Customer Service Guarantee Standard

What’s covered by the standard?

The CSG Standard covers Specified Services, which means Eligible Telephone Services and Enhanced Call Handling Features.

An Eligible Telephone Service means a Carriage Service that is only used for voice telephony or, for a customer with a speech or hearing impairment, for communication that is equivalent to voice telephony. An Eligible Telephone Service does mean a mobile or satellite service.

An Enhanced Call Handling Feature means any of the following features, if offered by us:

• Call waiting enabling you to receive a second call on a telephone service while engaged on a call;
• Call forwarding causing a call directed to a number to be redirected to a stored number;
• Call barring enabling you to control access to some, or all, network numbers before a call is established, but not a call barring option that we have programmed;
• Calling number display enabling you to identify the number of a calling party;
• Calling number display blocking enabling you to prevent the display your number to a called party.

What isn’t covered by the standard?

The CSG Standard does not apply to data services or any device, cabling or activity on your side of the Network Boundary. For example, the standard does not apply to broadband services, your telephone, telephone adaptor, or networking hardware and cables. The Network Boundary means:

• For landline services, the first telephone socket or the main distribution frame (MDF); or
• For VoIP services, the external carrier interconnect port on our core router.

Additional exclusions are summarised in the ‘Exclusions’ section below.

What type of area am I in?

Depending on the area where your land or building is located, different requirements under the CSG standard may apply. For ease of classification, the following location categories are defined.

Please note that Urban Centres and Localities are delimited by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and not by Skymesh.

In accordance with the CSG Standard, we aim keep on-site appointments in relation to the connection and rectification of Specified Services. Please note that these criteria do not apply to the reconfiguration, repair or replacement of your telephone, telephone adaptor, networking hardware or cables on your side of the Network Boundary.

If an on-site appointment for a Specified Service is not kept in accordance with these criteria, it is considered missed. You may be entitled to damages if we miss such an appointment. However, if the appointment is changed by agreement or by giving at least 24 hours’ notice, the criteria below do not apply to the superseded appointment details.

The CSG Standard makes allowances for the grace periods shown below. The appointment is considered kept if we are on-site before the end of the grace period.

For the sake of your convenience, appointments will not be scheduled for periods longer than five hours.

We are committed to connecting your Specified Service within the connection periods shown below unless other arrangements are made according to the CSG standard. If you ask, or accept an eligible offer from us, to be connected after the end of the relevant connection period, that connection period no longer apply. You may be entitled to damages for every working day of delay beyond any relevant connection period that applies. See the ‘Entitlements’ section for more information.

We are committed to rectifying faults and service difficulties within the rectification periods shown below unless other arrangements are made according to the CSG standard. Please note that these periods only apply to Specified Services on our side of the Network Boundary. They do not apply to your telephone, telephone adaptor, networking hardware or cables on your side of the Network Boundary. You may be entitled to damages for every working day of delay beyond any relevant rectification period that applies. See the ‘Entitlements’ section for more information.

*Where the fault or service difficulty can be rectified without external or internal plant work; or us attending your premises; or your service has been disconnected by us as a result of an administrative error that does not involve damage to a facility; the rectification period ends at the end of the first full working day after your valid report.

The following contraventions and associated damages may apply if we do not meet certain requirements specified by the CSG Standard.

• If we fail to connect or rectify a fault or service difficulty with your Eligible Telephone Service within the relevant connection or rectification period, or on an agreed date, you may be entitled to damages of $14.52 if you are a Residential Customer (or $24.20 if you are a Non-residential Customer), for each working day of delay, for the first five working days of delay. After the initial five working days of delay, you may be entitled to damages of $48.40 for each additional working day of delay.
• For Enhanced Call Handling Features that we offer, if only one such feature of your Eligible Telephone Service is not connected or rectified within the relevant connection or rectification period, or on an agreed date, you may be entitled to damages of $7.26 if you are a Residential Customer (or $12.10 if you are a Non-residential Customer) for each working day of delay, for the first five working days of delay. After the initial five working days of delay, you may be entitled to receive a CSG payment of $24.20 for each additional working day of delay.
• For Enhanced Call Handling Features that we offer, if two or more such features of your Eligible Telephone Service are not connected or rectified within the relevant connection or rectification period, or on an agreed date, you may be entitled to damages of $14.52 if you are a Residential Customers (or $24.20 if you are Non-residential Customer), for each working day of delay. After the initial five working days of delay, you may be entitled damages of $48.40 for each additional working day of delay.
• If we miss an appointment on a day that is not a day in relation to which damages are payable in accordance with any of the above contraventions, you may be entitled to damages of $14.52 if you are a Residential Customer (or $24.20 if you are a Non-residential Customer), for each missed appointment.

The CSG Standard does not apply where:

• Delays are the result of circumstances beyond our control;
• The Enhanced Call Handling Feature is not offered by us, or you are able to activate it yourself;
• You have agreed to waive your protection and rights under Part 5 of the Act;
• You are connected by another carriage service provider to a Specified Service and you request that we supply the service;
• We have reasonable grounds for believing that you would be unable or unwilling to pay due charges for connection or use of the Specified Service;
• Delays are the result of maintenance or upgrading of a facility or network that is used to supply the service and we provided you with reasonable notice;
• You unreasonably withhold agreement to arrangements, or an appointment, proposed by us;
• You miss an appointment with us without giving reasonable notice to us; or
• You unreasonably refuse permission to us to enter your premises.

If you request a connection of a Specified Service or report a fault or service difficulty with one, you must do so by 5:00 pm UTC+10 on a working day for any relevant connection or rectification period to apply from that day. Otherwise your request or report will be taken to have been received on the following working day.

A Working Day is a day that is not a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday at the service location.

Under the CSG Standard, a Residential Customer means a residential customer or a customer that is a charitable or welfare organisation. A Non-residential Customer means a customer that is not a Residential Customer.

We may not offer all Enhanced Call Handling Features with all Eligible Telephone Services.