The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman received a total of 56,718 complaints from consumers in the 2023-24 financial year, of which 88.3 per cent were made by residential consumers, and 11.7 per cent were made by small businesses.
The last 12 months have been important and productive for our organisation, working to drive industry change and support consumers and members to reach fair and reasonable outcomes. Entering my second year in the role, I am inspired by our important work and committed to enhancing the critical role the TIO plays in a rapidly changing landscape.
Telecommunication services are essential services, as important to our quality of life and health and wellbeing as the electricity and water in our homes.
Data highlights and insights
We received 169,807 contacts this year
102,378 contacts were received online and 67,429 were received by phone.
Complaint numbers decreased this year
Consumers and small businesses made 56,718 complaints, a 14.6 per cent decrease from 2022–23.
Most complaints came from residential consumers
We received 50,096 complaints (88.3%) from residential consumers and 6,622 complaints (11.7%) from small businesses.
View interactive data dashboards
Explore the 2023–24 complaints data, trends and outcomes.
Although the total number of complaints decreased by 14.6 per cent compared to the previous financial year, the nature of the complaints indicates ongoing consumer frustration with telcos.
In 2023-24, the main issues facing phone and internet consumers were:
No or delayed action by a provider: 35,748 complaints
Service and equipment fees: 19,178 complaints
No phone or internet service: 6,730 complaints
Mobile services were the most complained about service type in 2023-24 for the third year in a row. Complaints about mobile services accounted for 43.5 per cent of all complaints this year. However, the total volume of mobile complaints decreased by 22.1 per cent from 31,633 in 2022-23 to 24,655 in 2023-24.
Complaints involving network issues made up 44.2 per cent of our complaints, an increase from 39.9 per cent in 2022–23. The TIO received 1,373 complaints related to financial hardship, a 20.4 per cent decrease from the previous year.
Complaints by state
Complaints across all states decreased compared to 2023, with the most significant drop occurring in Tasmania.
Most complaints came from New South Wales, followed by Victoria and Queensland. But when adjusted for population, Victoria leads with 2.4 complaints per 1,000 people, compared to 2.1 in New South Wales.
How we've helped others
Billing or debt
Tamin Tutoring was charged an unfairly high early cancellation fee
Tamin Tutoring signed up for an NBN service and equipment bundle with BlockTel but experienced frequent faults with slow and dropped video calls and inconsistent phone calls. When they tried to cance…
The carrier planned to install a cable under a waterway, notifying the landowner as required. The landowner objected, citing concerns about environmental impact, the cable's location and the timing o…
Richard’s family was at risk with no landline service
Richard, living in a rural, high fire risk area with no mobile coverage, relies on his landline for emergency calls. Despite having Priority Assistance, his landline has had issues for 10 years.
Carlo was placed into further hardship after falling victim to a scam
Carlo, a full-time student with limited income, was scammed into buying three mobile phones, leaving him with a $3,200 debt. He contacted BranchTel for help as he couldn’t afford to pay off the debt,…
Tamin Tutoring was charged an unfairly high early cancellation fee
Tamin Tutoring signed up for an NBN service and equipment bundle with BlockTel but experienced frequent faults with slow and dropped video calls and inconsistent phone calls. When they tried to cance…
The carrier planned to install a cable under a waterway, notifying the landowner as required. The landowner objected, citing concerns about environmental impact, the cable's location and the timing o…
Richard’s family was at risk with no landline service
Richard, living in a rural, high fire risk area with no mobile coverage, relies on his landline for emergency calls. Despite having Priority Assistance, his landline has had issues for 10 years.
Carlo was placed into further hardship after falling victim to a scam
Carlo, a full-time student with limited income, was scammed into buying three mobile phones, leaving him with a $3,200 debt. He contacted BranchTel for help as he couldn’t afford to pay off the debt,…
Issues in complaints are recorded based on six broad categories that follow the lifecycle of a consumer’s relationship with their phone or internet provider. A single complaint can have more than one issue.
We received a total of 57,592 complaints from consumers in the 2023-24 financial year. Residential consumers made 89 per cent of these complaints and 11 per cent were made by small businesses.
Complaints from phone and internet consumers decreased 16.5 per cent in the last financial year ending 30 June 2023. In this period, consumers and small business made 66,388 complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, highlighted in the Annual Report 2022—23.
