About Us

• About the TIO
• How the scheme works
• Powers of the TIO
• Jurisdiction of the TIO
• Structure of the TIO scheme
• How the scheme is funded
• Relationship to industry and Government

About the TIO

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman is a free and independent alternative dispute resolution scheme for small business and residential consumers in Australia who have a complaint about their telephone or Internet service.

Established in 1993 under a Federal Act of Parliament, the TIO is independent of industry, the government and consumer organisations.

The TIO is authorised to investigate complaints about the provision or supply of telephone or Internet services. The TIO’s jurisdiction is discussed in detail below.

How the scheme works

The TIO aims to settle disputes quickly in a fair, objective and non-bureaucratic way, having regard not only to the law and to good industry practice, but also to what is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances.

The TIO is “an office of last resort”. This means that in the interests of fairness the service provider must be given a reasonable opportunity to settle a complaint with a customer before the TIO will become involved.

The TIO investigates complaints by considering the facts provided by both parties in a dispute. The TIO is not a consumer advocacy service but rather seeks to assist both parties to a dispute by reaching a fair and equitable resolution.

Powers of the TIO

The role and powers of the TIO are included in the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999. Copies of this Act are available from the Commonwealth Government.

The TIO has the authority to make Binding Decisions (up to the value of $10,000) that are legally binding upon the telecommunications company, and Recommendations (up to the value of $50,000).

The TIO also has the power to exercise its discretion not to investigate a case further if it is of the view that all relevant facts in the matter have been considered.

Jurisdiction of the TIO

The TIO can only investigate a complaint if:

• The consumer has given the service provider a reasonable opportunity to address the complaint;
• The complaint is made within 12 months of the consumer becoming aware of the circumstances surrounding the complaint. The time limit may be extended by a further 12 months in certain cases;
• Legal proceedings have not commenced;
• The complainant was resident in Australia at the time that the circumstances surrounding the event occurred;
• The complaint is made in good faith; and
• The complaint type is within the TIO’s jurisdiction (set out below)

The TIO has jurisdiction to investigate complaints about:

• The standard telephone service;
• Mobile services;
• Internet access;
• Pay-phones;
• Delays in telephone connections;
• Printed and electronic White Pages;
• Fault repair;
• Privacy;
• Land access; and
• Breaches of the Customer Service Guarantee and industry Codes of Practice.

The TIO cannot handle complaints concerning:

• The setting of tariffs and charges;
• Privately-owned telecommunications equipment, other than the rented handset supplied with a basic phone service and mobile handsets sold as a part of a bundled contract;
• Cabling, except cabling up to the rented handset;
• Business directories (however, the TIO does have an agreement with Yellow Pages that allows us to help resolve some complaints);
• Matters of telecommunications policy
• The 000 emergency service;
• Anti-competitive behaviour or restrictive business practices; or
• The content of ‘information services’, eg. 1900 numbers and Internet content.

For more information see Policies and Procedures: Jurisdiction

Structure of the TIO scheme

The structure of the TIO is designed to ensure its independence. The TIO is governed by a Council and a Board of Directors, and is managed by an independent Ombudsman appointed by the Board on the recommendation of Council.

The Council is comprised of five TIO member representatives and five consumer representatives, with an independent Chairman. While the Ombudsman has responsibility for the day to day operations of the scheme, the Council provides advice to the Ombudsman on policy and procedural matters.

The Board has corporate governance responsibilities including financial management of the scheme and ensuring compliance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association and the Constitution. With the exception of the independent director, who is appointed by the Board itself, directors are appointed by the TIO membership.

How the scheme is funded

The TIO is an industry-funded scheme, deriving its income solely from members who are charged fees for complaint resolution services provided by the TIO. Members consist of telecommunications carriers, telephone carriage providers and Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

A member is only charged complaint handling fees if the TIO receives a complaint from one of its customers. Therefore, the funding system acts as an incentive for members to keep TIO investigations to a minimum by developing and maintaining effective complaint handling and customer service procedures.

Relationship to industry and government

The TIO is independent of telecommunications companies, consumer groups and government. However, the TIO provides information and assistance to organisations where this is required by law or where this will help the industry and consumers to resolve complaints without investigation by the TIO.

Communications Alliance is a non-government body comprised of industry representatives that develops Codes of Practice for telecommunications providers. The TIO assists Communications Alliance in developing Codes by providing information and other feedback on complaints received by the TIO.

The TIO may refer systemic problems, identified through complaint statistics, to the Australian Communications & Media Authority, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Privacy Commissioner or other appropriate bodies.