Telco Complaints Data Highlights Wait Times and Escalations

Telco complaints data highlights wait times and escalations

28 April 2026

Data from the ACMA’s latest Telecommunications Consumer Complaints report shows that telcos are taking an average of nearly six days to resolve customer complaints.

The latest report, which ranks the performance of 33 of Australia’s largest telcos against three key metrics for October to December 2025, also identified that more telco customers are escalating complaints by seeking assistance from the Ombudsman.

Time spent to resolve complaints

The latest data shows the average time customers and telcos took to resolve complaints during October-December was 5.9 days, increasing from the previous quarter’s 5.7 days.

Telsim, Moose Mobile, and Starlink reported the fastest complaints resolution timeframes of an average of just one day. Vonex ranked slowest, reporting an average of 22 days to resolve its customer complaints.

Of the major telcos, TPG Telecom reported an average of 4 days, Optus reported an average of 6 days and Telstra reported an average of 8 days.

Complaints per 10,000 services

Vonex and Starlink received the fewest complaints per 10,000 services in the quarter, while TPG Internet received the most complaints per 10,000 services.

Of the three major telcos, Telstra ranked 18th, Optus ranked 32nd while TPG Telecom, responsible for Vodafone, Felix, Kogan and Lebara, ranked 30th.

Consumers lodge the highest number of complaints about Fixed-line Voice services (101 complaints per 10,000 services), followed by NBN Hybrid Fiber Coaxial, at 72 complaints per 10,000 services. By contrast, NBN Satellite services had 20 complaints per 10,000 services. The ACMA is closely monitoring complaint levels about different technology types.

Complaints referred to the TIO

In December, the overall ratio of complaints customers made to telcos versus those which were escalated to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) increased from the previous quarter to 7.3 per cent.

Woolworths Mobile had the lowest percentage of complaints referred to the TIO, while Skymesh had the highest.

Of the larger telcos, Telstra had 8.5 per cent of its complaints referred to the TIO, while TPG Telecom had 5.6 per cent and Optus had 4.6 per cent respectively.

Telco customers experiencing issues should complain to their telco in the first instance. If customers are unable to resolve the issues directly with the telco, they can file a complaint with the TIO which provides free and fair help for phone and internet complaints.

Telcos are bound by ACMA’s complaint handling standard to appropriately manage customer complaints and improve consumer outcomes. More information about the ACMA’s recent compliance and enforcement activities is available here: Action on telco consumer protections.