Domestic and family violence support

Our commitment to you

We have policies and procedures in place to protect the safety of people affected by domestic and family violence.

We are committed to:

• keeping you connected to your phone and internet services
• reversing a restriction, suspension or disconnection of your service as a matter of urgency if you tell us you're worried about your safety
• offering you an equivalent service if reversing it isn't practical.

Domestic and family violence, and sexual violence, can be a reason you can't pay a bill. If you're affected, you may be entitled to financial hardship assistance under the Telecommunications (Financial Hardship) Industry Standard 2024. Our Payment Assistance Policy explains how to ask for it. You don't need to give us evidence.

We give the same help if you've experienced sexual violence outside a family or relationship. You can ask for help whether the service is for your home or your business, and whether or not the account is in your name. What we can change on an account can depend on who holds it, and we'll explain your options.

How we can help

Tell us in whatever way is safe for you. When you contact us, we'll first check that it's safe for you to talk. Then we'll ask what you need. We can:

• Keep you connected. If the service is in your name and you tell us you're worried about your safety, we won't restrict, suspend or disconnect it for at least 30 days (or longer if we agree) unless you ask us to.
• Set up a new account in your name that isn't linked to the person causing you harm.
• Protect your account. We can add a password or PIN, so we only discuss or change your account with someone who gives it. We can also check it's you by sending a code to a safe email address you give us.
• Change who can access your account. We'll tell you who else is listed on your account and what they can see or do. You can keep, change or remove them.
• Update your details safely, such as your address, phone number and email. If you ask, we'll send your bills to a different email address, or another way you ask for if we can.
• Change your phone number on our business phone systems. Ask us if you want an unlisted number.
• Check settings that could be misused on services we look after for you, such as call forwarding, voicemail and who can log in, and help you change passwords.
• Contact you only in the way you choose. We'll agree how and when to contact you, and use only that method for anything about this, unless you tell us to change it or the law requires us to use another method.

We won't:

• ask you to contact or deal with the person causing you harm, or anyone acting for them
• ask you to tell us what happened before we help you
• ask for proof, such as a police report or court order, unless the law requires it or we need it to protect you. If we ever do need to see something, we'll ask for as little as possible and won't keep a copy
• tell the person causing you harm that you've contacted us.

We're a small business, so you'll usually deal with the same person and won't have to repeat your story. We keep a short private note of what we've agreed, without details of what happened to you.

How to contact us safely

You can reach us Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Melbourne time. You don't need to explain what's happening to start. Asking for help with your account is enough.

• Phone: 03 9114 2268. Our AI receptionist answers calls to this number. It's a computer system, not a person. It records and transcribes the call, emails us a summary, the transcript and a link to the recording, and can't put you through to a person. If it's safe to, ask it for a person to call you back about your account, and say when and on what number. Our Privacy Policy explains how it works, and you can ask us to delete a recording at any time. If you'd rather not leave details that way, email us instead.
• Email: [email protected]. A person will read and answer your email during business hours. If someone else can read your email, think about using a new email account they don't know about.

Ask us to call you back

Tell us the safest way and time to reach you, for example "email only" or "call this number after 2pm". We'll contact you only that way about this, unless you tell us to change it or the law requires us to use another method. We make calls during business hours.

Getting help to contact us

Someone you trust, such as a family member or a support worker, can help you contact us. If you're deaf, or find it hard to hear or speak, you can use the National Relay Service.

Support services

These national services can help:

• 1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732. National domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, information and support service.
• 1800 ElderHelp: 1800 353 374. Information and support about elder abuse.
• Full Stop: 1800 385 578. Support for people affected by sexual, domestic or family violence.
• National Debt Helpline: 1800 007 007. Free financial counselling, including help with bills and debts.
• National Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline: 1800 880 052. Report abuse or neglect of people with disability.
• Rainbow Sexual, Domestic and Family Violence Helpline: 1800 497 212. Support for LGBTIQA+ people affected by sexual, domestic or family violence.

Calls to these numbers stay off our bills

Calls to these six numbers never appear on our bills, because our bills don't list individual calls. If you ask us for a record of your calls, we leave these numbers out.

Your mobile, desk phone or phone app may keep its own list of recent calls. We can't see or clear that list, so check it if someone else can use your phone. If another company bills you for calls, check with them how calls appear on their bills.

Triple Zero on our phone systems

000 works on our Cloud Voice phone systems while your internet and power are working. It won't work during a power or internet outage, so keep a charged mobile phone handy.

Using this website safely

Select Quick Exit at the top of the page, or press the Esc key, to leave straight away. It opens Google in place of this page, so pressing Back won't bring this page up again.

Quick Exit doesn't delete your browsing history. To lower the chance of someone seeing that you visited this page:

• Use a private or incognito window. It doesn't keep a history once you close it.
• Remove this page from your history. In most browsers, open the menu, choose History, find this page and delete it. Removing only the pages you want is less noticeable than clearing all of your history.
• To clear all of your history on a Windows computer, press Ctrl+Shift+Delete in Chrome, Edge or Firefox. On an iPhone or iPad, open Settings, find Safari, then choose Clear History and Website Data.
• Check your search history, and remember that our emails to you can be seen by anyone who can open your inbox.
• If you think your device or accounts are being watched, use a device the other person can't get to, such as a friend's phone or a public library computer.

Your privacy

• We won't share information that could identify or locate you, your contact details or your financial details with anyone without your consent, unless the law requires it.
• We only look at your information when we need to manage your account, and we protect it so the person causing you harm can't get it.
• If your information is accessed or shared without permission, we'll tell you, using the contact method we agreed, and the ACMA within 2 days. We'll also give you the details of a support service that can help with safety planning.

Our Privacy Policy has more detail.

If you're not happy with our help

Please tell us. Our Complaints Handling Policy explains how to make a complaint and how we handle it. If you tell us your safety, or your children's safety, is at risk, we treat your complaint as urgent.

If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your complaint, you have a right to take it to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, which is a free and independent service. Visit tio.com.au or call 1800 062 058.

This statement is published by New Tech Digital Pty Ltd (ABN 38 643 245 247), trading as In2Digital Communications, 2/30-32 Christensen Street, Cheltenham VIC 3192.