you needed to get spare parts, CDMA worked.”
Emma Comer ALP
“In the year 2026 mobile phone coverage is not a luxury; it is a necessity for everyday life. It is how Australians communicate with their families and friends. It is how parents coordinate school pick-ups and after-school activities. It’s how carers check in on elderly relatives. It is how people stay socially connected in an increasingly digital world.”
Jamie Chaffey NAT
“Communication is one of the most fundamental building blocks of what it means to be a human. For those who live in cities, where you might have hundreds of neighbours in the same building, there are many ways and means of reaching out, for sending a message or for calling for help.”
Ms ROBERTS
“The incorporated speech read as follows— I rise today to strongly support the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025, a bill that will make a tangible, everyday difference for Australians in every electorate, especially for those living in our fast-growing suburbs and our outer-metro communities, like in my electorate of Pearce and the regions that…”
Zali Steggall IND
“I rise to speak in support of this bill, the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025, because so many in our communities and all around Australia were shocked when we saw the communications failure and the outages that impacted the triple zero services. The very real consequence of a system failure like that is loss of life.”
Helen Haines IND
“I rise today to speak about an issue that matters very deeply to the people in my electorate of Indi and to communities right across regional Australia: universal telecommunications access. Every year that I have served as the Independent member for Indi, poor regional telecommunications has been one of the most frequent issues raised with me by constituents.”
“I rise to speak to the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025. For too long, Australians, including in my electorate, have put up with dreadful and patchy phone service due to privatisation, cost cutting and government neglect.”
Rowan Holzberger ALP
“I rise to support the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025. There has been a break in the debate from the last sitting, and I reference the contribution made by, I think, the member for Parkes, who was critical of this bill because he thought that it didn’t go far enough. My question really is: what is the alternative?”
Julian Leeser LIB
“For too many Australians, the promise of modern telecommunications has not been made good. They pay modern prices for outdated services. They live in metropolitan Sydney and still have to walk to the end of the driveway to make a call. On a good day it’s infuriating; on a bad day it’s dangerous. In a fire, flood or medical emergency it can be the difference between life and death.”
Lisa Chesters ALP
“Metcalfe, Axe Creek, Faraday, Walmer, Eppalock, Lockwood, Maiden Gully, Marong, Axedale, Mosquito Creek and Raywood are just a number of the communities that have contacted me since I was elected as a federal member for Bendigo, back in 2013, complaining about basic mobile phone coverage—the ability to make phone calls or text—simply disappearing. They have coverage one minute and not the next.”
Andrew Wallace LNP
“I rise to speak on the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025 and I do so as someone who has spent years in this place fighting for my constituents to have access to something that Australians in our major cities take entirely for granted: a reliable mobile phone service.”
Jess Teesdale ALP
“In this place we pass many bills. Each one matters. Each one has purpose. Some will adjust regulatory settings. Some will refine systems. Some improve programs in ways that are important but not always immediately visible to the public. Occasionally, legislation comes before us that will be felt in a very direct way.”
Andrew Willcox LNP
“I rise today to support the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025. Let me say from the outset, the coalition took a telecommunications universal service obligation to the last election. Essentially, that means that the service for telecommunications and data would be the same for city people as what’s delivered to country people.”
Anne Urquhart ALP
“Deputy Speaker Chesters, as you know, I take every opportunity to sing the praises of the electorate of Braddon. It’s my home, I was born there, and I love it. One of the remarkable things about Braddon is its rugged natural environment. Much of the electorate is remote, and some parts of it are very remote.”
Tom Venning LIB
“I acknowledge the previous speaker’s comments: vision is one thing, but actions are another thing. I rise today to address a matter of profound significance to the people of rural, regional and remote South Australia and indeed every Australian who lives, works or travels beyond the suburban fringes of our major cities.”
“Mobile phones are everywhere. They are an integrated part of society, and most adults in Australia and around the world have one. Many people believe that mobile phones are an essential part of modern day life that benefit us in a variety of ways, such as allowing us to communicate anywhere and any time.”
“Telecommunications is essential to the lives of every Australian. In 2026 the importance of quality, reliable and affordable mobile services cannot be understated. We rely on mobile phones for connectivity more than ever. Despite that, Australia’s longstanding universal service obligation does not include mobile services.”
“I stand to support the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025 in principle and support what the government is trying to achieve here in the evolving shape of telecommunications. Particularly for those of us that represent rural and remote electorates, it’s important.”
Ash Ambihaipahar ALP
“I risk to speak on the Telecommunication Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025. This bill is about ensuring that, no matter where you are in this country, you will be able to call for help.”
Aaron Violi LIB
“Well done, Member for Cook, on that passionate speech—a great local member for the Sutherland shire. I said in my first speech almost four years ago— Mr Hill: To quote yourself! Mr VIOLI: To quote myself, Member for Bruce—that ’the difference between a working phone line can be life and death’.”
Mary Aldred LIB
“I rise to speak on the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025 and the amendment. The coalition is pleased to support it.”
Tim Ayres ALP
“I table revised explanatory memoranda relating to the bills and I move: That these bills be now read a second time. I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard. Leave granted. The speech es read as follows— SOCIAL SECURITY AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (TECHNICAL CHANGES NO.”