Starlink Gets Under Regulatory Scrutiny in Australia

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) issued a formal warning to Starlink. The company failed to file complaint reports within the required timeframe.

An investigation found that Starlink missed the filing deadline on four occasions between October 2023 and July 2024. It has since provided outstanding reports and has been cooperative with the ACMA throughout the investigation. All service providers with more than 30,000 active customers are required to file complaint reports to the ACMA within 30 days of the end of each quarter.

ACMA member Samantha Yorke noted it monitors operator complaints data to ensure they are meeting their obligations towards customers and as a means of tracking where improvements may be needed. The ACMA said it recently started publishing rankings of 34 domestic telecom operators’ customer complaint handling metrics.

Of the three major telcos, Telstra ranked 20th in a number of complaints received per 10,000 services, followed by Optus (28th) and TPG Telecom (33rd). Vonex, which focuses on the enterprise market, ranked top, receiving the fewest complaints. The industry average to resolve complaints was 6.2 days, with TPG Telecom reporting an average of two days, Optus six, and Telstra nine.