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We issued a statement on our Optus Triple Zero investigation. Following the Triple Zero outage on 18 September 2025, we commenced an investigation into Optus’ compliance with emergency call service obligations and other related rules. |
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We issued formal warnings to Optus Mobile, Origin Energy, Skymesh and Swoop Telecommunications. The telcos failed to comply with financial hardship rules designed to protect customers struggling to pay their internet and phone bills. |
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We undertook a proactive sweep of 50 telco websites. Outcomes will increase compliance and inform our enforcement of new rules to support telco consumers affected by domestic and family violence, which is an ACMA compliance and enforcement priority for 2025–26. |
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We updated the Telecommunications Complaints Record-Keeping Rules to require providers with 30,000 or more services in operation to add data in quarterly complaints reporting on customer complaints about network outages. |
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We published telco complaints-handling data for the April to June 2025 quarter on the performance of the 36 largest Australian telcos. Telcos received 206,223 complaints, 4% lower than the same quarter the previous year. Fewer telco consumers also sought Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman support. |
Telco compliance 2025–26
Compliance with Triple Zero and public safety requirements
The new rules followed consultation on draft amendments to the:
- Customer Communications for Outages Standard
- Emergency Call Service Determination
- Consumer Complaints Handling Standard.
We opened 2 investigations into telco compliance with emergency call service rules that require telcos to maintain their networks and ensure emergency calls are carried to the Emergency Call Person.
We closed 2 different investigations into telco compliance with emergency call service rules that require telcos to maintain their networks and ensure emergency calls are carried to the Emergency Call Person.
Enforcing new rules to support telco consumers affected by domestic and family violence
Enforcing compliance with new protections to support telco customers experiencing domestic and family violence is an ACMA compliance and enforcement priority for 2025–26.
Key protections in the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Standard require telcos to help keep victim-survivors safe by:
- using agreed contact methods
- offering minimum support options such as clean slate accounts
- protecting their privacy
- training staff to recognise and help at-risk consumers
- working with domestic and family violence experts to develop policies and procedures and training.
On 1 July 2025, a limited number of provisions under the standard commenced. These protections:
- prohibit a telco from asking an affected person to engage with a perpetrator
- require telcos to make information available about the support they provide to affected customers
- reverse restrictions, suspensions or disconnections of an affected person’s telco service in certain circumstances.
We are monitoring industry’s compliance with the new rules. In the quarter, we undertook a proactive compliance sweep of 50 telco websites.
This involved assessing compliance with telco responsibilities to publish information about the support they offer affected persons, and how to access that support. We are assessing the results of our sweep and will contact telcos that failed to meet their responsibilities.
Under the standard, additional responsibilities come into force for large telcos on 1 January 2026 and for small telcos on 1 April 2026. To complement our compliance and enforcement work in this space, we will be contacting telcos seeking information about:
- their implementation of the requirements
- how consumers are using the available supports.
We will publish the outcomes of this work in 2026.
Enduring compliance and enforcement priority: Consumers experiencing vulnerability
Financial hardship
In July, we issued formal warnings to Optus Mobile, Origin Energy, Skymesh and Swoop Telecommunications for failing to comply with financial hardship rules designed to protect customers struggling to pay their internet and phone bills.
Under the rules, telcos have a responsibility to include certain information in written communications with customers. Bills, reminder notices about overdue bills and communications to identify if a customer is in financial hardship must include information about options for assistance and how to contact their telco for help.
Our investigations found each telco failed to provide all the required information in at least one of these types of written communications with its customers.
We have additional investigations underway, including about telco compliance with payment assistance policy requirements under the Financial Hardship Standard.
Complaints handling
We opened an investigation into a telco’s compliance with Complaints Record Keeping Rules.
Other telco compliance activities
We started 20 assessments and completed 21 assessments into telco compliance with consumer safeguards during the quarter. These are an important source of industry intelligence. They resulted in:
- investigations
- direct compliance contacts with telcos
- ongoing telco monitoring
- industry education.
We also opened 3 investigations into telco compliance with:
- Critical Information Summary and advertising requirements in the TCP Code.
- Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) Standard rules requiring telcos to correctly apply the CSG to bundled voice and internet services.
- Rules relating to accessing the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND).
We completed 3 investigations into telco compliance with:
- IPND Code requirements.
- Prepaid identity check requirements.
- Rules requiring Interception Capability Plans to be submitted by 1 July each year.
We monitored compliance with 4 court-enforceable undertakings and one remedial direction during the quarter. These set out the actions telcos must take to improve their compliance with telco laws with the aim of improving consumer outcomes in the future. Our monitoring did not identify any compliance issues related to these.
Completed compliance activities
Telco complaints-handling
We released the telco complaints report for the April to June 2025 quarter.
Across the industry, complaint resolution times fell on average from 6.1 days in the January to March 2025 quarter to 5.8 days in the April to June 2025 quarter. Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) escalation rates decreased from 7.1% to 6.2%.
In the April to June 2025 quarter, the provider that received the least complaints per 10,000 services was Medion (4), while Vodafone received the most complaints per 10,000 services (101).
The providers that resolved complaints the fastest were Moose Mobile, Starlink, Dodo, Telechoice, Woolworths Mobile and Telsim (one day on average). The provider that resolved complaints the slowest was Skymesh (21 days on average).
The provider with the lowest TIO referral rate was Lebara (1.7%), and the provider with the highest TIO referral rate was Skymesh (115%).
We continue to work with underperforming providers to assess appropriate next steps.
On 18 September, we updated the Telecommunications Complaints Record-Keeping Rules to require providers with 30,000 or more services in operation to add data on customer complaints relating to network outages in quarterly complaints reporting.
The new complaints data will need to be provided to us from the January to March 2026 quarter.
Scam or fraudulent activity
In July 2025, the ACMA Authority made a decision to cancel the enhanced rights of use (EROU) for 31 smartnumbers held by 4 EROU-holders. The ACMA considered the numbers were either used, or likely to be used, in scam or fraudulent activity. The numbers were withdrawn from the telcos and placed into quarantine.
Stakeholder forums
The Numbering Advisory Committee (NAC) was convened on 2 July 2025. The purpose of the meeting was to consult with NAC members on the ACMA’s proposed numbering work program intended to take forward issues identified during the Numbering Plan review. Following this consultation, the work program was finalised in August 2025.
The next NAC meeting is planned for early 2026.
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Check the accessibility file for the information shown in the chart above.
