The ACMA has published its latest Telecommunications Consumer Complaints report for the January to March 2026 quarter, ranking the complaint-handling performance of 33 telcos.
More than 184,000 complaints were reported for the quarter, with the telcos taking an average of 5.3 days to resolve complaints and 7.2 per cent of those complaints being referred to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO).
Vonex and Starlink received the fewest complaints per 10,000 services in the quarter at 2 complaints per 10,000 and both telcos ranking equal 1st, while TPG Internet received the most complaints per 10,000 services at 79 and ranking 33rd.
Of the major telcos, Telstra ranked 19th with 29 complaints per 10,000 services, Optus ranked 31st at 61 and TPG Telecom ranked 32nd with 71.
Leap Telecommunications, Starlink, Moose Mobile and Telsim all reported a 1-day average complaint resolution time. Vonex was the slowest to resolve complaints with a reported average of 17 days.
Of the major telcos, TPG Telecom reported an average of 3 days to resolve complaints. Optus reported an average of 4 days, and Telstra an average of 9 days.
Woolworths Mobile had the lowest percentage of complaints referred to the TIO, with 2.8 per cent. Skymesh had the highest at 89.6 per cent.
Of the major telcos, 8.7 per cent of complaints made to Telstra were referred to the TIO. The ratio for TPG Telecom was 3.9 per cent and for Optus it was 5.4 per cent.
Outages
Following recent changes to the record-keeping rules, telcos are now required to report each quarter on the number of complaints about network outages. For the January to March 2026 quarter, telcos reported a total of 1,043 complaints about outages.
Telco customers experiencing issues, including relating to outages, should complain to their telco in the first instance. If consumers are unable to resolve the issue directly with their telco, they can make a complaint with the TIO which is free and independent complaint resolution service for phone and internet complaints.
Under the ACMA’s complaints-handling standard telcos must adequately manage customer complaints and improve outcomes for consumers. Information on the ACMA’s recent compliance and enforcement activities around telco complaints is available here: Action on telco consumer protections | ACMA.
