How telcos must handle complaints

There are rules that you need to follow when dealing with complaints. These rules are set out in the Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard 2018 (the Standard).

The rules say that as a telco you must: 

• Try to fix any complaint from a consumer when they first contact you. If this is not possible, as soon as you can afterwards, within the maximum timeframes explained below.
• Fix urgent complaints within 2 working days.
• Have a written complaints handling process.
• Explain to the consumer how you plan to fix their problem within 10 working days.
• Once the consumer has agreed to your plan to fix their problem, carry out that fix within 5 working days.
• Keep a record of all complaints and ensure that your records show how you followed the complaints-handling rules.
• Regularly monitor complaints to identify ongoing issues and take action to stop them.

If you have more than 30,000 services in operation, you must also ensure you follow the Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints) Record-Keeping Rules 2018, which set out the additional record-keeping obligations you must meet. This includes reporting complaints data each quarter to us. 

View our ongoing industry-wide report and individual telco performance rankings.

The Standard defines a complaint as:

… an expression of dissatisfaction made to a carriage service provider by a consumer in relation to its telecommunications products or the application of a telco’s complaints handling process itself, where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected by the consumer.

There are 2 elements that must be present for something to be considered a complaint:

1. the consumer has communicated some form of dissatisfaction, unhappiness or frustration about the telco’s products or how they are handling a complaint
2. the consumer expects you to provide a response or resolution to the matter. The consumer may ask for this directly or it may be reasonably inferred from the situation and/or their communications.

The consumer is not required to specifically state that they are making a complaint. If you are not sure if something should be recorded as a complaint, you must ask the consumer, to check. You must make this clear to staff and include it in your complaints handling process (see subparagraph 8(1)(q)(i) of the Complaints Handling Standard).

An initial contact from a consumer to request information or support, or to report a fault or service difficulty that is not likely to be due to a network outage is not a complaint unless the consumer directly advises that they want it treated as one. An issue that is the subject of legal action is also not a complaint.

When to record a complaint

The following scenarios are designed to help you understand when to record a contact as a complaint.

Each of these examples should be recorded as a complaint, because:

• the consumer has clearly expected a response or resolution, which has not occurred and
• the consumer is dissatisfied.

Each of these examples should be recorded as a complaint, because:

• the consumer indicated (either directly or indirectly) that they were expecting a response in relation to their issue and
• the consumer has indicated dissatisfaction or unhappiness.

The consumer in each of the above examples would reasonably expect a response.

Other examples that should be recorded as complaints

You are contacted by a consumer who is unhappy that:

• their internet service drops out, or works one day but not the next and they have called more than once about the issue or
• their data speed is slower than they are expecting to receive for what they are paying or
• there is a delay in connecting their service which has left them without service, so they have to rely upon backup services or
• they took time off work to be on-site and the technician didn’t turn up for their appointment.

Other common indicators used by industry to identify a complaint include when the consumer:

• expresses dissatisfaction, disagrees that the issue is resolved or wants to know if there is another way to fix the issue or
• asks to escalate the matter to a manager, supervisor, team leader or CEO or
• mentions the TIO, ACMA, ACCC or Privacy Commissioner or
• advises they intend to raise the issue with the media or a local, state or federal representative or
• threatens legal action or says they will take the matter to the small claims tribunal or
• advises of negative comments they’ve made online or to friends and family or
• explicitly states they want to make a complaint about an issue related to their telco service or how a complaint has been handled.

When is a contact made by a consumer not a complaint?

You are contacted by a consumer who is asking for information or support. For example, the consumer says:

• they need help to find the self-service portal on the website or
• they are having trouble understanding charges on their bill and ask for help to understand them or
• they are seeking technical assistance to help set up their email.

A complaint is urgent if any of the following situations apply:

• the consumer is a financial hardship customer and has applied for, or has entered into an arrangement for financial hardship assistance (according to your payment assistance policy), and the complaint is about an issue that could make the customer’s financial situation worse
• it is about a service for which the consumer receives priority assistance
• you will disconnect the service imminently or you have already disconnected the service but did not follow the correct process.

From 1 January 2026, the definition of an urgent complaint will also include a complaint that is:

• made by an individual who is a prospective, current or former consumer who identifies as someone who is, or may be, experiencing domestic and family violence
• who indicates to you that there is a threat to the safety of them or their children.

This inclusion is part of new telco rules to protect consumers experiencing domestic, family or sexual violence.

You must resolve urgent complaints within 2 working days, including implementing the resolution.

You must assist consumers to make and progress a complaint if they need help, including consumers:

• with accessibility requirements or a disability
• from a non-English-speaking background
• who are financial hardship customers who have, or have applied for, a payment assistance arrangement.

If the consumer does not express any dissatisfaction or unhappiness, no complaint should be recorded.

If you are not sure if the consumer is dissatisfied, ask them.  Some consumers may not appear frustrated or will hesitate to express dissatisfaction due to personal or cultural factors. However, they may still feel unhappy with a situation, especially one requiring more than one call or contact to resolve.

You must allow consumers to make complaints in a range of ways. These include:

• by telephone
• by email or other online method such as an online form
• through an app or live chat service if you use these contact channels to communicate with your customers
• in person at a physical store, if you have stores
• by letter.

The details of how a deaf or hard of hearing consumer can contact the National Relay Service for assistance in making a complaint must also be available.

You must have the details of when and how these contact methods can be used by consumers to make a complaint available on your website e.g. phone number, store opening hours. 

This contact information must be able to be seen via links that:

• are on the home page of your website
• are in the help or support section of your website under a main heading
• are presented in a clear and prominent way
• include the word ‘complaint’ (or similar variation) in the link text so it is easy for consumers to recognise.

You must also include details about how to make a complaint on your bills to consumers.

Complaints made by phone

The phone number you make available for consumers to make a complaint must enable the consumer to speak directly to a customer service staff member about their complaint.

A telco may use a single phone number for a range of different customer service enquiries that require the customer to select from a menu to get to the topic they want. In this case, the first set of menu options presented by your phone system must include an option that lets the consumer choose to speak directly to a staff member who deals with complaints.

Under the Standard, a complaint is considered resolved when it reaches a conclusion between yourself and the consumer making the complaint. 

Resolution differs from implementing the agreed resolution. A complaint is 'resolved' when you have either:

• confirmed to the consumer the proposed resolution, which the consumer accepts or
• in straightforward cases, advised that the issue has been resolved.

This can happen after:

• an assessment and investigation of the complaint
• further investigation through internal escalation
• reaching an impasse with the consumer where you cannot resolve the complaint to their satisfaction and you have provided the consumer with information about their right to access the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) service to resolve the complaint.

To meet the resolution requirements, you must:

• make best efforts to resolve the complaint at first contact or, if this is not possible, as soon as you can afterwards
• if resolution is not possible at first contact, investigate the complaint (proportionate to its seriousness)
• offer a remedy that addresses the cause of the complaint and considers the consumer's situation
• resolve the complaint in a way that best suits the needs of the consumer if they have informed you of any needs (this may include, for example, communicating with the customer in a particular way to reach a resolution).

After you have an agreed resolution with the consumer, you have 5 working days to implement it, unless otherwise agreed with the consumer – or the consumer has agreed to undertake actions themselves and has not done so.

When you have implemented the resolution, you must confirm this to the consumer in writing within 5 working days.

A complaint should be considered for escalation or prioritisation when a consumer:

• is not happy with the progress or outcome of their complaint or
• reasonably wants their complaint to be treated as an urgent complaint or
• asks about other options to follow it up. 

In these cases, you must tell the consumer about your own prioritisation and escalation processes within 24 hours. You also need to advise them of their right to take their complaint to the TIO and provide its contact details.

If the consumer then indicates that they want their complaint escalated or prioritised, you have 5 working days to assess whether the circumstances meet your escalation or prioritisation processes and if so, follow the relevant process.

Your complaints handling process must:

• clearly describe your own prioritisation and escalation process
• escalate at the consumer’s reasonable request
• tell them how escalated complaints will be managed and
• provide a clear dispute resolution process, ensuring that they can escalate their complaint to the TIO after you’ve tried to resolve it.

You should try to resolve the complaint through your own processes before the consumer approaches the TIO. This ensures that complaints are investigated and addressed in your organisation first.

The Complaints Handling Standard requires you to inform consumers about the TIO at certain times during a complaint when this information will be most useful to them. This includes:

• when you must notify the consumer of a delay to resolving their complaint, and the delay is expected to be more than 10 working days (except for delays caused by a notified mass outage of service, or if the delay is due to the consumer)
• when a consumer tells you that they are dissatisfied with the progress of a complaint, the expected time to resolve the complaint or want the complaint to be treated as urgent
• if the complaint has still not been resolved after 30 calendar days and the customer has not already been directly given information about the TIO.

When informing consumers about the TIO, there is specific information that you must include both:

• contact details for the TIO, including its complaints phone number and website address
• the wording ‘if you are not satisfied with how we have handled your complaint, you have the right to take it to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, which is a free and independent service’.

Your written complaints handling process must also include information about how a consumer can exercise their right to escalate their complaint to the TIO if it cannot be satisfactorily resolved.

Sometimes it may be hard to get in touch with a consumer about their complaint because they are not responding, are busy or reluctant to engage with you. 

You are required to make certain efforts to contact them when you need to discuss or advise them of matters to meet your obligations under the Complaints Handling Standard. Before a consumer is deemed ‘uncontactable’, you must attempt to contact them at least 5 separate times, with each attempt on a different calendar day. You must complete these attempts within no more than 10 calendar days.

This sequence of contact attempts is reset each time you need to contact the consumer about a matter relating to their complaint. 

If these contact attempts are unsuccessful, you must then write to the consumer, telling them all of the following:

• you were unable to contact them
• details of how you tried to contact them
• that they can contact you about the complaint (in a time that is no less than 10 working days) of sending this message.

The Standard contains all the information you need to develop a complaints handling process. 

It gives you the minimum requirements, including each of the following:

• have a complaints handling process that is in writing
• ensure it is available on your website home page and in any help or support section, along with clear contact details for making a complaint
• make it free and easy for a consumer to report a complaint
• enable consumers to make a complaint by phone, email, online, visiting a store (if the telco has stores) and by mail. If you use an online chat tool or telco app to communicate with consumers, then consumers must also be able to use these methods to make a complaint
• meet defined timeframes to respond to and resolve complaints
• make the process transparent for consumers
• explain options for escalating a complaint internally and their right to use the TIO as an independent dispute resolution option if they are not satisfied with how their complaint is being handled.

You must keep systematic records of complaints from consumers.

This record must include:

• the name and contact details of the consumer making the complaint (or their representative)
• a unique reference number or a way to identify the individual complaint
• details of the complaint and the issues raised
• the resolution proposed by you or the consumer
• the due date for the consumer to respond to the proposed resolution
• the results of any investigation
• the reasons for your proposed resolution
• the consumer’s response to the proposed resolution, any reasons given by the consumer, if they have requested the proposed resolution in writing, and that this request has been made
• the agreed resolution, including any commitments with the date advised to the consumer
• that you have completed any required actions
• copies of any correspondence sent by or to the consumer regarding the complaint.

The Standard contains all the actions and timeframes you must include in your complaints process.

If you experience a delay in proposing a resolution to consumer complaints and you reasonably believe that you will not be able to meet the resolution timeframes, you must tell the consumer what is happening as soon as possible. You must inform the consumer:

• about the cause of the delay
• when the complaint will be resolved
• about the TIO, if the delay is expected to be more than 10 working days after the required resolution timeframe.

The requirement to advise a consumer about the TIO does not apply if the delay is caused by a notified mass outage of service.

If a consumer is causing the delay, for example they are not responding to your communications or they have not yet undertaken an action they agreed to take, you are still expected to inform them of the cause of the delay. However, it would not be necessary to advise them about the TIO.

For clarity, these rules apply even if a third party (other than the consumer) is the source of the delay. Where appropriate, carriage service providers (CSPs) should make use of the obligations in Part 6 of the Complaints Handling Standard requiring carriers or other CSPs that are supplying services to provide reasonable assistance to help resolve a consumer complaint.

Telcos need to track complaints to identify emerging issues. At least every 3 months, you must formally classify and analyse complaints. You can do this more often if you choose.

You are required to:

• identify and address recurring or systemic problems
• take action to prevent those identified problems from continuing
• record your progress in addressing these complaints.

Telcos must also review their complaints handling process at least annually to ensure that it is compliant. You must identify any deficiencies or areas for improvement and take action to address any issues identified.

We monitor the industry and investigate telcos that break the rules.

If this is the case, we may take enforcement action against you. This could result in a formal warning, remedial direction, enforceable undertaking, infringement notice, or court proceedings.

We publish our enforcement outcomes on our website.