Phone or internet outage? Your rights, credits and how to complain in Australia
When your mobile or home internet goes down, you’re usually still paying for it. Here’s what Australian rules say, what you can reasonably ask for, and where to go if your provider won’t help. This is general information, not legal advice. Your provider’s terms and the official pages linked below have the details.
What your provider has to tell you during a major outage
Since the large Optus outage in November 2023, telcos have had to follow the ACMA’s rules for major and significant outages. In short:
- For a major outage (one affecting 100,000 or more services for at least an hour), your provider must tell customers soon after it starts and keep them updated, at least every six hours in the first day.
- Updates have to be on the provider’s website and through channels like its app, SMS, email or social media.
- Smaller significant local outages in regional and remote areas have their own notice rules.
- Outages caused by natural disasters are mostly treated differently, so expect less detail during bushfires, floods or cyclones.
On each service page we link the provider’s official outage or status page, and show its official incidents where it publishes a feed we can read.
Credits and compensation
There’s no single rule that gives every customer money back for every outage. What you can get depends on the kind of service:
- Landline phone: the Customer Service Guarantee sets timeframes for connecting and repairing standard landline phone services, with compensation if your provider misses them. It doesn’t cover mobile or internet, and it doesn’t apply to outages caused by natural disasters, planned work you were told about, or damage by someone else. Some plans ask you to give up these rights, so check yours.
- Mobile and home internet: there’s no automatic payment. After big outages providers have often offered a credit or extra data. If they don’t, ask: explain how long you were without service and what it cost you.
- Long outages: if a service stays down for days, ask your provider for a temporary alternative (such as a mobile hotspot or extra data) and for a pro-rata refund of the days you couldn’t use it.
How to ask for a credit
- Note when the outage started and ended, and what didn’t work. A screenshot of the service page here, with the time and the number of reports, can help.
- Contact your provider through its app, chat or phone. Ask for a credit and say what you want (for example, a refund of the days without service).
- Ask for a complaint reference number, and write it down with the date.
If your provider won’t fix it: the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) is free and independent. It handles complaints about mobile, internet and landline services, but you need to complain to your provider first and give it a chance to fix things.
- Complain online at tio.com.au or call 1800 062 058.
- Have your account number, your provider’s name and your complaint reference number ready.
- Complaints usually need to be about things that happened, or that you found out about, in the last two years.
Don’t get caught by outage scams
Outages are a favourite hook for scammers: texts offering “outage compensation” with a link, or calls pretending to be your provider. Real credits are applied to your account. You won’t need to click a link or give a card number to receive one. If in doubt, open your provider’s app or type its website address yourself.
General information only, not professional advice. Is It Down AU is independent and not affiliated with any provider mentioned.
