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Telstra has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay a penalty of $18 million for breaching the Australian Consumer Law after it moved almost 9,000 Belong customers to a lower speed plan without telling them.



In October and November 2020, Telstra migrated 8,897 customers on its Belong brand NBN plans from their current plan which provided a maximum upload speed of 40 Mbps to a service that provided a maximum upload speed of only 20 Mbps. The download speed was unchanged at 100Mbps.



Telstra did not tell customers of the change in maximum upload speed in their service at the time of the change.



“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.



In addition to the penalty, all affected customers have, or will be, remediated by Telstra with a credit or payment of $15 for each month the customer had been on the lower upload speed plan.



The total remediation that Telstra will pay to affected customers exceeds $2.3 million.



“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.



“Misleading pricing and claims in relation to essential services, with a particular focus on telecommunications, is one of ACCC’s current enforcement priorities.”



Telstra made payments to some affected customers prior to the ACCC commencing proceedings. The remaining payments to customers are being made in accordance with a court-enforceable undertaking Telstra has given to the ACCC. Those customers will be contacted by Belong via email.  



The Court also ordered Telstra to pay a contribution to the ACCC’s costs. The Court 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.

Background


Belong was launched by Telstra in 2013 as a low-cost mobile and internet service provider, operating semi-independently in a number of areas, including products, marketing, service, billing and parts of IT.
Upload speed refers to the speed an individual’s internet connection can allow data to be sent from their devices to the internet e.g. sending emails, streaming video calls and conferences.
In May 2020, NBN Co launched a series of new wholesale consumer speed tiers, including a new 100/20Mbps wholesale speed tier, which provided a maximum download speed of 100mbps and a maximum upload speed of 20mbps. This speed tier costs retail service providers $7 less per month than the 100/40Mbps plan on a wholesale level.
The ACCC commenced its court action against Telstra on 6 December 2022, and the Federal Court made findings against Telstra on 21 February 2025.

Telstra Fined $18 Million for Misleading Customers on Broadband Speeds

Telstra has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay a penalty of $18 million for breaching the Australian Consumer Law. This decision follows Telstra's migration of 8,897 Belong customers to a lower speed plan without informing them of the change.

In late 2020, these customers were moved from a plan offering a maximum upload speed of 40 Mbps to one with only 20 Mbps, while the download speed remained unchanged at 100 Mbps. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) emphasized that this penalty serves as a warning to all businesses against misleading consumers regarding service changes.

In addition to the financial penalty, Telstra is required to remediate affected customers with a credit or payment of $15 for each month they were on the lower upload speed plan, totaling over $2.3 million in remediation costs. The ACCC highlighted that misleading claims in essential services, particularly in telecommunications, is a key enforcement priority.

Telstra had already made some payments to affected customers before the ACCC initiated legal proceedings. The remaining payments will be made as per a court-enforceable undertaking. The Federal Court will also publish its reasons for judgment at a later date.



Telstra Fined $18 Million for Misleading Customers on Broadband Speeds

The Australian competition authority has imposed an $18 million penalty on Telstra for misleading nearly 9,000 Belong customers about their broadband upload speeds.