More than 30,000 consumers and small businesses complained about their phone and Internet services - with many complaining about problems with their bills and the quality of customer service - over a three month period to the end of September this year, according to the latest complaints report from the Telecomunications Industry Ombudsman.

A year after introducing strict new complaints-handling requirements, the telecoms regulator ACMA has released data showing telcos received a total of 1.4 million complaints over the full 2018–19 financial year - but concerns over telcos providing "late or inaccurate data" have resulted in the authority excluding the data provided by Optus from its report.

Telecommunications lobby group Communications Alliance has called for a redoubling of efforts by service providers and the Telecoms Industry Ombudsman on addressing unresolved telecoms customer issues.