TIO complaints fall 6.5% to 53,834 in 2025-26 while fault testing and billing disputes grow

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) recorded 53,834 phone and internet complaints in 2025-26, down 6.5% on 2024-25, according to analysis published by Compare Broadband on 10 November 2026. Internet services accounted for 21,585 of the total, a 40.1% share and a 7.1% drop. Waiting for a provider to act (33,165 complaints) and service and equipment fees (19,771) remained the leading issues. Inadequate fault testing climbed 10.8% to 7,143.

Among internet complaints, no or delayed action by the provider featured in 13,397, or 62.1%, a fall of 5.3%. Because a single complaint can cover several issues, the shares total more than 100%. Fees came next with 8,663, then inadequate fault testing with 3,928, up 3.3%. Dropouts and intermittent service fell 12.4% to 3,909, while delays establishing a service grew 9.4% to 2,857. Claims for non-financial loss, which cover compensation for stress, time or inconvenience, rose 12.9% to 2,096. Four of the top 10 internet issues increased.

Some smaller categories also grew: network outage complaints rose 19.5% to 716 and complaints about bills that were unclear or not received rose 27.2% to 805. Complaints about unfair contract terms went from 101 to 228.

ACMA data shows complaints made directly to telcos dropped 10.8% to 748,501. The share escalated to the TIO edged up to 6.9% from 6.6%.

Telstra and Optus together accounted for 57% of all complaints, and each had fewer than the year before; the analysis puts this mainly down to their customer numbers. Telstra's decline of 3,347 was the largest among the TIO's top 10 providers. Superloop's complaints almost doubled, with 92.8% concerning internet services, and the TIO linked the rise mainly to disputes over the provider enforcing a 30-day cancellation notice period.

For April to June 2026, Optus had 112 nbn complaints per 10,000 services, against an industry average of 58. The other providers in the table recorded 9 (Aussie Broadband), 42 (Telstra), 46 (Dodo), 46 (Tangerine), 51 (Superloop), 51 (iPrimus) and 56 (More Telecom). Tangerine and Superloop each saw 24.4% of complaints escalated to the TIO and Aussie Broadband 20.4%, compared with 4.1% for Optus and 6.6% across the industry. The ACMA figures leave out outage complaints and those escalated to the TIO.

NBN Co's August 2026 figures show the access network was available 99.93% of the time, with 93% of accepted faults fixed within target time frames and 99% of connections made within agreed time frames. The TIO commissioned an independent review of 9,000 complaints, which found much of the delay stems from waiting on information and responses from providers. The review also found wide differences between providers, with some engaging early and others slower or giving incomplete answers.