The Morrison Government welcomes the release of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s (TIO) latest 6-monthly update report, which shows an overall decrease in complaints for the industry.
The number of complaints to the TIO between July and December 2018 decreased by 27.7 per cent on the corresponding period in 2017, and by 26.9 per cent on the January‑June 2018 period.
While 631,000 NBN services were activated in the Jul-Dec 2018 period, complaint figures about services delivered over the NBN have continued to decline.
| Connection or changing provider complaints (services delivered over the NBN) | Premises added to the network | Complaints per 1,000 premises connected to the NBN | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July–Dec 2017 | 8,711 | 942,804 | 9.2 |
| Jan–June 2018 | 5,878 | 649,933 | 9.0 |
| July–Dec 2018 | 4,217 | 631,096 | 6.7 |
Minister for Communications and the Arts, Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield said these numbers confirm the Government’s efforts to improve consumer experience are working.
“This continues the downward trend observed over the last 12 months and shows the measures put in place by the Government and regulators as well as the efforts of industry are continuing to deliver results,” Minister Fifield said.
However, Minister Fifield said “one complaint is a complaint too many” and stressed the need for continued improvement.
The Government is committed to better outcomes for consumers and is comprehensively reviewing the current consumer safeguards,” Minister Fifield said.
The Department of Communications and the Arts and the Australian Communications and Media Authority are continuing to work with the TIO to implement recommendations of Part A of the Government’s Consumer Safeguards Review.
For more information about the Consumer Safeguards Review visit: www.communications.gov.au/consumer-safeguards-review
NOTES:
With the exception of complaints in the Property category, the TIO registers complaints against the party with whom the consumer has the contractual relationship – usually the retail service provider. This means that even though a complaint may be about a service delivered over the National Broadband Network (NBN), it is not necessarily NBN Co or the network that is at fault.