The Panel spoke about accessibility, cost of living pressures and tailored assistance for consumers with vulnerabilities. We heard from guest presenters from Telstra about its work on the 3G shutdown and from the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC) about giving assistance to consumers impacted by scams.
Search
Consumers who contact the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) report repeated and time-consuming contacts with telecommunication service providers to try and solve their complaints.
The TIO research paper, Resilient Consumers, reported on a survey of more than 500 consumers who lodged complaints with the TIO between July and August 2010. The survey found:
Presenter: Cynthia Gebert, Ombudsman
Event: Communications Day Policy Forum
Date and time: Wednesday 14th June 2023, 12.00pm
Duration: 20 mins
Media enquiries: TIO Media Team on 0437 548 540 or via email.
I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia, and recognise their enduring connection to land, water, culture and community.
Posted 1.10pm
Update from Optus:
"Some services across fixed and mobile are now gradually being restored. This may take a few hours for all services to recover, and different services may restore at different sites over that time."
Posted 11.47am
This month, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman signed revised Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The refreshed agreements outline a clear and transparent approach to collaboration and information sharing with the two regulators that will benefit consumers and the telco industry.
On this page:
Explore the interactive data dashboard
TIO data revealed overall complaint numbers remain steady with 15,385 telco complaints received from January to March 2025, reflecting a slight increase of 0.6 per cent compared with the previous quarter (October – December 2024). Mobile service and internet complaints remain the highest proportion of all complaints at 43.9 per cent and 40.6 per cent respectively, although complaints about mobile have dropped 8.1 per cent when compared with the previous quarter.
Complaints we commonly receive about privacy include claims that a telecommunications provider:
As the cascade effects of the COVID-19 pandemic impact Australia’s phone and internet, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman is preparing for the expected increase in urgent complaints from vulnerable and at-risk residential consumers and small businesses.