Telecommunication services continue to be an essential part of everyday life in today’s digital economy, with the promotion of competition and the issues arising from misleading pricing and claims remaining key enforcement priorities for the ACCC. Amid rising living and business costs, the ACCC continues its efforts to maintain fair competition in the telecommunications industry and ensure that service pricing is clear and accurate, recognising the importance of these services to consumers and businesses. This year, we have seen moderate enforcement action from the ACCC to address these concerns, through the acceptance of undertakings and the imposition of penalties. 

Key enforcement activity

Telstra 

Unnotified broadband service downgrade

As we discuss in the chapter Cost of Living, the ACCC Federal Court proceedings against Telstra in 2022, alleging that Telstra had made false or misleading representations to almost 9,000 Belong customers. Following this, the Federal Court found on 21 February 2025, that Telstra had moved customers who were on an NBN plan with 100Mbps download speeds and 40Mbps upload speeds to a service with 20Mbps upload speeds without notifying them of the change.On 25 September 2025, the ACCC and Telstra entered into an enforceable undertaking under which Telstra undertook to credit or refund affected customers $15 for each month they were on the lower upload speed plan. In addition to the enforceable undertaking, on 3 October 2025, the Federal Court ordered Telstra to pay a $18 million financial penalty for its breach of the ACL.

“It is simply unacceptable for a supplier of essential services to mislead consumers when reducing the quality of the services it is providing to its customers” 

Former ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver, September 2025

Vocus

TPG network acquisition approved

On 20 March 2025, the ACCC announced it would not oppose the proposed acquisition by Vocus Group (Vocus) of TPG Telecom’s (TPG) fixed line business, enterprise, government and wholesale customer base alongside its fibre and transmission networks. This decision follows a formal review by the ACCC of the proposed acquisition's competition impacts. The ACCC concluded that the acquisition was unlikely to substantially lessen competition in any relevant Australian market, on the basis that Vocus would continue to face strong competition from other suppliers in the data network and connectivity services market. 

In its media release, the ACCC stated that: 

“Our investigation found that Vocus concentrates on supplying large enterprise and government customers, whereas TPG focuses on the small and medium enterprise segment of the market” 

ACCC Commissioner Dr Philip Williams

TPG 

Sanctioned in ACCC’s first Functional Breach Test

On 26 March 2025, the ACCC issued its first enforcement action under the carrier separation rules, issuing TPG with four infringement notices and a $75,120 penalty for breaches of its joint functional separation undertaking. TPG was found to have permitted wholesale staff unaccompanied access to retail offices, flouting rules designed to maintain robust competition and protect sensitive information. The ACCC explicitly stated that this enforcement action signalled an ongoing commitment to market integrity and consumer choice. Importantly, the regulator cautioned that future breaches would invite much steeper penalties, up to $10 million per offence, under its strengthened enforcement powers.

Assessment against priorities 

In 2025, for the second consecutive year, the ACCC has maintained its focus on promoting competition and pursuing misleading pricing and claims in the telecommunications industry. This emphasis responds to persistent cost-of-living and business pressures, which the ACCC notes have increased the susceptibility of Australian consumers and small businesses to anti-competitive practices in essential services, affecting price, choice, and quality. enforcement of its priorities has been evident in its actions this year against telecommunications companies, notably, imposing significant penalties on Telstra for misleading broadband speed claims. The ACCC also introduced a new NBN Co record-keeping rule to provide customers with clearer information regarding network performance and quality. However, we saw less public enforcement activity last year than expected in several areas, including on opaque contract terms, in connection with add-on fees and surcharges.

Looking forward 

In 2026, we expect the ACCC to intensify its crackdown on anti-competitive conduct and consumer harm in the telecommunications sector. With sharper enforcement of carrier separation rules, further targeting of misleading pricing and surcharges, and a push for greater transparency, the telco sector can expect to face heavier penalties for getting it wrong. 

In addition, we might see:

• Use of the new mandatory merger regime to assess high-profile telco transactions, including those involving NBN Co and other market participants above $250 million in turnover, requiring pre-notification and likely public comment.
   
• Enforcement actions addressing misleading representations about network speeds, reliability, mobile inclusions and bundled services.
   
• Given emerging consumer interest in 5G pricing and quality as the technology becomes more common, the ACCC may initiate a report or a study into next-generation mobile networks, comparing topics like the terms offered by Australia’s major carriers.
   
• Greater scrutiny on add-on fees and surcharges with new proceedings against other providers displaying hidden fees in their published pricing schedules and opaque product bundles.
   
• Input from the ACCC into reform of the Telecommunications Act to strengthen consumer protections and incorporate the ACCC’s recommendations emerging from the CDR rollout (such as mandatory consumer data portability in telco).
   
• As a result of ACCC’s progression of its inquiry into the superfast broadband access service (SBAS) and its review of submissions from stakeholders, we expect that the ACCC will provide direction on whether the current SBAS declaration which expires on 28 July 2026 should be extended, varied, revoked, allowed to expire, or whether a new declaration should be made.