What’s changing with our Complaint Handling Procedures

From 1 July 2025, updated Complaint Handling Procedures will come into effect that enhance fairness in our complaint handling. The changes follow recommendations from the TIO 2022 Independent Review.

The updated CHPs aim to strengthen existing procedures, address pain points and provide all parties who engage with the TIO clear pathways to timely and fair resolution. These changes are a key component of the TIO’s Fairness Commitment.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s changing and why these updates are important.

1. Referral Response TrialA voluntary six-month trial that asks telcos to provide responses to the TIO about the referrals we send in the first stage of our complaints process.
2. Introduction of Issues NoticeIf a consumer contacts us and their complaint is still unresolved after the first stage of our complaints process, we will send an Issues Notice to both the consumer and the provider. This facilitates both parties having a clear understanding of the outstanding issues, paving the way for quicker resolutions.
3. Referral Bypass for Extra Support CasesWhere the standard referral process could exacerbate acute vulnerabilities or risk of harm for certain complaints or consumers, the complaint may skip the referral stage of our process and may proceed to investigation. This facilitates swift intervention to prevent further harm.
4. Closing Complaints After Fair Offer AssessmentThe TIO will provide both parties with a Fair Offer Assessment if we choose to exercise our discretion to stop handling a complaint following a fair and reasonable offer from a telco. Both parties will have time to respond to this assessment before we close the complaint, providing for transparency and fairness.
5. Expanded Urgent Complaint ClassificationUrgent complaints have always been a priority, but the criteria used to classify them has been broadened.
6. Appeal Process for Closed ComplaintsThis policy sets out how the TIO applies discretion to review a Jurisdictional or Fair Offer assessment that leads to us closing a complaint. Consumers will generally need to ask for a review within 10 business days of the original outcome and clearly outline reasoning with supporting information.
7. Name Changes for Complaint OutcomesThe terminology used in complaint outcomes has been refined for clarity:
   "Fair and Reasonable Assessments" replaces "Recommended Outcomes"
8. Elimination of Preliminary ViewsCurrently a consumer’s complaint journey stops at Preliminary View, whereas telcos have an additional step (Decision) afforded to them. The TIO will be eliminating Preliminary Views from the TIO process to address this imbalance.