My internet is slower than my plan. What can I do?
What the ACCC's speed guidance and the consumer law say when your plan speed is not delivered, how to test and record it, and where to escalate.
Usually a cheaper plan, a refund or a free exit. The ACCC's Broadband Speed Claims guidance says a provider that cannot fix a speed problem should offer refunds, a plan matching the speed your line can reach, or exit without charge, and on fibre-to-the-node, -curb and -building lines the ACMA rules make that compulsory. Test by cable between 7pm and 11pm, complain in writing, and if the provider refuses the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman decides.
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Are you entitled to the speed you pay for?
Yes, within the limits your provider disclosed when you signed up. A provider must advertise the typical speed in the 7pm to 11pm busy period, must tell you about any technical limit on your line, and must not mislead you about what you will get.
The Australian Consumer Law bans misleading conduct (section 18) and guarantees a service supplied with due care and skill and fit for the purpose you made known (sections 60 and 61). The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) sets out how providers should sell and support speed in its Broadband Speed Claims Industry Guidance (July 2025). The Telecommunications (NBN Consumer Information) Industry Standard 2018 and the NBN Service Migration Determination 2018, enforced by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), make parts of that guidance compulsory for NBN plans.
On fibre-to-the-node, fibre-to-the-building and fibre-to-the-curb lines, your provider must test the maximum attainable speed within 20 working days of connection and, if it is below your plan speed, tell you within 5 working days and offer a cheaper lower-tier plan or exit without cost.
The ACCC's guidance says what a provider should do when it cannot resolve a speed problem promptly, whether the cause is its own network or the NBN:
"the RSP should provide the consumer with: (a) refunds, compensation or billing reductions or rebates to reflect actual experienced speeds (b) the option to move to a plan that better reflects the typical busy period speeds able to be achieved for their individual service, and/or (c) the opportunity to exit their contract without further charge with appropriate refunds or compensations."
The guidance also says the provider should deal with your speed complaint itself, including any contact with NBN Co, "and not refer their customer to other parties". Your position depends on the cause:
- Your line cannot physically reach the plan speed. The ACMA rules apply: lower plan or free exit, plus a refund for the months you paid for speed you could not get.
- Speed is fine by day and collapses in the evening. That is congestion on the provider's network or a congested fixed wireless cell. The ACCC remedies above apply, and on fixed wireless the provider should tell you NBN Co's forecast upgrade date for the cell.
- Only Wi-Fi is slow; a cabled test is fine. The problem is inside your home; the provider must support any modem it supplied but owes no remedy for your own equipment.
The ACCC's final Measuring Broadband Australia report (June 2026) found fixed-line NBN services averaged 99.4% of plan speed during busy hours, so a service well below that is not normal.
The public benchmark has stopped moving. The ACCC published the 33rd and final Measuring Broadband Australia report on 17 June 2026 and closed the program, so the June 2026 figures (fixed-line services at 99.4% of plan speed in busy hours, 5.6% of services underperforming, 10.7% of fibre-to-the-node services underperforming) are the last independent national comparison. Providers must still meet the ACMA's testing and disclosure rules, and the ACCC's draft NBN determination of 31 March 2026 proposes new standards on NBN Co to support retail speeds from 1 July 2026; watch the ACCC's final determination for what those require.
What should you do first about slow internet?
Step 1: Test the way the ACCC measures
Plug a computer into the modem with an Ethernet cable, pause other downloads, and run a speed test between 7pm and 11pm on three evenings, plus once by day. Screenshot each result with the date and time. The ACCC's benchmark called a service underperforming when it reached 75% of plan speed in fewer than 5% of tests.
Compare the evening results with the typical busy period speed on the key facts sheet the Information Standard required your provider to give you.
Step 2: Put it in writing and set a deadline
Use the provider's complaints form or email and say "complaint": under the Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard 2018 that starts the clock on a reference number within 2 working days and a proposed resolution within 10 working days (full timeframes on the NBN issues page).
Subject: Complaint about speed on plan [plan name], account [number]
My plan advertises a typical evening speed of [X] Mbps. My cabled tests between 7pm and 11pm on [dates] recorded [Y], [Y] and [Y] Mbps; screenshots attached.
Under the ACCC's Broadband Speed Claims Industry Guidance you should offer refunds or rebates to reflect actual speeds, a plan that matches the achievable speed, or exit without further charge. [FTTN, FTTB or FTTC: under the NBN Service Migration Determination 2018 you must tell me my line's maximum attainable speed and offer a lower plan or exit at no cost.]
Please respond in writing by [date, 10 working days from today] with my line's maximum attainable speed, your proposed fix, and a credit of $[amount] for [number] months at a speed I did not receive. If it cannot be fixed I will [move to the [plan] tier at the lower price / exit without fees]. Otherwise I will lodge a complaint with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.
Step 3: Let the provider diagnose, but set a limit
Follow the provider's troubleshooting, including a modem swap or technician visit, and ask for the line test result in writing. If nothing is fixed after 10 working days, say you are dissatisfied; within 24 hours the provider must explain its escalation process and give you the Ombudsman's details. Then choose: a cheaper tier or free exit if the line cannot reach the plan speed, or a fix plus a monthly rebate for congestion.
What if your provider refuses?
- Internal escalation. Ask for the complaint to be escalated; the provider must assess the request within 5 working days. Ask for the maximum attainable speed figure, which the provider holds for every copper-based line.
- Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO). Free, after you have complained to the provider. The TIO looks at whether you are getting the service you pay for, whether the provider met its legal obligations and what it agreed to do. It can direct the provider to fix the service, refund or waive charges, replace faulty equipment it supplied or release you from the contract at no cost, and can make binding decisions up to $100,000. Lodge at tio.com.au/make-a-complaint or call 1800 062 058; the TIO page has the process.
- Leave without penalty. If the service cannot deliver what was sold, end the contract in writing under the Australian Consumer Law (sections 267 to 269) and dispute any exit fee through the TIO.
- Report to the ACMA. The ACMA does not resolve individual complaints but penalises providers that skip the maximum attainable speed test or fail to offer the lower plan; it fined Telstra $394,380 in January 2025 for exactly that.
- Report to the ACCC. The ACCC does not resolve individual disputes either, but it takes reports of misleading speed advertising and can take enforcement action.
- Chargeback and tribunals. A chargeback only helps where you prepaid by card for a service never delivered. A state civil and administrative tribunal can hear a consumer law claim for a fee, but the TIO is free and faster.
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What doesn't work
- Testing over Wi-Fi. The provider will blame your router, often correctly; a cabled test is the only result it cannot argue with.
- Testing once, at lunchtime. Plans are sold on typical evening speed, so a single daytime test proves nothing about the 7pm to 11pm period.
- Comparing with the plan's maximum instead of its typical evening speed. The number the provider is held to is the busy-period figure on the key facts sheet.
- Accepting "that's an NBN issue". The ACCC guidance says the provider should resolve speed complaints itself and not refer you elsewhere.
- Cancelling first and asking for a refund later. Claim the refund, the plan change or the free exit while you are still a customer with an open complaint.
Common questions
My provider says my FTTN line can only reach 40 Mbps. Do I have to keep paying for 100?
No. Once testing shows the line cannot reach your plan speed, the ACMA's migration rules require the provider to offer a lower-tier plan at a lower price or exit without cost. Ask for a refund of the difference for the months you paid for the faster tier as well.
Does this apply to fixed wireless or satellite?
Partly. The ACCC guidance covers fixed wireless, so the refund, plan-change and exit remedies apply, but the compulsory maximum attainable speed test does not; it is for copper-based lines only. Satellite services sit outside the guidance, so rely on the Australian Consumer Law and the TIO.
How do I know whether it's my Wi-Fi?
Run one test with a cable into the modem and one over Wi-Fi from the same spot. If the cabled result is close to your plan speed and the Wi-Fi result is not, the problem is in your home. If both are slow, it is the line or the provider's network and your complaint stands.
How many speed tests do I need before complaining?
Three evenings is enough to show a pattern. Test by cable between 7pm and 11pm on three different nights, plus one daytime test for contrast, and screenshot each with the date and time. The provider's own line test will usually confirm what your results show.
Can I get a refund for past months?
Yes, claim it. The ACCC guidance lists refunds, compensation and billing rebates to reflect actual speeds as a remedy, and the TIO routinely orders providers to refund or waive charges. Claim from the date you first reported the slow speed, or from connection if the line could never reach the plan speed.
Will the TIO take a speed complaint?
Yes, once you have complained to the provider. The TIO lists slow internet among the faults it handles and considers whether you are getting the service you pay for. Lodging is free, the complaint must be about something within the last 2 years, and outcomes include refunds, a plan change and release from contract.
- ACCC, Broadband Speed Claims Industry Guidance (July 2025)
- ACCC, Broadband speeds
- ACMA, NBN service rules for telcos
- ACMA, Telstra pays $394,000 penalty for NBN migration failures
- ACCC, Measuring Broadband Australia final performance report (June 2026)
- Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, Internet faults
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