What is a complaint, and when should it be recorded?
Find out how to define a complaint.
Complaint resolution
A complaint is seen to be 'resolved' when it reaches a conclusion. This is regardless of whether the outcome favours the consumer.
Complaint escalation
If a consumer is not happy with the progress or resolution of their complaint, or asks about further options, it needs to be escalated.
What complaints records must be kept?
If you supply more than 30,000 services in operation, you must keep certain complaints records.
The requirements are set out in the Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints) Record-Keeping Rules 2018.
You must keep a record of the:
- number of services you supply
- number of complaints you receive by type of service
- average number of days you take to resolve a complaint
- number of days you take to resolve at least 80% of complaints
- top three complaints types by volume
- number of Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) Referral complaints you receive.
Each telco must keep separate records and report separately to us. This is also required where you are a part of the same corporate group but remain a separate legal entity.
When reporting complaints by service type you must report:
Example 1: How do I determine whether I am required to keep records under the RKRs?
At the end of the record-keeping period, Provider RedCom4 wants to check if they are a qualifying telco under the record-keeping rules (RKRs).
If the number of services in operation (SIO) supplied totals 30,000 or more at the end of the reporting quarter, RedCom4 will be a qualifying telco for the record-keeping period.
RedCom4 only offers one product, a bundle of an NBN broadband service and an NBN voice service.
| Record-keeping period – end date |
Date | Number of consumers | Service in operation (SIO) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 March | 31 January | 10,000 | 20,000 |
| 29 February | 15,000 | 30,000 | |
| 31 March | 20,000 | 40,000 |
Each telecommunications service in a bundle is a separate SIO.
For RedCom4, the number of services in operation at the start of the period was 20,000. At the end of the record-keeping period, RedCom4 has 40,000 SIO. Therefore, they have met the threshold.
RedCom4 will be a qualifying telco for the record-keeping period. They must submit their complaints data to the ACMA.
When to report complaints data
If you supply more than 30,000 services in operation, you must report complaints data quarterly.
You have up to 30 days after the end of each quarter to send us your data.
| Record-keeping period | Due date for submission to ACMA |
|---|---|
| 1 January to 31 March | On or before 30 April |
| 1 April to 30 June | On or before 30 July |
| 1 July to 30 September | On or before 30 October |
| 1 October to 31 December | On or before 30 January |
How to report complaints data
You must report your data to us through our complaints reporting portal.
First-time users:
1. Register for a myID and link yourself to the company you are reporting on behalf of. To register for a myID, or for any help with the process, you can:
- visit the myID website
- phone 1300 287 539
- speak with the person in your organisation responsible for managing these processes.
You may want to consider registering more than one person to your company’s myID for reporting.
2. Access the complaints reporting portal using your myID.
3. Request the ACMA-issued ‘permission token’, through the token registration form. The details required are:
- your name
- position title
- email address
- phone number
- company name
- company ABN.
4. Once your permission token has been issued, access the portal to report your complaints to us.
A test complaints reporting form is available on the portal for first-time users.
Returning users:
Use your myID to log in to the complaints reporting portal.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Troubleshooting |
| Permission token |
Permission tokens are one-time tokens specific to an authorised contact. Each time a new authorised contact accesses the telco complaints reporting portal, a new token will be required. If you have issues accessing the form to request a token, please contact our Customer Service Centre on 1300 850 115 or info@acma.gov.au. |
| Lodging your telco complaints report | If you have difficulty lodging via the Telco complaints reporting portal, please contact us via telcodata@acma.gov.au. |
| myID |
myGov and myID are different. When accessing government services such as the telco complaints reporting system, myID allows you to prove who you are on behalf of a business. It is a breach of the myID terms and conditions to share your myID. Before you can use your myID, it needs to be linked to an Australian Business Number (ABN). Once linked, authorisation is set up for employees and other parties who will be able to then report on behalf of the business. myID is unique to each user. Each user will need to register and obtain their own myID. |
| Register for myID | To register for myID or for any help with the process, visit the website, phone 1300 287 539, or speak with your internal administrator. |
| Using myID |
When logging on via myID, you must log into the app and the device each time. myID requires a compatible smart device. The myID app is compatible with most smart devices myID uses the security and identification features of your smart device to protect your identity. myID can also be used on a computer. Only the login step requires a smart device. |
How services are counted
Services in operation (SIO)
The record-keeping rules list common NBN and non-NBN services.
We count bundled NBN voice and NBN broadband service as separate services for the purposes of the RKRs. NBN voice-only refers to a service that is just voice. When calculating your NBN voice-only SIO numbers, do not include the voice element of a bundled NBN broadband and voice service.
This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all the types of services that may be supplied.
Total SIOs is calculated using the following formula:
Determining if a service is a SIO
Consider whether:
- you are providing the service
- the service is active
- the service is a content service (as the definition of this term in the Telecommunications Act is commonly understood within the industry) or a listed carriage service.
Types of SIOs not defined under subsection 8(2) may include:
- NBN voice services that are provided as part of a bundled broadband product (that is, not NBN voice-only services).
- Services supplied in connection with a listed carriage service, such as email or hosting services.
- Content services supplied in connection with a listed carriage service. For example, mobile premium services (delivering news, financial data, weather information, horoscopes, mobile ringtones, games, competitions, and chat services to mobile phones) or online entertainment services.
Further examples of undefined services may include:
- data-sharing accounts
- streaming services
- internet protocol television (IPTV).
We do not consider modems, handsets and other telecommunication goods as SIOs. They are telco goods that assist in providing a service.
Whether items that are free for a promotional period are classified as SIOs depends on:
- what the service is
- whether it is provided by a third-party service.
Device insurance is not considered an SIO.
Example 2: How do I calculate total SIOs?
Provider OrangeNet123 is a qualifying telco for the record-keeping period.
| Service | SIO |
| NBN broadband services via satellite as part of a bundle | 20,000 |
| NBN voice services provided as part of a bundle | 20,000 |
| NBN voice-only services | 20,000 |
An NBN broadband service connected by a satellite connection and an NBN voice-only service are types of SIO.
For the record-keeping period submission, OrangeNet123 must report the following:
- 60,000 total SIO
- 20,000 NBN broadband services connected by satellite
- 20,000 NBN voice-only services.
The remaining 20,000 bundled NBN voice-only SIO and are not reported separately and are included only in the total SIO.
Calculating NBN technology complaints
Providers are required to report:
- the total number of complaints
- the total number of NBN voice-only complaints
- the total number of complaints by technology type.
Providers are also required to report on connections, faults and speed complaints by NBN technology type, and connections and faults complaints for NBN voice-only services.
Example 3: NBN complaints by type and technology
Provider GreenTEL1 is a qualifying telco for the record-keeping period. It provided services over the NBN including the following technology types:
- fibre to the building (FTTB)
- fibre to the node (FTTN)
- fibre to the curb (FTTC).
GreenTEL1 records complaints about connection, faults, speed, billing, customer service and sales.
GreenTEL1 reports the following complaints to the ACMA:
| Complaint type | FTTN | FTTB | FTTC |
| Connection | 16 | 33 | 0 |
| Faults | 12 | 18 | 22 |
| Speed | 4 | 11 | 17 |
| Total complaints | 100 | 200 | 200 |
Example 4: NBN voice-only service complaints
Provider PinkISP is a qualifying telco for the record-keeping period. It records complaints about stand-alone voice services over the NBN.
| Complaint type about NBN voice-only services | Volume |
| Connection | 23 |
| Faults | 35 |
| Billing | 20 |
| Customer service | 22 |
| Total complaints | 100 |
PinkISP is only required to report (1) the total number of complaints, (2) connection complaints and (3) fault complaints.
Billing and customer service complaints are not required to be reported separately as they are included in the total complaints.
Mobile Broadband services
Mobile Broadband services are considered a mobile service and should be included in the Mobile services category.
How TIO referred complaints are counted
You must report the total number of TIO referred complaints during the record-keeping period.
Complaints classified by the TIO as Enquiry Referrals, Fast Track, One Call, Conciliations, and Investigations should not be included.
If you are required to contribute to the Complaints in Context report published each quarter by Communications Alliance (CA) under clause 4.7.3 of the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code (C628:2019, services in operation and record-keeping period are as defined in the RKRs. Also see CA’s Complaints in Context reporting page.
Example 5: reporting TIO complaints
Provider PurpleTelco5 is a qualifying telco for the record-keeping period. It records the following complaints from the TIO and tracks their approved reclassifications:
| TIO complaint | Volume for the reporting quarter | Approved reclassification | Reported to the ACMA under RKRs |
| Enquiry referral | 5 | 0 | - |
| Referral | 100 | 5 | 95 |
|
Fast Track/ Conciliation/ Investigation |
8 | 1 | - |
| Total | 95 |
Therefore, for the record-keeping period, PurpleTelco5 submits a total of 95 into the ACMA complaints reporting portal for their TIO complaints.
Calculating time to resolve
You must report the average time to resolve all complaints. This excludes TIO referred complaints.
You must also report the number of days it took to resolve at least 80% of your complaints during the record-keeping period. This excludes TIO referred complaints.
Example 6: Calculating 80% resolution time
The value must be a whole number.
Rounding and different percentile calculation methods may result in incorrect values. The correct value can be calculated by using the nearest-rank method:
- Rank the complaints by resolution time, from shortest to longest.
- Count the number of complaints that were resolved during the record-keeping period to determine N.
- Multiply N by 0.8 to get the rank, R. If R is a decimal, round up to the nearest whole number to get the nearest rank.
- The value reported should be the resolution time for the complaint at rank R. This is the number of days where there was a resolution of at least 80% of the complaints.
Provider YellowNet2 is a qualifying telco for the record-keeping period and recorded 9 complaints.
| Complaint number | Resolution time (days) |
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 |
| 3 | 1 |
| 4 | 1 |
| 5 | 2 |
| 6 | 4 |
| 7 | 4 |
| 8 | 6 |
| 9 | 12 |
Using the nearest-rank method, YellowNet2 can calculate their resolution time:
- Number of complaints (N) = 9.
- R = (0.8 x 9). Therefore, R = 7.2. As this is a decimal, R is rounded up to complaint number 8 to ensure ‘at least’ 80% resolution (rounding R down to 7 results in a resolution of only 77.8% of complaints).
- Rounding R up to 8 results in resolution of 88.9% of complaints (which is at least 80%).
The number of days it took to resolve the complaint at rank 8 was 6 days.
For their submission, YellowNet2 must report that the number of days with a resolution of at least 80% of complaints was 6.
If you do not follow the rules
We monitor the industry and investigate telcos that break the rules.
If this is the case, we may take enforcement action against you. This could result in a formal warning, direction to comply, an infringement notice, or court proceedings.
We publish our enforcement outcomes on our website.
Use of complaints data
The complaints data you submit:
- helps us monitor telco compliance with complaints-handling rules
- assists our public reporting of complaints-handling performance across the industry.