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Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman
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Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman
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Making a complaint for somebody else

You can make a complaint for someone else if they give you permission. This could be a family member, friend, carer, or someone you support. The process is mostly the same as making a complaint for yourself. There are a few extra steps so we know you have permission and can work with you directly.

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Who you can represent

You can act on someone else’s behalf when going through our complaints process. You may be:

  • a family member, carer or friend

  • financial counsellor

  • an advocate

  • credit repair agency

  • legal representative

  • an employee in a small business

How the process works

Our complaints process still applies when making a complaint for someone else. The only differences are: If you're making a complaint for someone else, the usual steps still apply.

  1. You must have verbal consent to contact us

    When you first contact us, we need the verbal consent of the person you are representing.

  2. If your complaint moves to the next stage, you need their written consent

    Providing written consent means asking the person you are representing to complete an authorisation form that gives you permission to make the complaint on their behalf.

  3. You will need to be involved in the complaints process

    This means being available to speak to the service provider and the TIO, providing information and documents for the complaint and making decisions on behalf of the person you are representing about how the complaint is resolved.

Authorisation form

We will let you know when the person you are representing will need to complete an authorisation form. If you’re unsure, you or the person you are representing can call us for help.

  • You are representing an individual

    For individuals and sole traders with an account registered under their personal name.

  • You are representing a small business

    You’ll need information about the business, including employee numbers, annual turnover, business activities and structure, and telecommunications services used.

How to return the authorisation form

Here are the ways you can return your signed authorisation form back to us.

Ready to make a complaint?

10-20 minutes

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