2015 Charles Todd Medal awarded to Teresa Corbin

At the Charles Todd Oration in Sydney on 26 November, the telecommunication industry's top
consumer advocate Teresa Corbin was awarded the Charles Todd Medal on behalf of TelSoc by the 1998 medallist Professor Peter Gerrand. The Oration, delivered by Telstra's CEO Andrew Penn, was a sell-out event co-hosted by TelSoc and the Australian Computer Society's Telecommunications Board.

The Charles Todd Medal is awarded to the individual considered to have made the most outstanding contribution to Australian telecommunications in recent years.  This medal has been awarded annually by TelSoc since 2013, reviving the tradition of the Charles Todd Medal awarded by ATUG annually from 1991 to 2011.  The list of 25 former winners is provided on the TelSoc website here.

Teresa Corbin is only the second demand-side advocate to have been awarded the Charles Todd Medal, the first being Allan Horsley in 2001. She is also the first woman to have been awarded this medal, regarded as the highest honour the Australian telecommunications industry can bestow, in its 24 years of being awarded in this heavily male-dominated industry.

About the 2015 Charles Todd Medallist.

Teresa Corbin has been a leading consumer advocate and public policy researcher for twenty years, and a leading figure in the telecommunications industry over the past six years as CEO of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), which she helped establish.  Ms Corbin has represented end-users on over 80 different national and international bodies. Her expertise and leadership have led to a number of major policy outcomes that have benefited consumers and telecommunications competition throughout Australia. She is highly respected by the telecommunications industry here and overseas as an expert on consumer policy and communications regulation.

Teresa's tenure as CEO of ACCAN has resulted in a number of key public policy outcomes related to consumer representation, especially in the areas of improving the accessibility, affordability and availability of telecommunications for all consumers, particularly the disadvantaged. This work is vital for a telecommunications industry that endeavours to meet community expectations. Other areas where ACCAN?s significant public policy proposals have been developed and input to government reviews include privacy, security, broadband, consumer protection and deregulation.

Teresa began her career with a major in Linguistics in a B.A. from La Trobe University. Her community sector links span a 25-year period in both policy and management positions and she maintains strong ties with consumer groups in Australia and internationally. Along the way, she gained full Membership of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Prior to her current role, Teresa was CEO at the Consumers' Telecommunications Network (CTN) from 2003 to 2009. Her work in has produced important outcomes in consumer protection, better self-regulation, privacy, consumer awareness and access for people with disabilities and those living in rural and remote areas. She sits on many industry and government bodies in Australia including the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Board, the Australian Communications and Media Authority Consumer Consultative Forum and the New South Wales Information Privacy Advisory Committee.