Australia’s telecommunications complaints fell 6.5% in the past financial year, but consumers continued to face lengthy delays, inadequate fault handling and disruptions to work and daily life, according to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.

The TIO received 53,834 complaints about phone and internet services in the 12 months to June 30, 2026, down from the previous year.

However, the Ombudsman’s annual report shows problems with telcos taking too long to act, or failing to act at all, remained the dominant source of complaints, accounting for 33,165 cases.

Complaints about delays in connecting services rose 10.2% to 4,719, while 7,143 complaints related to inadequate fault testing, representing 13.3% of all complaints.

Mobile services remained the most complained-about category, accounting for 46.2% of complaints. Reports of mobile dropouts increased 22.6% during the year, reaching 1,444 complaints.

The financial and personal costs of service failures also became more prominent.

Complaints from consumers seeking compensation for financial loss jumped 60.7% to 2,609. Requests for compensation for non-financial impacts, including stress, inconvenience and lost time, increased 22.7% to 4,651.

The TIO said major outages had also tested consumer trust in telecommunications services, with people seeking reassurance that they would still be able to contact Triple Zero or reach family members during emergencies.

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert said the figures demonstrated the need for stronger consumer protections as Australians increasingly rely on communications and digital services.

She said consumers and small businesses were increasingly turning to the media for help because they had limited avenues for resolving disputes with digital platforms.

The TIO recorded a 70% increase in people seeking help with unresolved problems involving digital services, reaching 1,124 contacts. However, those complaints remain outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Gebert said the gap left consumers without an independent avenue to when social media companies’ internal complaint processes failed.

The TIO is calling for urgent reforms, including clear minimum reliability standards for telecommunications services, baseline compensation when those standards are not met and protections that keep pace with changing consumer expectations.

It also wants its powers expanded to cover the broader communications supply chain and provide accessible external dispute resolution for digital service users.

“With 32 years of experience, trusted processes and a skilled team, the TIO is prepared to deliver a scalable, consumer-focused EDR scheme for digital platforms,” Gebert said.

The Ombudsman said such a scheme would help strengthen trust in Australia’s growing digital economy while giving consumers and small businesses a clearer path to individual redress when services fail.