Telecommunications Act 1997

The ACMA may, by writing, declare that a specified carrier or carriage service provider is exempt from a requirement imposed under section 349. The declaration has effect accordingly.

Carriers or providers may be specified by name, by inclusion in a particular class or in any other way.

In deciding whether a carrier or carriage service provider should be exempt from a requirement imposed under section 349, the ACMA must have regard to the following matters:

whether it would be technically feasible for the carrier or provider to comply with the requirement concerned;

whether compliance with the requirement concerned would impose unreasonable financial hardship on the carrier or provider.

Subsection (2) does not, by implication, limit the matters to which the ACMA may have regard.

Before making a declaration under this section, the ACMA must consult the ACCC.

The ACMA must publish a copy of a declaration under this section on the ACMA’s website.

A declaration under this section is not a legislative instrument if:

the declaration specifies a carrier by name; or

the declaration specifies a carriage service provider by name.

A declaration under this section is a legislative instrument if:

the declaration specifies a class of carriers; or

the declaration specifies a class of carriage service providers.