Policies and Legal

Table of contents

Financial Hardship Policy

We understand that there may be times when paying the bills might be difficult, short or long term. If you are facing financial hardship, we’re here to help you stay connected and work with you to find a sustainable solution. We provide payment plans or other support like spend controls, service restrictions, temporary plan downgrades, individual financial arrangements, and/or waiving late fees, depending on your circumstances. Financial hardship assistance is free of charge.

What do I need to do?

You can arrange a payment plan without any need for financial hardship proof, simply by applying online via the Buddy Telco app/portal or by chatting with one of our customer support team using live chat

Am I eligible?

Financial hardship refers to a situation where:

  • you are unable to discharge your financial obligations to us due to circumstances, including:
    • personal or household illness;
    • unemployment;
    • low or insufficient income, including reduced access to income;
    • being a victim survivor of domestic or family violence;
    • a death in the family;
    • a change in personal or family circumstances;
    • a natural disaster;
    • unexpected events or unforeseen changes that have impacted your income or expenditure;
      or
  • other reasonable causes; and

you consider that you will be able to discharge those obligations if an agreed arrangement for financial hardship assistance is implemented.

If you need support for financial hardship, we will work with you to assess whether you are eligible, and what the most appropriate support might be for your situation.

Alternatively, anyone can set up a payment plan.

What happens if I don’t agree with an assessment?

If you wish to review the outcome of a financial hardship assessment, you can do so via our Complaints Handling Process .

You can make a complaint to us by:

If you are still not happy with the outcome of your complaint after following our dispute resolution process, you can contact the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) for independent mediation. The TIO can be contacted by calling 1800 062 058 or visiting the TIO website at tio.com.au/making-a-complaint.

Finding a financial counsellor

You can talk to a financial counsellor via 1800 007 007 (National Debt Helpline). You can also find the financial counselling service nearest to you by visiting Find a Financial Counsellor - National Debt Helpline.

Financial Hardship Policy

Download a copy of our Financial Hardship Policy.

Financial Hardship application form

Download a copy of our Financial Hardship application form.

Privacy Policy

Download a copy of our Privacy Policy.

Online Safety and Content Filtering

View our online safety and content filtering policy for helpful information about online safety. This includes tips on safeguarding your children from inappropriate websites and utilising online filtering tools.

Billing & Payments

Buddy Telco issues monthly invoices by default which are due for payment within 10 business days of being issued. For customers paying by credit card or direct debit, your card or bank account will be debited within this period. We accept payment by Visa, Mastercard and Direct Debit from an Australian Bank account.

Direct Debit Service Agreement

Download a copy of our Direct Debit Service Agreement.

Credit Card Service Agreement

Download a copy of our Credit Card Service Agreement.

Late Payments and Restriction Information

Download a copy of our Late Payment and Restriction Policy.

Credit Management Policy

Download a copy of our Credit Management Policy.

Terms and Conditions for current products

Please find below copies of the agreements for our current products:

Promotional Terms & Conditions

Download a copy of our Launch Promotion - NBN 100/20 & 1000/50 Terms & Conditions.

Download a copy of our 50/20 Promotion Terms & Conditions.

General Terms & Conditions

Download a copy of our General Terms & Conditions.

Authorised Contacts

When you setup an account with Buddy Telco, by default the person whose name the account is in has the authority to act on the account. If you would like to add additional authorised contacts, please contact our team via live chat. Once we have checked your authorisation you will be able to add additional contacts. To add a contact we will need their name, date of birth, and phone number.

Acceptable and Fair Use Policy

Download a copy of our Acceptable and Fair Use Policy.

Family and Domestic Violence Policy

Download a copy of our Family and Domestic Violence Policy

Note: If you're worried that someone will look at your browser history, you can right click on the policy link and open the link in a private/incognito window.

We are here to support you

At Buddy Telco, we take the misuse of our services by domestic violence perpetrators extremely seriously and will provide effective and tailored assistance to customers who need our support.

Via technology, domestic and family violence can take many forms (this is also called “technology facilitated abuse”):

  • Monitoring phone calls, social media and emails without the knowledge and approval of someone
  • Loading spyware onto a computer or mobile phone in order to monitor a person without their knowledge
  • Using technology to track the location of someone, for the purposes of monitoring, control or stalking
  • Accessing accounts such as email, social media, or messaging to monitor or impersonate someone
  • Logging in (without permission) and closing services, thereby cutting someone off from contacts

All conversations are confidential

Your safety and privacy will be our priority. None of the information you give us will be disclosed to anyone else, even if their name is on the account.

View more information on our Privacy Policy.

Your capacity to pay

We will work with you to find a solution for your individual situation (payment plans etc). For more information on how we can help, have a look at our Financial Hardship Policy.

We will hear you

Our Customer Service Team have been trained to assist people who are experiencing family violence. We also have a team of Family Violence Specialists that your account can be assigned to should you require additional support.

We will treat you with understanding, empathy and respect, and we will do everything we can to help while also complying with our industry guidelines.

We can put you in touch or refer you to organisations that specialise in working with and supporting people experiencing family violence, for immediate and or more long-term assistance.

Support Services

For Women

  • 1800RESPECT

National counselling helpline, information and support 24/7

DAISY APP

Daisy is an app developed by 1800RESPECT to connect people experiencing violence or abuse to services in their local area.

MENSLINE

For LGBTQI+

QLife

Telephone and online counselling, referrals and support groups for LGBTQI+ people and their families.

Statutory Declarations

A copy of a statutory declaration is required in instances where a closure or change to an account needs to be made by a person other than the legal lessee of the service.

Download a copy of a Statutory Declarations template.

Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code Information

The Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code provides a host of consumer safeguards for mobile, landline and internet users.

These safeguards are set out in clear rules that providers like us must follow when communicating and dealing with customers. The rules cover the areas of advertising and point of sale, billing, payment methods, complaint handling, financial hardship and more.

The TCP Code was developed by the Telecommunications Industry following extensive consultation and negotiation with consumer groups, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), and other relevant interest groups. The ACMA regularly monitors compliance with the code.

Buddy Telco is committed to following the code and its principles. If you would like to talk to us about the code or how we are following it, please contact us by live chat or email [email protected].

You can find a copy of the code on the Communications Alliance website.

Critical Information Summary

Our Critical Information Summary lays out the key information about our products, plans and services in an easy to understand and concise way.

Download a copy of our Critical Information Summary.