Starlink Internet Services has received a formal warning from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for failing to comply with telecommunications industry regulations concerning complaints record-keeping.

The ACMA's investigation revealed the Elon Musk-owned satellite service did not submit the required complaints reports within the stipulated timeframes on four separate occasions between October 2023 and July 2024.

Under the Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints) Record-Keeping Rules 2018, telecommunications companies with more than 30,000 active services are mandated to file complaints reports with the ACMA no later than 30 days following the end of each quarter. The ACMA initiated its investigation after determining that Starlink's active services had surpassed the 30,000 threshold, yet the necessary reporting had not been produced.

ACMA member Samantha Yorke said: "The ACMA monitors telco complaints data to ensure telcos are meeting their obligations towards customers and as a means of tracking where improvements may be needed...This data helps us understand current issues facing Australian consumers and identify complaint trends across industry."

The ACMA's findings indicated that Starlink's failure to submit the required complaints reports in a timely manner hindered the authority's ability to monitor whether the company was fulfilling its consumer obligations.

Starlink has since submitted the outstanding complaints reports and has cooperated with the ACMA throughout the investigation process. The company is now in compliance with the reporting requirements.

The ACMA has recently begun publishing rankings of Australian telecommunications companies based on their customer complaint handling metrics. These rankings are informed by the complaints reports filed under the record-keeping rules, providing a comparative view of how different telcos manage consumer complaints.

The broader telco consumer complaints-handling framework, of which the record-keeping rules are a part, aims to ensure that telecommunications companies adhere to their responsibilities towards consumers.