Australians are increasingly seeking compensation from their telcos following service disruptions, according to the latest Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) report.

The TIO received 13,547 complaints between July and September 2025, a modest 1.1% increase from the previous quarter.

The largest spike was in claims for non-financial loss, up 16.7%, with customers citing prolonged outages, confusing information and difficulty resolving issues.

Complaints related to financial hardship also rose 9.6%, reflecting the ongoing impact of inflation on household budgets.

Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert said: “When people face repeated phone and internet failures, they expect their telco to make it right. Sometimes this means compensation. The stress and disruption caused by phone and internet problems is simply too high.”

While service reliability complaints in regional Australia fell sharply, mobile service issues continued to climb.

Complaints about slow data, intermittent service and poor coverage dropped between 16.8% and 25.4% across regional areas.

In contrast, mobile-related complaints nationally rose 5.9% to 5,988.

The report also highlights growing concerns around digital platforms.

Small business owners frequently contact the TIO after being locked out of social media or cloud accounts due to errors, security breaches or miscommunication.

Current legislation prevents the TIO from providing dispute resolution for these issues.

Gebert added: “With the Government’s social media ban approaching, the need for a fair and independent complaints body is more urgent than ever. The TIO is ready to step in to close this gap.”

Additional insights show that 89.4% of complaints came from residential consumers, with NSW and Victoria recording the highest numbers.

The ACT saw the largest quarterly increase at 16.9%. Brisbane had the most complaints of any local government area with 545 lodged.

The most common sources of frustration were delayed or no action by telcos, service and equipment fees and unresolved fault testing.

Gebert concluded: “Mobile complaints are still going up. Telcos need to restore confidence in mobile services, ensuring Australians can rely on their phones when it matters most.”