Join our network of partners delivering smarter communication solutions across Australia and let’s build something great together. We offer both Channel Partner and Wholesale Partner programs which are detailed below.

The requirements of becoming a Channel Partner are outlined in the Channel Partner agreement. The agreement is easy to read and contains fairly standard terms that would be expected.

The main requirement that to highlight is that you need to be providing IT Services to the client you recommend. Note that ongoing commissions are paid only while this is the case.

Note that we also provide upfront only commissions for referrals where you do not provide IT services to the client.

The requirements of becoming a Wholesale Partner are outlined in the Reseller Partner agreement. The agreement is easy to read and contains fairly standard terms that would be expected.

The main requirement to highlight is that the partner is specifically required to comply with the legislative and regulatory requirements of a Carriage Service Provider as defined in the Telecommunications Act 1997.

As a CSP, you are obliged under law to adhere to all the regulatory Acts, Standards and Codes which the most relevant ones are documented here: https://support.ipcsolutions.com.au/a/solutions/articles/4000180616

Non Compliance:

After informal discussions with the ACMA and a review of the publicly available investigations into telco providers (https://www.acma.gov.au/investigations-telco-providers) we have identified  below the main areas of concern for non-compliance. Please note this does not constitute legal advice in any way and the obligations are yours only: 

• Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 subsection 128 membership of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) Scheme. All CSP’s need to be a member of the TIO Scheme and most of the investigations of providers on the above website are related to this breach. An investigation into the provider was always triggered as a result of a customer complaint lodged against the provider with the TIO whereby they were subsequently found to not be a member of the scheme. Exemptions for membership are possible but unusual if providing telecommunications services. See below for details.

• Compliance to C628-2019 Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code. This code was created for the protection of the more vulnerable people in our community. A Consumer is defined as follows:

1. an individual who acquires or may acquire a Telecommunications Product for the primary purpose of personal or domestic use and not for resale; or 
2. a business or non-profit organisation which acquires or may acquire one or more Telecommunications Products which are not for resale and, at the time it enters into the Customer Contract, it: 

(i)  does not have a genuine and reasonable opportunity to negotiate the terms of the Customer Contract; and 

(ii)  has or will have an annual spend with the Supplier which is, or is estimated on reasonable grounds by the Supplier to be, no greater than $40,000, or, in the 5 months following Code commencement, an annual spend of $20,000. 

As such, if a Reseller only deals with business customers (a requirement as part of our Partner Agreement) and provides a ‘reasonable opportunity to negotiate the terms of the Customer Contract’, the Reseller should be exempt from this code.

• Compliance to C555-2020 Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) Industry Code. The IPND is an industry-wide database of all Public Number Customer Data (PNCD) which facilitates the provision of information for purposes such as Directory Assistance Services (Note not Sensis White Pages) and Emergency Services. IPC Solutions is a registered IPND Data provider and all data provided to the IPND is tied to our billing system. We have put checks and balances in place to ensure the accuracy of our data and are quite confident that we meet the requirements of this Code and as the IPND provider of all IPC Solutions numbers, will also apply to our Resellers. CSP’s will need to nominate IPC Solutions as their data provider and 6 monthly audits of address details will be conducted which is a requirement of being a data provider. See below how to do this.

Note that many of the outcomes for the ‘investigations into telco providers’ website resulted in formal warnings only and it appears that continued non-compliance would be required before legal action is taken. 

TIO Scheme:

Membership of this scheme incurs a fee of $400 p/a. You can join the Scheme here:  https://www.tio.com.au/joining-scheme

IPND CSP Code:

We would send you a form which you would fill out and and send to the email on the form. Once you have received the details from the IPND Manager then this would be forwarded to us so that we can update our system.

 Our goal as your Wholesale Provider is to make your role as a CSP as seamless as possible so feel free to ask us any questions.

Choose the Channel Partner model if:

• You are a Managed Service Provider (MSP) or IT firm who wants to recommend high-quality solutions but does not want to manage technical support or monthly billing.
• You prefer a lower-risk model where the Supplier carries the primary contractual and regulatory burden.

Choose the Reseller (Wholesale) model if:

• You are a Managed Service Provider (MSP) or IT firm with an existing support desk capable of handling "Level 1" issues like phone registrations or network connectivity.
• You want to bundle telephony into your own service packages.
• You have the administrative capacity to manage CSP regulatory compliance.