Australians made fewer phone and internet complaints in the 2025–26 financial year, according to reports released by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman and ACMA on 7 October. But the decline sits alongside continuing difficulties getting faults tested and problems resolved.
What you need to know
Two different reports show a fall in complaints. ACMA measures complaints to providers; the TIO measures complaints reaching the ombudsman. If your service problem remains unresolved, keep a dated record and tell the provider what outcome you want before escalating.
Two totals, two stages of the process
The TIO received 53,834 complaints, down 6.5%. Its most common issue was delay or failure to act, recorded in 33,165 complaints. Inadequate fault testing appeared in 7,143 complaints.
Complaints seeking compensation for financial loss increased 60.7% to 2,609. That category excludes business-loss compensation. The figures describe complaints seeking redress, not compensation already paid.
Source: TIO: annual complaints and unresolved problems
ACMA recorded 748,501 complaints to providers, down 10.8%. Its report covers 40 medium-to-large telcos. Average resolution time improved from 5.9 to 5.4 days, while the proportion escalated to the TIO rose from 6.6% to 6.9%.
Source: ACMA: provider complaints and TIO referrals
These totals should not be added together as a count of unique people. They describe different parts of the complaint system. An overall improvement also tells you little about whether an individual fault has been fixed.
What is still being proposed?
The TIO is seeking minimum reliability standards and baseline compensation arrangements. ACMA also points to a draft consumer-protection standard under consultation. These announcements do not establish a new automatic payout for every outage.
Source: TIO: annual complaints and unresolved problems
Source: ACMA: provider complaints and TIO referrals
Prepare a complaint that is easy to follow
The TIO asks people to raise the problem with their provider first. It needs to know what happened, what the telco did and the resolution sought. Supporting documents are optional but useful.
Source: TIO: make a complaint
Write a short timeline: when the fault began, when you contacted the provider and what changed after each attempted fix.
Keep complaint reference numbers, bills, relevant messages and receipts for costs you want considered.
Describe the remaining problem and the outcome you are seeking, such as a repair, billing correction or consideration of documented losses.
If it remains unresolved, use the TIO’s official complaint page and explain the steps already taken.
A precise description is more useful than a long list of frustrations. For example, say that calls drop at a particular location, record the dates and explain whether the provider has tested the service. Avoid sending passwords or unrelated personal documents with the complaint.
Sources and further reading
TIO: annual complaints and unresolved problemsFY2025–26 totals, delays, fault testing, financial-loss exclusion and reform proposals.www.tio.com.au
ACMA: provider complaints and TIO referralsProvider complaints, referral proportion, average resolution time and draft consumer-protection standard.www.acma.gov.au
Michel Elijah covers technology, streaming and online security for Tech X Telco. He writes practical how-to guides on everything from email troubleshooting to spotting the latest scams doing the rounds in Australia, with a focus on clear steps anyone can follow.
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