Paying for NBN 100 and Getting 20? How to Make Your ISP Fix It or Let You Leave Free

You’re paying for a 100 Mbps plan. Speed tests at 8pm say 18. Video calls drop. The kids’ online classes freeze. And when you call, the ISP walks you through restarting the modem for the fifth time, blames your Wi-Fi, tells you speeds are “up to”, and then offers to upgrade you to an even more expensive plan that won’t work either.

“Up to” doesn’t cut it anymore. The ACCC has spent years forcing ISPs to advertise real speeds and to let customers leave when the line can’t deliver. Here’s how to hold yours to that.

Your rights

• ACCC Broadband Speed Claims guidance. ISPs must advertise typical evening speeds (7–11pm), not “up to” figures. If your connection can’t attain the speed tier you’re paying for, the ISP must tell you, offer to move you to a lower tier, and let you exit without penalty if you don’t want that. Telstra, Optus, TPG, iiNet, Dodo and others have all been forced to refund customers under this.
• Consumer guarantees (ss 60–61 ACL). The service must be provided with due care and skill and be fit for the purpose you signed up for. A plan sold as suitable for streaming and working from home that can’t do either has failed. Under s 267 you can terminate and claim a refund for the period it didn’t work.
• Misleading speed claims (ss 18, 29 ACL). Advertising speeds the line can’t reach is misleading. The ACCC has secured penalties and refunds against major ISPs for exactly this.
• Complaints Handling Standard. A complaint made by email or post must be acknowledged within 2 working days, and a resolution proposed within 10 working days (2 working days if it is urgent). Your ISP must give you a complaint reference number.
• NBN Co’s Wholesale Broadband Agreement. Sets service standards for the physical line (e.g. fault rectification timeframes). Your ISP is your contact point; you can’t complain to NBN Co directly, but your ISP must escalate faults to them and can claim rebates it should pass on.
• Exit fees. If the ISP can’t deliver the service, exit fees are not payable. Charging them for a service failure is likely to be an unfair contract term (ss 23–28 ACL).

What to do right now

1. Run speed tests properly. Wired (Ethernet) to the modem, not Wi-Fi, so they can’t blame your router. Use speedtest.net or the ACCC’s Measuring Broadband Australia tool if you’re eligible. Test at 7–11pm over at least 5 evenings. Screenshot every result with date and time.
2. Log dropouts. Time, duration, what you were doing. Your modem’s logs may show line drops; screenshot them.
3. Lodge a formal complaint with the ISP. In writing. “This is a formal complaint. My [plan name] service is delivering [X] Mbps against an advertised typical evening speed of [Y]. Under the ACCC’s broadband speed guidance and the ACL I require you to either propose a fix within 10 working days, move me to a tier the line can support with a refund of the difference paid to date, or release me from the contract without fee.” Get the reference number.
4. Ask for a line test and NBN fault escalation. Insist they raise an NBN fault ticket and give you its number. Ask them what speed the line is actually provisioned for and what the maximum attainable speed on your connection is; they have this data.
5. Go to the TIO after 10 working days. Lodge online. Every TIO complaint costs the ISP money, and a specialist team usually calls within days. The TIO can direct a fix, a refund, and fee-free exit.
6. Send a Letter of Demand for refunds. If you’ve paid months at a premium tier for a service that never delivered it, a formal letter citing the ACL and the ACCC guidance, quantifying the overpayment and any consequential loss (e.g. lost work), with a deadline before TIO and ACCC escalation, supports the refund claim.

Where the fault usually is (and who owns it)

ISPs deflect by pointing at the parts of the chain that aren’t theirs. Here’s how to pin it down:

• Your Wi-Fi. Test wired. If wired speed matches the plan and Wi-Fi doesn’t, the problem is your router placement or an old router. That’s genuinely yours, though if the ISP supplied the router, it must be fit for purpose.
• The NBN line (FTTN/FTTC copper, HFC, fixed wireless). If wired speed is well below the plan, especially with dropouts, it’s likely a line or node issue. The ISP must raise it with NBN Co and can request a technician. Ask for the “line sync speed” (the maximum your copper can carry); if it’s below your tier, the ISP must offer a lower tier or fee-free exit.
• ISP congestion (CVC / backhaul). If speeds are fine at 3am and terrible at 8pm, and the line sync is good, the ISP isn’t buying enough capacity. That’s entirely theirs, and it’s the exact situation the typical-evening-speed rule targets.
• NBN outages. Check NBN Co’s outage page. Planned or network-wide outages don’t excuse ongoing poor performance, and you’re still entitled to credits for the downtime.

What refunds look like. Under ACCC undertakings, ISPs have refunded the difference between the tier paid for and the tier the line could support, sometimes for years of billing. If your line has never been able to reach the speed you’ve been paying for, that’s the figure to demand.

Fixed wireless and satellite. Speed tiers work differently (typical speeds are set by NBN Co and vary with congestion on the tower). The ACL still applies: if the ISP sold you a plan for uses it can’t support, you can exit and claim.

Working from home. If your employer reimburses your internet, or you’re a sole trader, document the impact (missed meetings, lost billable time). It supports a consequential loss claim and makes the ISP’s specialist team take the complaint more seriously.

Who to complain to

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), free and binding. ACCC for misleading speed claims (report online; they take pattern complaints seriously). ACMA for TCP Code breaches. If a default is listed over disputed exit fees, the ISP, the credit reporting body, and the OAIC. For business connections with real losses, your state civil tribunal.

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See the full steps: how to complain about your phone or internet provider and escalate to the TIO.