Telstra Limited

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Telstra Limited in relation to contraventions of ss 18, 29(1)(b) and 29(1)(g) of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), being Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (CCA). 

Telstra is Australia’s largest provider of retail broadband internet services. Belong is a business unit of Telstra, which markets itself as a provider of low-cost connectivity options including NBN internet access plans.  This Undertaking concerns the conduct of the Belong business in relation to one of its retail plans, marketed to consumers as Belong’s “premium” plan (Belong Premium Plan).

In October/November 2020, Telstra unilaterally reconfigured the bulk of its Belong Premium Plans so as to align with a new underlying NBN wholesale speed tier that had a maximum upload speed of 20mbps rather than the 40mbps maximum upload speed to which they had previously been aligned (Speed Tier Switch). Telstra did not notify affected Belong customers of the Speed Tier Switch at that time. In April 2021, Telstra self-reported part of this conduct to the ACCC.

Court proceedings
The ACCC instituted proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against Telstra on 6 December 2022 (the Proceedings). In the Proceedings, the ACCC alleged that Telstra engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct, and made false or misleading representations, in contravention of sections 18, 29(1)(b) and 29(1)(g) of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), relating to the upload speed of residential broadband internet services supplied to 8,897 of its Belong customers.

On 21 February 2025, the Federal Court found (following admissions by Telstra) that, by failing to inform 2,785 of the Belong customers, who had acquired the Belong Premium Plan between 1 May 2017 and 19 September 2018 (Cohort A), of the Speed Tier Switch in circumstances where Telstra had published materials which referred to upload speeds of “40” Mbps in connection with the Belong Premium Plan, such that each consumer had a reasonable expectation that detrimental changes would not be made to the speed capabilities of their plan without prior disclosure, Telstra represented to those customers that their plan continued to have the same 40Mbps upload speed capabilities following the Speed Tier Switch, when this was not the case. 

The Court also found that Telstra, by failing to inform a further 6,112 Belong customers who had acquired the Belong Premium Plan between 20 September 2018 and October 2020 (Cohort B), of the speed tier switch in circumstances where (a) Telstra published and provided materials to customers describing the plan as “Speed Boost Premium”, “Premium Evening Speed Boost”, “Unlimited NBN Premium” or “Premium” and (b) continued to invoice the customers for the plan as it previously had, such that those customers had a reasonable expectation that they would be told about the Speed Tier Switch, Telstra represented to those customers that their plan continued to be the same in material respects (including as to its upload speed capability) as it had always been when this was not the case.

Agreed resolution
Telstra and the ACCC agreed to seek a resolution of the Proceedings by which Telstra and the ACCC will jointly seek relief orders from the Court, including declarations, penalties and costs. 

As part of the resolution of the Proceedings, Telstra offered this Undertaking to the ACCC in which it undertakes that it has commenced, and will complete remediating the 6,112 Cohort B customers on the following terms:  

•    credit an active customer’s Telstra account with, or at their election, provide a refund of an amount equal to $15 multiplied by the number of months the customer remained on their Belong Premium Plan after the Speed Tier Switch in October 2020; 
•    refund an inactive customer’s nominated account a refund equal to $15 multiplied by the number of months the customer remained on their Belong Premium Plan after the Speed Tier Switch in October 2020;
•    by 31 May 2027, pay the Registrar of Unclaimed Monies (in accordance with the Unclaimed Money Act 2008 (Vic)) any amounts of remediation that has not been paid to a Cohort B customer within 12 months of Telstra notifying them that they are eligible to receive the credit or refund.

Telstra had previously already notified 2,785 Cohort A customers of the Speed Tier Switch and proactively remediated them for each month that the customer had been on the lower upload speed.