Telecommunications domestic, family and sexual violence protections (DFV) – A guide for financial counsellors and community workers intends to support victim survivors in dealing with telco providers by understanding their consumers rights. This guide also outlines legal protections under the new industry standard.
These legal protections are set out by the Telecommunications (Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Consumer Protections) Industry Standard 2025 which will commence in full on 1 January 2026 for large telco providers and on 1 April 2026 for small telco providers.
In summary, when an affected person contacts their provider and raises DFV concerns, they can expect that the provider will:
- Confirm it is safe to engage when initiating a conversation
- Connect them with a specialised DFV team where possible
- Offer to set up safe communication methods
- Not ask for details or evidence in relation to abuse, except in limited cases
- Not ask them to contact or engage with the perpetrator
- Be able to set up a new account not linked to the perpetrator
- Discuss options to address their privacy, safety and security concerns in relation to their telecommunications service and account
- Urgently reverse restriction, suspension or disconnection
- Not restrict, suspend or disconnect them if they have recently sought assistance, unless disconnection is requested
- Be able to provide financial hardship assistance
To understand more about your rights when talking to telco providers, please download Telecommunications domestic, family and sexual violence protections – A guide for financial counsellors and community workers