Domestic and Family Violence Support
Our commitment to supporting victims of Domestic and Family Violence
1. Are you in immediate danger?
Call 000 if you need help right now.
If you think someone may be monitoring your device, quick exit this page, delete it from your browser history and come back to this page from another device that isn’t being monitored.
2. Our commitment to our Customers
At Launtel, 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.
We recognise that domestic, family and sexual violence can seriously impact our customers’ safety, privacy and access to telecommunications services. We also understand that internet access can be a lifeline during difficult times, but can also be abused as a tool of control.
Launtel is committed to supporting customers who are experiencing, or have experienced, domestic, family and sexual violence.
3. Supporting you
We have policies and procedures in place to support and protect customers who may be affected by domestic, family and sexual violence. We can provide tailored support to your situation, including:
keeping you connected to your service, including reversing service restrictions, suspensions or disconnections as a matter of urgency to ensure your safety
offering you an equivalent fixed-line service where re-connection is not possible
assisting you with securing your account (e.g. passwords, PINs)
setting up a new account that is not linked to another person
providing support with billing and payment arrangements
protecting the privacy of your personal and account information
We will not ask you for evidence of your circumstances to access support, unless required by law. We will not ask you to contact with persons who are causing you harm to access our support.
Telling your events once only
If you are comfortable for us to leave details of your circumstances on your account, you will only have to explain your situation once – the first time you call.
We will be guided by the information that you provide to us and where possible, no extra proof is required.
You may also request to have your account handled by a dedicated staff member, as we are committed to ensuring that your experiences are not disclosed to multiple staff members.
Your capacity to pay
We will work with you to find a solution for your individual situation. We provide payment plans or other support, guided by your circumstances. For more information on how we can help, have a look at our Financial Hardship Policy.
Having someone speak on your behalf
You are welcome to have someone you trust contact us for you. This could be a financial counsellor, social worker, or a friend or family member. Just let us know who your support person is when we speak with you, and provide consent for them to act on your behalf.
4. How to get in touch
We offer multiple safe and confidential ways for you to contact us for help. We will treat you with understanding, empathy and respect, and we will do everything we can to help while also complying with our obligations.
You can reach our Specialist Team in any of the following ways:
Phone | 8am — 10pm Monday to Friday | |
Livechat | ||
In person | 9am — 5pm Monday to Friday |
You can also ask us to call you back or contact you at a specific time or by a specific method. We will always use your agreed communication method unless you instruct us otherwise or we are legally obligated to communicate with you via a different method.
You may also want to nominate someone to contact us on your behalf, please let us know so we can set up an authorised agent on your account.
Please also let us know if we can assist with making this Statement available to you in another method.
Special Communication Needs
If you need a spoken language interpreter, you can contact the Australian Government’s Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) by calling 131 450. Please note that a personal account is required and fees may apply. For more information, visit https://www.tisnational.gov.au/en/Non-English-speakers/Available-services.
For written translations of this Statement, you may wish to use a commercial service such as Ethnic Interpreters & Translators. They can be contacted on (03) 9998 2280, or you can visit https://ethnic.com.au for more information. Fees apply.
If you are deaf or have difficulty hearing or speaking over the phone, you can use the National Relay Service (NRS). For more information, visit https://www.accesshub.gov.au/about-the-nrs.
5. External Support Services
For immediate or long-term assistance, we can also put you in touch with or refer you to organisations that specialise in supporting people experiencing family violence.
Here are some of the national services available:
Support Website | Description | Contact Number |
National counselling helpline, information and support 24/7 for people impacted by domestic, family or sexual violence. | ||
Online counselling service for young people aged 5 to 25. | ||
Provides crisis support and suicide prevention services. | ||
Offers free, 24/7, confidential, trauma specialist counselling to people of all genders who have been subject to sexual, domestic and family violence, as well as their friends, colleagues and family members. | ||
The National Debt Helpline is a not-for-profit service that helps people with debt problems. | ||
Provides a comprehensive list of community legal centres across Australia. These centres often offer free or low-cost legal advice and can be a helpful resource for those experiencing domestic violence or other legal issues. | N/A | |
A national telephone service providing help for families affected by relationship or separation issues, including information on parenting arrangements after separation. | ||
Provides relationship support services for individuals, families, and communities, including counselling, family dispute resolution, and family/community support and education programs. | ||
The National Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline is for reporting abuse or neglect of people with disability. | ||
A free call service that automatically redirects callers seeking information and advice on elder abuse with the existing phone line service in their jurisdiction. | ||
Support for men with family and relationship issues 24/7. | ||
Provides a range of services to support men concerned about their behaviour to change what they are doing and keep women, children and communities safer. | ||
Provides support for those from LGBTQ+ communities, family, friends and supporters who have recently or in the past experienced sexual, domestic or family violence. | ||
Telephone and online counselling, referrals and support groups for LGBTQI+ people and their families | ||
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporters |
6. Feedback and Complaints
We welcome feedback to improve our DFV support. To contact us, call 1800 528 683 or email complaints@launtel.net.au.
All feedback and complaints will be handled promptly, respectfully, and with a focus on safety and confidentiality, by a senior team member from our customer service team.