2.0 About the TIO

The TIO provides a free alternative dispute resolution service to residential and small business consumers who have been unable to resolve a complaint directly with their telephone company or internet service provider.

Established by the Federal Government in 1993, the TIO's services are available to consumers from across Australia.

Telecommunications companies in Australia are required by law to be members of the TIO scheme if they operate in one or more of the following areas:

• supplying a standard telephone service
• supplying a mobile telecommunications service
• providing internet access, and
• acting as intermediaries by reselling any of the above services.

These companies bear the cost of the TIO scheme.

The concept of fairness is central to everything the TIO does.

A complaint will not be investigated until the TIO is satisfied that the service provider has been given a reasonable opportunity to resolve the complaint without TIO involvement. In this sense, the TIO is referred to as an "office of last resort".

The TIO is not a consumer advocate, but rather a service to help consumers and telecommunications companies resolve disputes. It is also independent of government and industry interests and is a not-for-profit organisation.

Operating as an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme, the TIO exists as an alternative to traditional court processes and aims to deal with complaints speedily, in a fair, objective and non-bureaucratic way. In resolving complaints, the TIO takes into account good industry practice and what is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances, rather than seeking a resolution based on strictly legal grounds.

People may lodge complaints with the TIO in person, in writing, over the telephone or via email. A TTY service is also available for people with hearing loss and for those with speech and hearing impairments. The National Relay Centre and the Translating and Interpreting Service offer other means of contacting the TIO.

As the TIO is a free service, the cost of AUSLAN signers or interpreters, and other expenses associated with investigating a complaint, is borne by the TIO.

The TIO treats all complaints confidentially and has processes in place to meet requirements of the Privacy Act 1988.

The Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 sets legislative boundaries for the TIO's jurisdiction and powers, including the ability to make binding determinations. The service provider, but not the complainant, must comply with such decisions.

The TIO is authorised to investigate complaints about landline, internet and mobile services, including those relating to:

• billing and payments
• customer service
• complaint handling
• credit management
• contracts
• directories
• faults
• land access
• mobile premium services
• provisioning
• payphones
• phone cards
• privacy
• transfers, and
• breaches of the Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) Standard and industry Codes of Practice.

The TIO cannot investigate complaints about:

• the setting of tariffs for carriage services
• anti-competitive practice
• business directories
• cables beyond the network boundary
• the content of a content service
• customer equipment
• the Do Not Call register
• high impact facilities
• intra-industry disputes
• issues which are the subject of legal proceedings
• a member's commercial decision
• disputes over two years old, and
• telecommunications policy.

The complaints that the TIO cannot deal with often fall within the authority of industry regulators, such as the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission or state-based offices of Fair Trading. If the TIO is unable to assist with a complaint, our investigations staff are trained to advise on the most appropriate course of action.

The TIO is a national service operating out of an office in the Melbourne CBD. At September 2007 the TIO employs 112 staff.

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