According to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s (TIO) annual report, complaints about Optus rose 29.5% from 15,696 in 2021-22 to 20,323 in 2022-23. The annual report noted that the Optus data breach last year shaped the complaint landscape.

With the cost-of-living crisis weighing on Australians, complaints relating to financial hardship also increased, making up nearly half of the TIO’s overall complaints.

Australia’s telecommunication companies recently received their annual report card from the telecommunication’s regulatory authority. Overall, there was a substantial decrease in complaints, but there was a notable exception: Optus.

Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert says more of Optus’s consumers raised concerns with … Telstra by comparison had a 36 per cent decrease. “So, the challenge is on Optus to improve next year.”

“Optus customers are mostly wanting answers for a variety of different issues but the key thing being customers were frustrated that the information they had shared with Optus had been leaked,“ said Gebert.

The Australian Federal Police, the communications watchdog and the information commissioner are all continuing to investigation the Optus data breach.

An Optus spokesperson says it’s worked with more than 20 different government departments and ID issuing authorities to get the right advise for customers and it’s covered the cost of replacement documents.

While the telco has acknowledged there was a spike in complaints since the cyberattack it’s had a record low number of referrals to the Ombudsman in the past three months.

John Stanton, from the industry body, the communications alliance says he thinks this has been a learning experience for companies in a range of sectors in Australia and in the more hostel cyber environment that we face today.

“I know that Optus has a very strong focus on ensuring that its customers have options and are well looked after,“ he said.

According to Stanton the entire telco Industry in Australia is also considering extra consumer protections for financial hardship complaints.

Direct Telco Complaints On The Rise

Recent statistics published by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) revealed that over a million individuals lodged direct complaints with their telecommunications companies during the previous fiscal year.

Among the various concerns raised, insufficient customer service emerged as a prominent issue, as highlighted by the ombudsman.

Privacy breaches ranked as the fifth most frequently reported problem among mobile phone users, indicating a staggering 376 percent surge in complaints about this issue within a single year.

Ms Gebert says consumers continue to experience challenges being able to access a person to talk to, as well as difficulty navigating the standard entry points like contact centres and things like that where they do have a concern

“The telco industry has the opportunity to prevent these complaints coming anywhere near our office by nipping some of these issues in the bud,”

“The Australian Communications and Media Authority said telcos were now taking an average of 5.2 days to resolve a complaint, down from 7.4 days,” she said.

Last year’s data breach, which sent shockwaves through the telecommunications industry, was a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities that exist in today’s digital landscape.

Customers and stakeholders alike had hoped for a swift and comprehensive response from Optus to rectify the situation. However, the rising tide of complaints reveals a narrative of discontent and frustration among customers.