Between January and March 2021, residential consumers and small businesses made 30,393 complaints about phone and internet services. This is a decrease of 0.3 per cent compared to the previous quarter, and 6.1 per cent compared to the same quarter last year.
Phone and internet complaints remain steady, with seasonal comparisons showing decline
2 June 2021
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.
Problems with inadequate fault testing has emerged as an issue for all consumer types. This is when a provider fails to troubleshoot a problem with a consumer, or the consumer is not satisfied with the provider’s fault testing.
A highlight for this period shows a continuation of a downward trend in the number of complaints about consumers being unable to contact their provider. This problem decreased by 38 per cent compared to the previous quarter.
The overall proportion of small business complaints remains steady, with a slight decrease from 17 per cent of total complaints in the previous quarter to 16 per cent in Q3.
Other insights include the appearance of Foxtel in the top ten providers this quarter, replacing M2 Commander.
While overall complaint volumes have decreased over the last two quarters, complaints returning as unresolved from the telcos has been higher than previously observed. This quarter shows over 20 per cent of referrals in Q2 returning as unresolved.
Commenting on the Q3 results, Ombudsman Judi Jones said, “Complaints reflect the consumer experience of their phone and internet services and interactions with their telco. While the decline in overall complaints is a positive sign, the increase in complaints coming back to us unresolved is concerning. We will continue monitoring this trend and working with the telcos on the problems as they emerge.”
Download the report
Questions?
For more information, email[email protected]
Stay up to date with the TIO
Sign up to our latest news, insights and tips to help you with your phone and internet problem
Related media releases
View all- Media ReleasesRead more about Digital Duty of Care must give Australians somewhere independent to turn when online services fail
Digital Duty of Care must give Australians somewhere independent to turn when online services fail
15 Oct 2026
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman welcomes the introduction of the Government’s Digital Duty of Care as an important opportunity to make online services safer and more accountable, but says the framework will fall short if Australians do not have access to independent dispute resolution.
- Media ReleasesRead more about Annual telco complaints down, but consumers still paying the price
Annual telco complaints down, but consumers still paying the price
7 Oct 2026
The TIO received 53,834 complaints in FY2025-26, down 6.5% on the previous year. Despite the decline, service delays, outages and mobile issues continued to disrupt Australians, driving calls for stronger consumer protections and sector reform.