Privacy rights matter because they protect your information from being misused or accessed without consent.
The most common complaints we see about privacy issues involve:
When handling complaints involving privacy issues, we may ask you or your provider for more information. This could include:
Through our experience helping small business consumers resolve service complaints with their telco, we’ve come up with some tips for protecting your business when the unexpected occurs.
Most businesses rely on their phone and internet services but many don’t have a back-up plan to protect against financial loss.
When something goes wrong with your phone and internet services, it can disrupt your life or business and result in losing money.
The most common complaints involving compensation claims are about poor mobile coverage issues, phone or internet service quality issues or outages.
We look at compensation claims for:
When handling complaints involving claims for compensation, we may ask you or your provider for more information. This could include:
The TIO is renewing its focus on Equality, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) and Wellbeing with EDI and Wellbeing Lead Andrew Fitisemanu stepping into the role late last year.
Andrew is passionate about taking the organisation on a learning journey to improve the workplace, and aims to shape a “living breathing entity” that evolves as the organisation changes.
Andrew explains, “It’s not about monumental change, it’s about taking one step forward at a time, and making sure that everyone at the organisation has the invitation to join the journey.”
Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) Simon Cohen has welcomed the release of a Federal Government discussion paper examining opportunities to reform the TIO scheme.
“The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman scheme plays a vital role in consumer protection in the telecommunications industry, assisting customers and service providers to resolve individual disputes and advising industry on best practice,” Mr Cohen said.
“It’s important to regularly review the Ombudsman scheme, to ensure we are providing the maximum benefit to the community and industry.”
The 2023 Awards, held on Thursday 22 June, recognised the contributions of our people from 1 June 2022 to 1 May 2023. Winners were selected from over 160 nominations submitted by their peers, a clear indication the TIO’s people are doing some fantastic work that deserves to be called out.
These are the winners announced at Our People Awards ceremony:
The TCP Code is one of the major pieces of consumer protection in the Australian telecommunications sector. This ‘registered industry code’ was developed by Communications Alliance, the peak industry body for telcos. The TCP Code is reviewed every five years, and this consultation is the first step in the next scheduled review process, due to reach completion in 2024.
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman works with phone and internet providers to resolve complaints consumers make about their services. When these complaints cannot be resolved, the Ombudsman makes decisions that providers must comply with. When a telco fails to comply with the decisions of the Ombudsman the non-compliant telco is referred to the ACMA for further action.
As this matter is now before the Federal Court, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman will not provide further comment.
ENDS
Between 2022 and 2024, the TIO's systemic investigation function identified concerning practices involving Optus’ sale of telco goods and services. The TIO found hundreds of consumers were supplied with products that they did not want or need, or were led to be believe were ‘free’. The TIO referred the conduct by Optus on three occasions to the ACCC.
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16 November, 2020