The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released a first-of-its-kind report on telco customer complaints, finding Westnet the most complained about telco, and Vonex the least.

The report evaluates the performance of the 34 largest telcos operating in Australia against three key complaint handling metrics.

Vonex received the least complaints per 10,000 services in operation, while Westnet received the most. Among the largest telcos, Telstra ranked 19th and Optus ranked 25th out of the 34 telcos.

In terms of average time to resolve complaints, Circles.Life, Moose Mobile, Starlink and Woolworths Mobile topped the list with an average of just one day to resolve complaints. Telstra, however, was the lowest ranked of the 34 telcos, averaging 10 days to resolve complaints.

Lebara had the lowest percentage of complaints escalated to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), with 1.6 per cent referred to the TIO. Tangerine Telecom had the highest, with 81.5 per cent of complaints escalated for resolution.

“We know that telco customers want their complaints handled quickly and effectively. This new report shows which telcos are doing well in helping their customers and those who need to improve,” said Samantha Yorke, ACMA authority member. “The report provides an important data set for consumers, alongside performance data and pricing, to inform their choice of a telco provider.”

Yorke believes that the ongoing publication of this data should incentivise industry-wide improvement of complaint handling practices, which she sees as a big win for consumers.

The report, which provides data for July to September 2024, will be updated quarterly to track performance over time. An interactive aggregated industry-wide complaint handling report, with data dating back to 2018, is also available.