How to make a complaint that actually works

Put it in writing, even if you also phone. Email creates a timestamped record that a phone call does not, and every subsequent step depends on being able to show what you asked for and when.

Structure it in four short parts: what happened, with dates and reference numbers; why it is a problem, referring to the relevant right if you know it; what you want, stated as a specific outcome; and by when. A deadline of ten business days is reasonable and gives you a clean escalation trigger.

Ask explicitly for a complaint reference number and for the matter to be treated as a formal complaint. Companies distinguish between 'enquiries' and 'complaints' internally, and only the latter is tracked and reported.

Keep it short and unemotional. A complaint that is three paragraphs with dates gets handled; one that is two pages of frustration gets skim-read. The person reading it did not cause the problem and has limited authority — your goal is to give them something easy to escalate.

Financial services — banks, insurers, superannuation funds, lenders, brokers, financial advisers, buy-now-pay-later: the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, on 1800 931 678. It handles the great majority of money complaints, including scam disputes, insurance claim refusals and hardship refusals.

Telecommunications — mobile, landline, internet, billing, faults, contracts: the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, on 1800 062 058.

Energy and water: the ombudsman in your state — EWON in New South Wales, EWOV in Victoria, EWOQ in Queensland, and equivalents in each other jurisdiction.

Retail goods and services, tradespeople, motor vehicles, and most other consumer purchases: your state or territory fair-trading agency, which conciliates rather than determines, and then the state civil and administrative tribunal.

Government decisions: the Commonwealth Ombudsman for federal agencies, the state ombudsman for state agencies, and the Administrative Review Tribunal for reviewable federal decisions.

Airlines have the Airline Customer Advocate for participating carriers, and private health insurers have the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman.

Lodging is online in every scheme and takes fifteen to thirty minutes. You will be asked for the business name, what happened, what you have already done, and what outcome you want.

The scheme first checks that you complained to the business and gave it a reasonable chance to respond. This is why the reference number matters.

Most schemes then refer the matter back to the business's own high-level complaints team with a short window to resolve it directly. A substantial proportion of cases settle at this stage, which is exactly the effect the case fee is designed to produce.

If it does not settle, the scheme investigates, seeks documents from both sides, and may reach a determination. Determinations bind the business up to monetary limits set by the scheme. They do not bind you: if you reject the outcome, you retain your right to go to court or a tribunal.

Timeframes vary from a few weeks for simple matters to several months for complex ones. You do not need a lawyer, and in most schemes you cannot recover legal costs, which is a strong argument for not engaging one.

For a straightforward consumer purchase where no industry scheme applies, the route is fair trading conciliation and then the state civil and administrative tribunal. Filing fees are low, procedure is informal, and legal representation often requires permission.

If you paid by card, a chargeback is a parallel route that operates through card scheme rules rather than through consumer law. It has its own time limits, generally counted from the transaction date or the date goods were due, so it is worth starting early rather than as a last resort.

For systemic conduct rather than your individual case, report to the relevant regulator: the ACCC for consumer law and competition, ASIC for financial services conduct, the ACMA for telecommunications and spam, and the OAIC for privacy breaches. None of these will resolve your dispute, but they act on patterns.

For a service that has gone badly wrong and caused loss beyond the price paid — a botched repair that damaged something else, for example — the claim may exceed the tribunal's consumer jurisdiction, and free advice from a community legal centre is worth getting before choosing a route.