This policy outlines our procedures and responsibilities for handling network outage complaints, including the steps we take to resolve your complaint, in accordance with the Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard 2018.

Network outages caused by natural disasters may be subject to different restoration and communication timeframes. You still have the right to lodge a complaint about the outage or how it was handled.

What is a service outage?

A service outage occurs when you're unable to establish or maintain a connection to your service. When you report the issue to us using one of the contact methods below, you are making a service outage report.

After you make a service outage report, if we know or suspect that a major or significant local outage is causing the issue, we will treat your report as a network outage complaint.

If the outage is not a major or significant local outage, we will consider whether your report should instead be handled under our complaints handling policy.

How do I report a service outage?

If you're unable to establish or maintain a connection to your service, you can lodge a service outage report using one of the methods below.

If you ask us to, we will help you prepare, lodge, and progress your complaint.
You can also appoint an authorised representative or advocate to make a service outage report and handle a network outage complaint on your behalf.

Acknowledgement of your complaint

When we receive a service outage report, we will take all reasonable steps to determine on first contact whether it qualifies as a network outage complaint. We may ask you to complete troubleshooting steps or provide further information, such as your service address, which service or services are affected, and when you noticed the problem, to help us make this determination.
If we determine that the issue is caused by a network outage, we will treat your report as a network outage complaint. We will confirm that we have received your complaint and provide you with a unique reference number and instructions on how to monitor it.

Urgent network outage complaints

We will treat your network outage complaint as urgent if you tell us that the outage poses a serious risk to your health or personal safety. You can do this when making your initial service outage report or by contacting us separately using one of the methods in the table above.

We will make all reasonable efforts to help you stay connected during the outage, including considering alternative or interim options where available.

Default resolution and update timeframes

Our default resolution for your network outage complaint is to restore your service as soon as possible. The time needed to restore your service will vary depending on the nature of the outage. However, we will update you on our restoration efforts every six hours during the first day of the outage and every 24 hours after advising of no material change. We will update you as soon as possible if there is a material change to the status of the outage.

We will also keep outage information on our website up to date, as outlined in how we communicate during outages.

Closing your network outage complaint

We will consider your complaint resolved once the outage has been resolved and we have notified you. When we notify you that the outage has been resolved, we will also explain what to do if your service is still not working and how to request further assistance.

Your complaint will be considered closed if we do not hear from you within three (3) working days after we notify you that the outage has been resolved.

If we have treated your network outage complaint as urgent, we will attempt to contact you and confirm that the issue has been resolved within two (2) calendar days after sending you a written restoration notice. If you tell us that restoration was unsuccessful, we will take steps to implement the default resolution within two (2) calendar days from receiving this information before closing the complaint. We will not close your urgent network complaint until the service has been restored.

If you are dissatisfied with the resolution or believe the issue remains unresolved, you can ask your case manager to escalate your case through our internal escalation process. You also have the right to make a complaint about the outcome of your case by following our complaints handling policy.

We will not charge you for dealing with your complaint.

Contact and support

For support during a service outage, you can contact us or access service information using the following options:

Phone: 1800 12 12 10
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.maxo.com.au

What if I am dissatisfied?

We encourage you to contact us first if you experience a problem or are unhappy with our service.

We will do our best to resolve your problem when you first contact us. However, if you are not satisfied with how we have handled your complaint, you have a right to take it to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), which is a free and independent service.

You can contact the TIO as follows:

Phone: 1800 062 058
Online: tio.com.au/complaints
Email: [email protected]
Post: PO Box 276, Collins Street West, VIC 8007
Fax: 1800 630 614

We will not cancel your service if we have been unable to resolve your complaint and you decide to refer it for external dispute resolution.

Interpreters and accessibility

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or need interpreting support, you can book an Auslan interpreter or visit the TIO's Interpreters and accessibility webpage for language interpreting or National Relay Service support.