Our fairness commitment
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO)’s Fairness Commitment enhances our capability to deliver fairness and build greater trust and confidence in the telco sector.
On this page:
Why the Fairness Commitment matters
Community expectations of essential services like phone and internet continue to evolve alongside technology and the way telcos offer products and services.
Building and maintaining trust and confidence in the telco sector is crucial. The TIO is in a unique position to help foster that integrity by acting as the bridge between phone and internet consumers and their providers when relationships break down.
The TIO’s Fairness Commitment provides greater assurances for consumers and members by bringing clarity and transparency to how we deliver fairness. It also reinforces our commitment to continuous improvement in our service delivery highlighted in the 2022 Independent Review of the TIO.
The Fairness Commitment
The TIO’s Fairness Commitment is comprised of five key components. Together, these components confirm how we define, measure, action and determine fairness:
- Fairness Framework
- Quality Framework
- Complaint Handling Procedures
- Good Industry Practice Guides
- Guidance Documents
Fairness Framework
How we approach fairness
The TIO’s Fairness Commitment starts with the Fairness Framework by stating our approach to fairness.
Our approach to fairness uses principles that ensure our work delivers fairness in complaint handling procedures and outcomes.
The Fairness Framework provides the master plan for ensuring our Quality Framework, Complaint Handling Procedures, Guidance Documents, and Good Industry Practice Guides are in line with our definition of fairness.
Read more on TIO's Fairness Framework (PDF, 170KB)
Quality Framework
How we measure that we are being fair
Our updated Quality Framework builds on and informs quality assurance mechanisms we already have in place.
The Quality Framework sets out how we measure that we are being fair. It is a key component of building a culture committed to delivering quality and empowering our people to understand how their actions contribute to delivering fairness. It also ensures we are accountable for the way we deliver fairness and can identify opportunities for improvement as they arise.
Read more on TIO's Quality Framework (PDF, 177KB)
Complaint Handling Procedures
How we do fairness
Our Complaint Handling Procedures have been updated to ensure our processes show how we deliver fairness as a dispute resolution service. These changes will be effective from 1 July 2025. Find out what's changing.
The updated CHPs aim to strengthen valued 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.
The updates to our Complaint Handling Procedures followed a comprehensive review following feedback from key stakeholders and recommendations from the 2022 Independent Review of the TIO.
Expected publication date: June 2025
Guidance Documents
How we consider fairness by issue
We are revising and consolidating our existing Position Statements into new Guidance Documents.
Our Guidance Documents set out how we consider fairness for particular issues such as financial hardship or compensation. They are an important source of truth for consumers and telcos about what they can expect, including the way we see fairness for different issues and situations.
Expected publication date: June 2025
Good Industry Practice Guides
How we measure the telco industry is fair
We are introducing Good Industry Practice Guides to give clarity to telcos and the community about how we measure the telco industry is operating fairly.
While we already publish guidance about how we consider particular telco issues, Good Industry Practice Guides go a step further. These Guides will look beyond laws and codes, and industry practices we view as demonstrating fairness.
Expected publication date: May 2025