Someone to turn to
22nd Jun 2026
Summary
Someone To Turn To, a Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) report commissioned by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), examines the Australian community’s experiences with digital service problems and challenges resolving online complaints.
Consumer views on the value of external dispute resolution for problems with digital services
Stuck, stressed or silent online
The report reveals widespread problems with digital services – people find it hard or impossible to get help:
- 4 in 5 Australians (80%) faced at least one digital service problem in the past year, with 45% of those experiencing four or more problems
- Unresolved digital service problems are costing the Australian community an estimated $497 million per year
- Over half (53%) of people reported having lower trust online because of digital service problems
- 1 in 7 people (14%) reported online challenges taking a toll on their mental health and wellbeing
- 2 in 5 people (40%) choose not to make a complaint about digital service problems, with 57% of those people saying they don’t complaint because it’s unlikely to make a genuine difference
- For people that do make complaints, 2 in 3 (67%) are dissatisfied with the outcome
- The top platforms people report digital service problems with are online shopping platforms (Temu, Amazon, AliExpress, Shein, eBay) and social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X formerly Twitter)
- The most common problems involve accounts and access, fees and charges, and poor customer service.
Support for an external complaints body
People indicate strong support for independent assistance when digital service problems cannot be resolved directly with a platform:
- 73% support the idea of a free, independent dispute resolution service
- 83% are open to expanding the TIO’s remit to include platforms providing digital services.
About the research
CPRC asked a nationally representative sample of Australian residents their experiences with digital services.
From 16 to 26 January, CPRC conducted a 15 minute survey with n=1,005 Australian residents who had experienced some form of digital issue or challenge in the past year. Quotas for age, gender, state and location (metro vs regional/rural) were set to make this sample representative of the national population.