Future of Mobile: Modernising Australia’s telecommunications framework

10 March 2026: Red tape reductions would future proof productivity, resilience for millions of Australians.

The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association has called for reform, with a new report showing even small improvements to reduce red tape and smooth fragmented planning laws between states would help future proof services and connectivity for Australians.

AMTA’s report, Future of Mobile: Reforms to Modernise Australia’s Telecommunications, shows uplifts to reduce duplication and improve regulatory practice could unlock millions for additional annual infrastructure investment, accelerating the delivery of up to 200 mobile sites nationally each year.

Developed with Deloitte Access Economics, the report found that regulatory complexity is keeping infrastructure rollouts gridlocked, with development approval alone for new telecommunications facilities taking an average of 211 days.

Just a 10 per cent improvement in regulatory practice would likely deliver a four per cent uplift in telecommunications investment — equivalent to around $430 million per year at current spending levels. Read the key take-aways from the report here.

AMTA CEO Louise Hyland said a further 25 per cent reduction in approval timeframes could bring forward between 150 and 200 mobile site projects each year.

“That improvement alone would deliver better coverage for 250,000 Australians and up to $160million in flow-on benefits,” she said. “Faster, nationally consistent planning processes and better coordination will help accelerate deployment, close blackspots and strengthen redundancy in disaster-prone regions.”

AMTA has outlined six measures to address key problems facing telcos in the report. These initiatives include appointing a new National Digital Infrastructure Coordinator General tasked to assist with navigating complex planning processes, creating a consistent national code for mobile phone towers and urgently addressing the planning issues stopping blackspots from being fixed.

Modelled on similar roles in the US, the Coordinator General may also work across governments to facilitate restoration of mobile telecommunications infrastructure in communities after extreme weather events.

Ms Hyland said the reforms are designed to deliver early wins while embedding long-term structural change.

“We are serious about lifting productivity, strengthening regional resilience and supporting emerging industries, and these changes would deliver the tools to effectively do this.”

“These are practical, proportionate reforms which will create a telecommunications system that is reliable, resilient and fit for purpose. By modernising Australia’s telecommunications regulatory framework now, we can deliver faster deployment and a future-ready network that supports every community, regardless of postcode.”

The full report, Future of Mobile: Reforms to Modernise Australia’s Telecommunications is available here.

Read more about AMTA’s Future of Mobile initiative here.