Complaints Handling Process

Your right to make a complaint, how to make one, what we will do, and how long each step takes. Published under the Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard 2018.

You have a right to make a complaint. Using this process is free of charge. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you can take your complaint to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.

Network outages are handled separately. If you cannot establish or maintain a connection to your service, see our network outage complaints handling process.

How to make a complaint

You can make a complaint by any of the methods below, and you can use the same details to ask how your complaint is progressing at any time.

If you call us, you can make your complaint by speaking with a member of our team who handles complaints. You can also write to us by letter, or contact us by email or online. You can contact us by phone or online 9 AM to 6 PM AEST, Monday to Friday.

National Relay Service. If you are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment, you can contact us through the National Relay Service. Call 1800 555 660. Details of how to use the service are at www.accesshub.gov.au/about-the-nrs. Then ask for the contact details listed above.

Someone can act for you

You can nominate a representative, such as a family member, friend, advocate or anyone else you choose, to make a complaint for you and to deal with us about it. Tell us who they are and we will deal with them as we would with you.

We will help you make your complaint

If you contact us and tell us you are unhappy about something, and we are not sure whether you want to make a complaint, we will ask you. If you do, we will help you put your complaint together, make it and follow it through. That includes help for consumers with accessibility requirements or disability, consumers from non-English speaking backgrounds, and consumers who have applied for or entered into a financial hardship arrangement with us.

What happens after you complain

We try to resolve complaints at first contact. Where we cannot, these are the steps we follow.

  1. We acknowledge your complaint. We confirm we have received it, give you a unique reference number, and tell you how to check its progress.
  2. We make an initial assessment of what has gone wrong and how serious it is.
  3. We investigate to the extent the complaint warrants.
  4. We respond and propose a resolution, tailored as far as we can to the cause of your complaint and to your circumstances.
  5. We tell you our decision in response to your complaint.
  6. We implement the resolution once you accept it.
  7. We close the complaint. We will only close a complaint with your consent, or where we have been unable to contact you after repeated attempts as the Standard permits.
  8. You can go to the TIO. You can refer your complaint to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman for external dispute resolution. See below.

Once we have finished investigating, we will confirm the resolution of your complaint in writing within 5 working days. You can also ask us at any time to confirm a proposed resolution in writing, and we will do so within 5 working days of your request.

Urgent complaints

We treat a complaint as urgent if any of the following apply:

  • you have applied for, or entered into, a financial hardship arrangement with us, and your complaint can reasonably be presumed to directly contribute to or aggravate that hardship;
  • your service is about to be disconnected, or has been disconnected, without due process being followed;
  • you are a priority assistance consumer and the complaint is about the service you receive priority assistance for; or
  • you are an affected person who indicates there is a threat to the safety of you and/or your children.

Urgent complaints are identified when you first contact us and are handled ahead of ordinary complaints on the shorter deadlines set out below. If you think your complaint is urgent, tell us and we will assess it.

How long each step takes

We work to minimise waiting times, call transfers, and having to deal with more than one person to get your complaint resolved. These are the time periods that apply to each step.

  • Acknowledgement. Immediately, if you complain by phone or another real-time method. Within 2 working days if you complain by email or post.
  • Proposed resolution. Within 10 working days of receiving your complaint.
  • Urgent complaints. We confirm a proposed resolution and, if you accept it, implement it within 2 working days of receiving the complaint.
  • Complaints about a billing error. Resolved by the end of the billing period immediately following your current one, or within 30 calendar days, whichever comes first.
  • Implementing an agreed resolution. Within 5 working days of you accepting it, unless we agree something else with you.
  • Written confirmation of resolution. Within 5 working days after we complete our investigation, and within 5 working days if you ask us for it.

If we are going to be late

We will tell you as soon as possible after we become aware of any delay. If we do not reasonably believe we can resolve your complaint within the applicable period above, we will tell you within that period what caused the delay and give you a new timeframe. If we expect the delay to run more than 10 working days past that period, and it is not because of a notified mass service outage, we will also give you the Ombudsman information below.

If your complaint is not resolved within 30 calendar days of us receiving it, we will give you the Ombudsman information on the next working day, if we have not already.

Prioritising and escalating your complaint

Prioritisation. When your complaint arrives we assess how serious and how urgent it is, including whether it meets any of the urgent limbs above, and we work the most serious and most time-critical complaints first.

Escalation. An escalated complaint is moved to a more senior member of our team, who takes ownership of it, reviews the handling so far and decides what happens next. We will escalate your complaint at your reasonable request.

If you tell us you are unhappy with our response times, or you reasonably want your complaint treated as urgent, we will tell you about our prioritisation process, our escalation process and the Ombudsman within 24 hours. If you tell us you are unhappy with the progress or resolution of your complaint, or you ask what else you can do, we will tell you about our escalation process and the Ombudsman within 24 hours. If you then ask us to prioritise or escalate, we will assess your complaint and do so where appropriate within 5 working days.

External dispute resolution: the TIO

If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your complaint, you have a right to take it to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, which is a free and independent service.

You can contact the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman:

We ask that you give us a reasonable opportunity to resolve your complaint first. We will not cancel your telecommunications service just because you were unable to resolve a complaint with us and pursued external dispute resolution.

Keeping this information accurate

The contact details on this page are the details we hold as current for making a complaint, and we keep them accurate and up to date. This process is available free of charge, and we will also give you a copy in a form that suits you if you ask us, or as soon as practicable after you tell us you want to complain.