Starlink Internet Services Pte.Ltd. (Starlink) has received a formal warning for failing to comply with telco industry rules relating to complaints record-keeping.
An Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) investigation found Starlink failed to provide complaints reports to it within required timeframes on four occasions between October 2023 and July 2024.
Under the rules, telcos with more than 30,000 active services are required to file complaints reports with the ACMA no later than 30 days after each quarter.
ACMA member Samantha Yorke said it was important for the regulator to have timely and accurate records of telco complaints.
“The ACMA monitors telco complaints data to ensure telcos are meeting their obligations towards customers and as a means of tracking where improvements may be needed,” Ms Yorke said.
“This data helps us understand current issues facing Australian consumers and identify complaint trends across industry.
“Starlink’s failure to submit the required complaints reports in a timely way hampered the ACMA in its role of monitoring whether Starlink is meeting its obligations towards consumers.”
The ACMA initiated its investigation when it became aware that Starlink’s active services had exceeded the 30,000 threshold but the required reporting had not been produced.
Starlink has since provided the outstanding complaint reports and has been cooperative with the ACMA throughout the investigation.
The Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints) Record-Keeping Rules 2018 are the reporting function under the Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard 2018, which has recently been reviewed.
These rules are central to the broader telco consumer complaints-handling framework, which helps consumers receive fair, timely and effective resolution of their concerns with their telcos.
The ACMA recently began publishing rankings of Australian telcos in relation to their customer complaint handling metrics. These rankings are informed by the complaints reports filed by telcos under the complaints record-keeping rules. The most recent ranking is available on the ACMA’s website.
MR 13/2025