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The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Simon Cohen has welcomed a review by the telco industry designed to help customers stay connected if their service provider goes into administration.

The review of telco service continuity agreements, announced by Communications Alliance today, is a step in the right direction, Mr Cohen said.

"The unfortunate events of the past two weeks have left thousands of consumers and small businesses suddenly disconnected from phone and internet services," the Ombudsman said.

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.”

Committed partners share a goal that everybody has fair access to essential services they need to thrive in contemporary Australia. These services include utilities, financial services, telecommunications, and transport.

The vision of Thriving Communities Partnership aligns with the TIO’s purpose of providing a fair, independent, and accessible external dispute resolution service.

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s Quarter 3 (Q3) 2020-21 Complaints Report published today (Wednesday 2 June 2021) shows mobile continues to be the most complained about service type, accounting for 35 per cent of all complaints. This is the highest proportion in the last five quarters.

The TIO has a range of reports and updates related to our work and our industry. 

Annual Reports and Updates - provide a snapshot of the full financial year activities of our complaint handling service. 

Complaint Keywords - a hierarchy list of the keywords used to categorise our complaints. 

Outreach work is an important element of the TIO’s commitment to providing an accessible dispute resolution service. Navanita Bhattacharya, Senior Advisor for Equality Diversity and Inclusion, was part of the team who attended Yabun Festival.

“For me, the greatest takeaway from Yabun was the reiteration that human connection is vital. What people of all ages, cultures and abilities look for in a service such as the TIO is the ‘voice’ at first contact – a voice that says, ‘you are important; your problem is valid; we will help you in the best possible way.’”

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman is an industry-funded Ombudsman service. Its income is generated solely from telecommunications companies who are charged fees for our complaint resolution services in accordance with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Terms of Reference.

The Ombudsman is responsible for developing a budget based on an approved annual business plan, which is approved by the Board before the start of each financial year. The Ombudsman is responsible for the implementation of the approved business plan and budget.

“We are pleased to publish our submission to the Consumer Safeguards Review - Part C: Choice and fairness. 

“As the independent dispute resolution scheme for the telecommunications industry, the complaints we receive from individual consumers and small businesses put us in a unique position to provide insights about choice and fairness.