Customer Service Guarantee (CSG)
Standard telephone service providers face CSG financial penalties for missed connection + repair timeframes.
Who must comply
Telcos supplying a standard telephone service (fixed landline) to residential, charity and business customers, including connection of features such as call waiting and calling number display. It does not apply to mobile or internet services or to customers with more than 5 landline lines.
What triggers it
A customer request to connect a landline service or feature, a reported fault (cannot make or receive calls, repeated drop-outs, severe interference, or features not working), or an appointment made to connect or repair.
When due
Per the timelines above for each connection, repair or appointment; a shorter time promised by the telco becomes the timeline. After a mass service disruption caused by a natural disaster, notified maintenance or third-party damage, the telco must notify affected customers (or publish a website notice) and tell the ACMA and the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman within 10 days.
Evidence required
Connection and fault tickets timestamped against the CSG timeline for the customer's community size; appointment windows and attendance records; automatic compensation calculations and payments; written or recorded oral CSG waivers containing the mandatory disclosures; mass service disruption notices to customers, the ACMA and the TIO; exemption claims.
Max penalty
Missed timelines trigger automatic compensation to the customer for each working day of delay, at a higher daily rate from the sixth working day, plus a payment for each missed appointment; business customers receive higher early-day rates than residential and charity customers and can still claim for loss of business. The current amounts are published by the ACMA. The ACMA enforces the Standard against telcos.
Who must comply with this? The applicability test by industry, business structure and size.
Summary
The Customer Service Guarantee Standard, enforced by the ACMA, sets how quickly a telco must connect or repair a landline telephone service and keep appointments, and the compensation it must pay automatically when it misses those timelines. A new connection is due within 5 working days in urban areas (10,000+ people), 10 in major rural and 15 in minor rural or remote areas, or 20 working days where there is no nearby infrastructure or spare capacity; an existing line must be connected within 2 working days. Faults must be fixed by the end of the next working day in urban areas, the second in rural areas and the third in remote areas. Appointment windows may not exceed 5 hours. Mobile, internet, fax and services for customers with more than 5 lines are outside the Standard.
Enforced by
Source legislation
Topics
Related
- CWLTHComply with Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) CodeTelcos must comply with the binding TCP Code covering credit assessment, billing, complaint handling and unwelcome contact.
- CWLTHDesign and Distribution Obligations (DDO) — RG 274Issuers + distributors of retail financial products bound by DDO from 5 October 2021.
- CWLTHHold AER authorisation as energy retailerSelling electricity or gas to small customers requires AER retailer authorisation.
- CWLTHConsumer Credit Hardship Notice (NCC ss 72-73)Credit providers must respond to hardship notice + assess variation request.
- CWLTHTelco data retention — 2 years (Part 5-1A Telecommunications Act)Carriers + CSPs must retain telco metadata for 2 years.
- CWLTHComply with the Reducing Scam Calls and Scam SMs Industry CodeCSPs must implement controls to detect, trace and block scam calls and SMs, including SMS Sender ID Register.
Frequently asked questions
- Who must comply with Customer Service Guarantee (CSG)?
- Telcos supplying a standard telephone service (fixed landline) to residential, charity and business customers, including connection of features such as call waiting and calling number display. It does not apply to mobile or internet services or to customers with more than 5 landline lines.
- What triggers Customer Service Guarantee (CSG)?
- A customer request to connect a landline service or feature, a reported fault (cannot make or receive calls, repeated drop-outs, severe interference, or features not working), or an appointment made to connect or repair.
- When is Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) due?
- Per the timelines above for each connection, repair or appointment; a shorter time promised by the telco becomes the timeline. After a mass service disruption caused by a natural disaster, notified maintenance or third-party damage, the telco must notify affected customers (or publish a website notice) and tell the ACMA and the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman within 10 days.
- What is the maximum penalty for Customer Service Guarantee (CSG)?
- Missed timelines trigger automatic compensation to the customer for each working day of delay, at a higher daily rate from the sixth working day, plus a payment for each missed appointment; business customers receive higher early-day rates than residential and charity customers and can still claim for loss of business. The current amounts are published by the ACMA. The ACMA enforces the Standard against telcos.
- What evidence is required for Customer Service Guarantee (CSG)?
- Connection and fault tickets timestamped against the CSG timeline for the customer's community size; appointment windows and attendance records; automatic compensation calculations and payments; written or recorded oral CSG waivers containing the mandatory disclosures; mass service disruption notices to customers, the ACMA and the TIO; exemption claims.
Source: https://www.acma.gov.au/customer-service-guarantee. Rules Mate is not a law firm. Always verify against the live regulator source before acting.