Named and shamed: Which telco takes the longest to fix complaints?
The ACMA has judged the complaints-handling process of every Australian telco - and found many left wanting.
Some of Australia's biggest telcos are taking even longer to fix customer complaints than in 2024.
That's according to the latest complaints-handling performance report from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
Although the average weighted resolution time has seen a modest improvement compared to the previous quarter, some telcos - including Felix Mobile, iiNet, Kogan Mobile, Internode and Southern Phone - have actually gone backwards.
Read on to see how each telco ranked.
Average wait times
When it comes to resolving customer complaints, the average wait time across all services is currently 6.1 days.
However, when you break that figure down by telco, some stark differences emerge.
The telcos with the fastest complaint resolutions are Moose Mobile, Dodo, amaysim, Starlink, and Woolworths Mobile
They all took an average of just 1 day to resolve customer complaints.
By contrast, the worst offenders can drag things out by more than 10 days.
The slowest to resolve issues by far was Skymesh, which took a hair-pulling average of 20 days to fix complaints.
(This is perhaps unsurprising when you consider Skymesh mainly services rural customers using satellite technology.)
Also near the bottom of the list were Activ8me (10 days), Felix Mobile (9 days), Telstra (9 days) and Southern Phone (8 days).
Of the 3 major telcos, Vodafone leads a somewhat tardy pack, resolving customer complaints in 5 days on average. Optus followed at 6 days, with Telstra lagging behind on 9 days.
Here's the full list.
Average days to resolve a complaint
| Rank | Telco | Current quarter (Jan–Mar 2025) | Previous quarter (Oct–Dec 2024) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moose Mobile | 1 day | 1 day |
| 1 | Dodo | 1 day | 1 day |
| 1 | Amaysim Mobile | 1 day | 3 days |
| 1 | Circles.Life | 1 day | 1 day |
| 1 | Starlink | 1 day | 1 day |
| 1 | Woolworths Mobile | 1 day | 2 days |
| 7 | TPG Internet | 2 days | 2 days |
| 8 | More Telecom | 3 days | 2 days |
| 8 | Mate Communicate | 3 days | 3 days |
| 8 | Tangerine Telecom | 3 days | 3 days |
| 8 | Telechoice | 3 days | 7 days |
| 12 | Exetel | 4 days | 4 days |
| 12 | Superloop Broadband | 4 days | 4 days |
| 12 | Kogan Mobile | 4 days | 2 days |
| 15 | Foxtel | 5 days | 5 days |
| 15 | Vodafone | 5 days | 5 days |
| 15 | iiNet | 5 days | 4 days |
| 15 | Aussie Broadband | 5 days | 6 days |
| 15 | Primus | 5 days | 5 days |
| 20 | Optus | 6 days | 6 days |
| 20 | Commander | 6 days | 7 days |
| 20 | Medion | 6 days | 9 days |
| 20 | Lyca Mobile | 6 days | 8 days |
| 20 | Leap Telecommunications | 6 days | N/A |
| 25 | Spintel | 7 days | 10 days |
| 25 | Internode | 7 days | 6 days |
| 27 | Southern Phone Company | 8 days | 6 days |
| 28 | Origin Energy | 9 days | 6 days |
| 28 | Occom Pty Ltd | 9 days | N/A |
| 28 | Telstra | 9 days | 9 days |
| 28 | Lebara | 9 days | 7 days |
| 28 | Felix Mobile | 9 days | 7 days |
| 33 | Activ8me | 10 days | 7 days |
| 34 | Uniti Internet | 13 days | 14 days |
| 35 | Vonex | 14 days | 16 days |
| 36 | Skymesh | 20 days | 18 days |
If you're shopping around for a new mobile or broadband plan, it's definitely worth paying attention to these averages.
There are few things more frustrating than being stonewalled when your internet isn't working - so go with a telco that can communicate a fix and action it quickly.
TIO complaints on the rise
On the whole, Australians are increasingly dissatisfied with their mobile and internet providers, with more complaints being escalated to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) than ever before.
According to ACMA's latest figures, 7.1% of telco complaints were referred to the TIO in the March 2025 quarter, up from 6.9% the previous quarter.
This marks the third consecutive rise in escalation rates, with more consumers unable to resolve issues directly with their providers.
On the plus side, new complaint handling rules came into effect in Australia late last month.
Among other things, these new rules will significantly reduce the timeframes telcos have to resolve complaints with customers. Failure to comply could result in financial penalties.
We await the ACMA's next complaints-handling report with keen interest - hopefully the new rules will make a difference.
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