Telstra has topped the list of Australia’s largest telcos for complaint referrals to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), according to the latest customer complaints performance report from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
The quarterly report, covering January to March 2025, found that 10.2% of Telstra customer complaints were escalated to the TIO, well above Optus at 5.4% and TPG Internet at 6.7%.
ACMA’s report tracks the complaints handling performance of 36 of Australia’s largest telcos. Customers typically escalate issues to the Ombudsman when they are not satisfied with how their provider has resolved a complaint.
Samantha Yorke, ACMA Authority member, said the data highlights systemic shortcomings: “This is the third quarter in a row that has seen an increase in the proportion of telco complaints referred to the Ombudsman. It is incredibly frustrating for customers when their provider is unable to resolve an issue, forcing them to escalate it further.”

Samantha Yorke
Industry trends: TIO referrals on the rise
Across the industry, 7.1% of all telco complaints were referred to the TIO in Q1 2025, up from 6.9% in the previous quarter.
Prepaid brand Lebara had the lowest rate of complaints referred to the TIO, while regional internet provider Skymesh had the highest. Smaller brands including Felix Mobile and Tangerine Telecom also performed poorly, with approximately half of all complaints escalated. Circles.Life reported a 43% TIO referral rate.
Complaint volumes and resolution times
In terms of overall complaint volumes, Vonex received the fewest complaints per 10,000 services, while Circles.Life received the most. Among the big three, Telstra ranked 18th, Optus 31st, and TPG Internet 34th out of 36 providers.
When it came to resolution speed, six telcos, Dodo, Circles.Life, Moose Mobile, Amaysim, Woolworths Mobile, and Starlink, averaged just one day to resolve complaints. Skymesh again ranked lowest, taking an average of 20 days.
The industry average resolution time was 6.1 days. TPG Internet resolved complaints in an average of 2 days, Optus in 6, and Telstra in 9.
ACMA said it would continue to monitor compliance with the Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard as part of its broader efforts to protect vulnerable telco customers.