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This content is under review and may not reflect current legislation and Codes.
Complaints we receive involving consumers with different needs include claims that a provider:
Awareness of the TIO has increased by almost 60 per cent over the past four years according to the latest edition of TIO Talks, released today. A survey of 1,000 consumers conducted in late 2012 found that 57 per cent were aware of the TIO, compared to 36 per cent in 2008.
“Consumers must know about the TIO if they are to use our services. Increased awareness of the TIO improves our effectiveness and makes TIO services available to more Australians,” said Ombudsman Simon Cohen.
Lead Investigator Penny Goulding said, “Our team is designed to test the tools and concepts that will allow us to help reduce consumer wait times. The work we do helps us meet the demands of the queue, and keeps consumer and provider experiences positive.”
Recently, the Targeted Resolution Team just completed a six-week ‘DR Blitz’, where Penny manually allocated cases to the Dispute Resolution Officers (DROs) in her team from five different queues. The DROs were allocated 12 cases in the first week, 12 in the second week, and two in the third week.
Guidance Documents cover common issues people face with their phone and internet services.
Our Guidance Documents can help you understand your rights when you’re experiencing challenges, and what you can expect from your provider and the TIO.
For each common issue, Guidance Documents tell you:
The Outreach Team travelled to the Snowy Valley region to attend the Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW (EWON) roadshow. The TIO, along with many other organisations including EWON, the NSW Ombudsman, as well as Senior Rights Services, Services Australia and more set off to meet seniors based in Tumbarumba, Gundagai and Albury. This trip aimed to gather service providers together in these towns to offer a one-stop-shop to offer the elderly community support or assistance.
Update 10 January 2023
Joining members to a complaint
Following stakeholder consultation, we are continuing to work on the approach to joining members (telcos) to complaints. Further updates on this will be available later in 2023.
Update July 2022
Device and equipment guidance released
The modernised Terms of Reference, effective from 1 January 2022, preserved the TIO’s jurisdiction to consider complaints about telecommunications equipment.
Read the updated Complaint Handling Procedures.
The updated procedures, effective from 1 July 2025, introduce streamlined stages of complaint handling and greater flexibility for people with special circumstances.
These improvements strengthen our decision-making and allow the TIO to quickly assess what is fair and reasonable depending on your situation. This may mean we decide to skip certain stages to quickly get you the support you need – critical when supporting people who may be experiencing vulnerability.
Reflect RAP is the first of four stages – Reflect, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate – which allow organisations to continuously develop stronger commitments.
In the Reflect stage, the TIO must scope and develop relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders, decide on a vision for reconciliation, and explore their sphere of influence.
So far, the TIO have implemented the following action items from our plan:
Fewer consumers are complaining to the Ombudsman about global roaming charges but a greater proportion are disputing bills of $5,000 or more, according to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) quarterly publication, TIO Talks, released today.
Consumers who came to the TIO disputed $8 million worth of global roaming charges between 1 July 2011 and 30 September 2012. This is an average of $1.6 million per quarter.