Privacy Policy

Summary of our Privacy Policy

This summary explains how Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Limited (we, our, us) protects the personal information we handle and how we comply with the Privacy Act 1988, including the Australian Privacy Principles. 
More information about how we handle your personal information can be found in our privacy policy.

Our privacy policy includes information about how we handle personal information as part of our functions and activities, which are:

• resolving phone and internet complaints
• handling land access objections
• being a voice in the telecommunications industry, 

The privacy policy also sets out how we handle personal information as part of our business activities, how we keep personal information secure, and how our website collects information.
This summary was last updated 10 December 2021.

Collection of personal information

We only collect personal information which is reasonably necessary for our functions and activities. We may also collect your personal information for related business and commercial activities, such as improving our service.

If you are a consumer or occupier who has a complaint with us, where possible we will collect personal information directly from you or from your authorised representative. We may also collect your personal information from your telecommunications provider or from another complaint handling body.

Examples of personal information we may collect includes:

• Contact details, such as your name, address, email address and telephone number
• Details of your complaint
• Other Information about you which we can use to improve our service, such as demographic information

We collect your personal information collected on the phone, by email, post or through our website. 

Use and disclosure of personal information

If you are a consumer or occupier who has a complaint with us, we use your personal information to contact you and handle your complaint. 

We disclose your personal information to your telecommunications provider and may also disclose it to other telecommunications providers that can help resolve your complaint, such as wholesalers or companies related to your provider. Telecommunications providers or their staff may be located overseas.

We may also disclose your personal information to other bodies such as regulators, law enforcement agencies, or other complaint handling bodies. We will only do this if we are authorised to, or as required or permitted by law. 

We may also use your personal information in connection with our commercial activities for example for improving how we provide our services.

Choosing to be anonymous or using a pseudonym

If you choose to remain anonymous, use a pseudonym, or withhold information, we may not be able to handle your complaint.

Accessing and correcting your personal information

You can ask to access the personal information we hold about you, and we will provide you with access to your personal information subject to some exceptions. 

If you ask for access to your personal information and it contains other individuals' personal information, we may remove personal information about other people before providing access. 

If you ask us to correct personal information we hold about you, we will take reasonable steps to correct it. We may do this by adding additional information to your file, rather than deleting any personal information. If it is unreasonable or there are other reasons we cannot correct your personal information, we will tell you why.

You can find how to contact us to request access or to correction of your personal information below.

If you have concerns or complaints about how the TIO handles personal information

You can complain about how we have handled your personal information. Please contact us (see our contact details below) and give us an opportunity to respond before contacting other bodies such as the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. We aim to respond to and investigate privacy complaints within four weeks.

How to contact us

You can contact us at:

• tio@tio.com.au (General)
• privacy@tio.com.au (Privacy Officer)
• 1800 062 058
• PO Box 276 West, Melbourne VIC 8007

For other ways of contacting the TIO, including assisted contact options, see Contact us.