Who do I complain to about NBN issues?
What the rules say about who must fix an NBN fault, the timeframes your provider and NBN Co must meet, and where to escalate.
AI-assisted research and reviewed for accuracy. Something out of date? Let us know.
Your internet provider, not NBN Co. The provider holds your contract, and the Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard 2018 requires it to acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days and propose a fix within 10 working days. NBN Co only takes complaints about property damage, its contractors and its own installation work. If the provider will not fix the fault, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman decides.
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Is your provider or NBN Co responsible for your NBN problem?
Your provider, in almost every case. Your contract is with the retail provider, not NBN Co, so the provider is the only party that must take your complaint, log the fault, chase NBN Co and compensate you.
Two sets of rules decide the timeframes. The Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard 2018 (the Complaints Handling Standard), enforced by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), sets what your provider must do and by when. NBN Co's Wholesale Broadband Agreement sets the service levels NBN Co owes your provider for connections, faults and technician visits, and the undertaking NBN Co gave the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in 2018 requires providers to take reasonable steps to pass customers a fair value benefit of the rebates NBN Co pays. The Australian Consumer Law adds a guarantee that an internet service is supplied with due care and skill and within a reasonable time (sections 60 to 62).
Your provider must acknowledge an emailed complaint within 2 working days and tell you its proposed fix within 10 working days.
NBN Co says itself that it will not handle slow speeds, dropouts, connection delays, appointments, outages, billing or missing equipment. Where you stand depends on the problem:
- Dropouts, no service or an outage. Complain to your provider. It lodges a trouble ticket with NBN Co, and NBN Co's service level in a city is to fix an end-user fault by 5pm the next business day after it accepts that ticket (second business day in rural areas, third in remote areas, tenth in isolated areas).
- A new connection or transfer that is late. Your provider again. Connection timeframes and interim-service rules are on the NBN connection delays page.
- Speed below the plan you pay for. Your provider, under the ACCC's Broadband Speed Claims guidance. See slow internet speed.
- A technician who did not turn up. Your provider. NBN Co pays it a rebate of $53.06 for a first missed connection appointment and $79.58 for each one after that, and the provider must take reasonable steps to pass you a fair value benefit.
- Damage to your property, an NBN contractor's conduct, or faulty NBN-supplied installation work. This is the one case for NBN Co. Lodge it through NBN Co's complaints forms. NBN Co aims to investigate and contact you within 15 business days and implement an agreed fix within 10 business days.
- Billing, plan inclusions or a missing modem. Your provider.
If your complaint is not resolved within 30 calendar days, your provider must give you the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman's details the next working day.
What should you do first when your NBN is not working?
Step 1: Report the fault and get a reference number
Tell your provider "I want to make a complaint". The Complaints Handling Standard requires it to give you a unique reference number immediately by phone, chat or app, or within 2 working days by email.
Log every dropout with start and end times. If the service is on priority assistance for a medical condition, say so: that makes it an urgent complaint, which must be fixed within 2 working days.
Step 2: Put it in writing and set a deadline
Use the provider's complaints form or email; the Standard requires a "complaint" link on its home page. Cite the Standard, state the dates, and say what you want: the fault fixed, a credit for the days without service, or release without exit fees.
Subject: Complaint [reference number] about NBN fault at [address], account [number]
My NBN service has [dropped out daily / had no service] since [date]. I reported it on [date] and the fault is still not fixed. My log of outages is attached.
Under the Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard 2018 you must propose a resolution within 10 working days of receiving a complaint. Under the Australian Consumer Law (sections 60 to 62) the service must be supplied with due care and skill and within a reasonable time.
Please confirm in writing by [date, 10 working days from the original complaint]: the NBN Co trouble ticket number and the date NBN Co accepted it, the repair date, and a credit of $[amount] for [number] days without service. If I do not hear from you I will lodge a complaint with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.
Step 3: Escalate inside the provider
If the 10 working days pass with no proposed fix, tell the provider you are dissatisfied with its response time. Within 24 hours it must explain its escalation process and give you the Ombudsman's details, and within 5 working days it must assess whether to escalate your complaint. Ask again for the NBN Co ticket number; without it, the provider has not lodged the fault.
Step 4: Hold the provider to the agreed fix
Once you accept a fix, the provider has 5 working days to carry it out and must confirm the resolution in writing. It cannot close the complaint without your consent.
What if your provider will not fix the fault?
- Internal escalation first. Ask for the complaint to be escalated under the provider's own process. It costs nothing and the Standard forces a decision within 5 working days. The Ombudsman expects you to have given the provider this chance.
- Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO). Free for residential and small business customers of any provider. Lodge at tio.com.au/make-a-complaint or call 1800 062 058. The problem must have happened, or come to your attention, within the last 2 years (up to 6 years at the TIO's discretion), and the TIO can make binding decisions up to $100,000. Outcomes include fixing the service, waiving or refunding charges, releasing you from the contract at no cost and compensation for loss or inconvenience. The TIO page covers the process in detail.
- NBN Co, for its own work only. Property damage, contractor conduct and NBN-supplied installation go to NBN Co's forms, with a 15 business day target to investigate. For anything else NBN Co will send you back to your provider.
- Chargeback. Only useful if you paid by card up front for a modem, installation or service that was never supplied. Ask your bank; your card scheme's time limit applies. For an ongoing fault, the TIO is the stronger route.
- ACMA. The ACMA does not resolve individual complaints but investigates providers that breach the Complaints Handling Standard. Report a provider that missed the timeframes or never gave you a reference number.
- State tribunal. Your state or territory civil and administrative tribunal can hear an Australian Consumer Law claim for a filing fee. Use it only for a loss the TIO will not award; the TIO is faster and free.
The industry's Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code 2019 still applies alongside the Complaints Handling Standard, but not for long. The ACMA announced on 27 March 2026 that it will replace the code with a directly enforceable Telecommunications (Consumer Protections) Industry Standard 2026, and published the draft for comment on 29 September 2026 with submissions closing 10 November 2026. Watch for the commencement date: once the standard starts, breaches of the selling, information and remedy rules can draw penalties without the ACMA first issuing a direction.
What doesn't work
- Complaining to NBN Co about speed, dropouts or a late connection. NBN Co will tell you to contact your provider, and the days you spent waiting do not count against the provider's timeframes.
- Accepting "it's an NBN problem" as an answer. Your provider must lodge the ticket and chase it; the Standard says a third party causing the delay does not excuse the provider.
- Reporting the fault by phone and never getting a reference number. Without one you cannot prove when the complaint started or when the 10 working days expire.
- Letting the provider close the complaint because the service worked for a day. A complaint can only be closed with your consent; say no until the fault has stayed fixed.
- Cancelling and paying exit fees before complaining. Release without penalty is a common TIO outcome, but only if you asked while the fault was unresolved.
Common questions
Can I complain directly to NBN Co about my internet dropping out?
No, NBN Co will refer you back to your provider. NBN Co's own complaints page lists slow speeds, dropouts, service loss, connection delays, appointments and outages as matters for your provider. NBN Co only takes complaints about property damage, its contractors and its installation work.
My provider says NBN Co has to fix it. Is that true?
Only partly. NBN Co does the physical repair, but your provider must lodge the fault, chase it and keep you informed. Under the Complaints Handling Standard the provider stays responsible for your complaint even when a third party causes the delay, and it must still meet the 10 working day timeframe or explain why.
How long does my provider have to fix an NBN fault?
It must propose a fix within 10 working days of your complaint, then carry it out within 5 working days of you accepting. NBN Co's own service level for a city fault is 5pm the next business day after it accepts the ticket, so a fault open for weeks is well outside both.
Am I entitled to a credit for the days my NBN was down?
Usually, yes, if you ask. The Australian Consumer Law guarantees a service supplied with due care and skill, and the TIO regularly directs providers to refund or waive charges for periods without service. Work out the daily rate of your plan, multiply by the days affected, and claim that figure in writing.
The NBN technician didn't show up. Do I get compensation?
Ask your provider for it. NBN Co pays your provider a rebate of $53.06 for a first missed connection appointment and $79.58 for later ones, and providers must take reasonable steps to pass customers a fair value benefit. If you took time off work, claim that loss too; the TIO can award compensation for inconvenience.
Does the TIO cover NBN complaints?
Yes, against your provider. The TIO handles faults, outages, slow speeds, connection delays and billing for phone and internet services, including the NBN. Complain to your provider first, then lodge with the TIO if the fault is unresolved; the service is free and the TIO can make binding decisions up to $100,000.
- Federal Register of Legislation, Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard 2018
- ACMA, How telcos must handle complaints
- NBN Co, Complaints
- NBN Co, Wholesale Broadband Agreement Service Levels Schedule (nbn Ethernet), 1 July 2026
- ACCC, NBN enforceable undertaking
- Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, What we can help with
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