How does Australian Phone support handle customer complains?
Dear customers!
All of your requests and questions are very important to us. We are continuously looking forward for our developing and improving your satisfaction.
Our principles:
You have a right to complain, and if you do we will deal with your complaint in a fair, efficient, objective manner and through a transparent process. We are focused on the "first request resolution" strategy. It means we strive to solve any problems you may have during your first contact with us. Our complaint handling process complies with the requirements of the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code C628:2015 (TCP Code) and responsibility for compliance with the process lies with our Chief Executive Officer.
Free of charge:
We will not charge you for dealing with your complaint in most instances, and we will never charge you without telling you first. We may charge you to recover our costs in very specific circumstances only, i.e. we may charge you where you request information that was collected more than two years ago or where you request information that is not free of charge as per our Standard Form Customer Contract or our Critical Information Summary. If cost recovery charges apply, we will tell you before charging you (and you may, of course, choose not to pay and discontinue your complaint) and we will inform you about your options for external dispute resolution, e.g. the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO).
How to make a complaint:
If you wish to complain, please contact us:
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by mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
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by phone 1800 APHONE (1800 274 663)*, from overseas +61399998289 Customer Service team: 8 am - 8 pm AEST, Monday to Friday, and 9 am - 5 pm Saturday * Toll-Free of charge within Australia |
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via CONTACT US web page form |
You can appoint an authorised representative or advocate to make a complaint on your behalf. For help with how to appoint an authorised representative, please go to the legal information section.
What we will do:
We will acknowledge your complaint immediately and give a ticket number if you complained to us over the phone or automatical email will be issued with ticket number when you lodge a case from MY ACCOUNT support page, and within 2 working days if you have lodged your complaint through any other channel including where you left a message on our answering machine (e.g. outside our office hours).
When we acknowledge your complaint we track it with a unique reference ticket number to enable you to easily follow up on your complaint. We will also give you an indicative timeframe for resolving your complaint. You can follow up on your complaint in any convenient way for you listed above.
Our goal is to always fix your problem during your first contact with us. Sometimes this is not possible and we need to investigate the matter. We will then agree with you on how to fix your problem (this may include waiving of fees or other commercial solutions) and advise you accordingly within 15 working days of receiving your complaint. We will advise you in writing if you request this.
Occasionally it may take longer than 15 working days to investigate your problem and in this case, we will explain why and give you a new expected timeframe.
If the delay is more than 10 working days (and is not the result of a Mass Service Disruption) we will also inform you about your options for external dispute resolution such as the TIO.
We will implement all actions required to fix your problem within 10 working days unless you agreed otherwise or unless you have not done something that we needed you to do and we cannot proceed because of this.
What if your complaint is urgent?
Your complaint will be treated as urgent
- if you have applied for being in financial hardship under our Financial Hardship Policy and the issue you are complaining about directly contributes to the Financial Hardship you are experiencing, or
- if your service has been disconnected or is about to be disconnected and due process has not been followed, or
- if you are receiving Priority Assistance (e.g. because of a severe medical condition) for the service you are complaining about.
In this case, we will agree with you on how to address the issue and implement all required actions to fix the issue within 2 working days. If there is a delay, we will explain why, provide you with a new expected timeframe, and if it is a longer delay also inform you about your options for external dispute resolution such as the TIO.
If you are unhappy with our efforts:
If you tell us that you are not satisfied with the complaint timeframes, its progress or the outcome or if you tell us your complaint ought to be treated as urgent, we will escalate your complaint internally, alternatively you may do by request to a senior manager. These escalations are handled in writing by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. If you are still dissatisfied, we will inform you about your options for external dispute resolution such as the TIO. We will never cancel your service only because you have contacted an external dispute resolution scheme.
Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO)
We encourage you to always contact us first if you experience any problem or are unhappy. We will do our best to solve your problem during our first contact. Anyway, after exhausting all other steps, if you are still not satisfied with the proposed complaint resolution, your next course of action is an external channel such as the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO). The TIO should only be used as a method of last resort after allowing us to thoroughly investigate your complaint through the previous process advised. Skipping steps will only delay the resolution of the complaint.
You can contact the TIO as follows:
Phone: 1 800 062 058
Fax: 1 800 630 614
Online: http://www.tio.com.au/making-a-complaint
The services of the TIO are free of charge.
