The Federal Court has ordered Telstra to pay an $18 million penalty after the company moved almost 9,000 Belong customers to a slower upload plan without informing them, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says.
The ACCC found that in October and November 2020 Telstra migrated 8,897 Belong NBN customers from plans with a maximum upload speed of 40 Mbps to a wholesale 100/20 Mbps service that capped upload speed at 20 Mbps. Download speeds remained at 100 Mbps. The regulator said Telstra did not advise customers of the change at the time.
“The $18 million penalty sends a strong message to all businesses that they cannot mislead consumers by making changes to key aspects of a service without informing customers of those changes” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.
Telstra has already or will remediate affected customers with a $15 credit or payment for each month they were on the lower upload speed plan, the ACCC said. The total remediation exceeds $2.3 million. Some payments were made before the ACCC commenced proceedings; the remainder will be paid under a court‑enforceable undertaking and customers will be contacted by Belong via email.
“Telstra’s failure to inform customers that their broadband service had been changed denied them the opportunity to decide whether the changed service was suitable for their needs,” Ms Brakey said.
The ACCC began court action on 6 December 2022, and the Federal Court made findings against Telstra on 21 February 2025. The court also ordered Telstra to contribute to the ACCC’s costs and will publish its reasons for judgment at a later date. Telstra co‑operated with the ACCC by making joint submissions to the court about orders, including in relation to penalties.
“misleading pricing and claims in relation to essential services, with a particular focus on telecommunications, is one of ACCC’s current enforcement priorities.”
Belong was launched by Telstra in 2013 as a low‑cost mobile and internet brand operating semi‑independently. The switch was made after NBN Co introduced new wholesale consumer speed tiers in May 2020, including a 100/20 Mbps option that costs retail service providers $7 less per month at wholesale level than the 100/40 Mbps tier.
The ACCC also warned consumers to be wary of scammers who may contact people claiming to assist with compensation. It urged customers not to give money or personal information to anyone they cannot verify independently and to report suspected scams to Scamwatch. If customers have provided personal information they should contact IDCARE and their bank promptly.
