The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released a new paper outlining potential legislative avenues used to regulate the use of near field communications (NFC) devices.

The second paper in a series of four, ACMA discusses the impact on industry, consumers and citizens of the current set of regulations.

‘From a regulatory point of view, the shifts in communications and media usage that NFC will enable are unlikely to be adequately reflected in existing legislative or regulatory concepts. As NFC-enabled transactions enter the mainstream, we believe that consumers using NFC and related apps would best be protected by a single coherent regulatory framework,’ said ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman.

By 2014 there will be an estimated 285 million plus NFC-enabled handsets in use in the world.  With more than 70 per cent of all Australians now using a smartphone, Australia is in a strong position for NFC transactions to grow. NFC allows phones to be used for electronic payments like the eWallet, for ‘bump’ apps that share information between two phones and for personalising SmartTags.