Family & Domestic Violence Policy

If you’re experiencing domestic, family or sexual violence — whether you’re currently in it, leaving, or rebuilding afterwards — you can come to us for help with your service, and we’ll respond with care, not bureaucracy. This applies whether you’re the account holder, a former account holder, or someone named on a joint account.

• We believe you. We won’t ask you to prove what you’re going through, and we won’t make you tell your story over and over to different people.
• Our support team is trained to recognise abuse, respond safely, and put you in touch with specialist help.
• We treat your safety as the priority in every decision we make about your account.

Information about you can be dangerous in the wrong hands, so we guard it closely:

• We will never knowingly disclose your personal information — your address, new phone number, account details or call and usage records — to a person using violence against you, including a joint account holder, without your consent.
• On request we’ll add extra security to your account — a passphrase, a flag for our staff, or a safe way to reach you — so no one can pose as you or change your details.
• We’ll only contact you in the way you tell us is safe, and we’ll keep notes to a minimum and handled discreetly. Tell us if a method of contact becomes unsafe and we’ll change it straight away.

Practical help to make your service yours and keep it running:

• Separating a joint account— we’ll help you take a service into your own name, or remove someone else’s access to yours, as safely and quickly as we can.
• Staying connected— we won’t disconnect or restrict a service that you rely on for safety while we’re working through your situation with you.
• A fresh start— where it helps, we can arrange a new number or new service details that the other person doesn’t know.

Financial control is a common part of abuse, and you shouldn’t be left carrying a debt that isn’t fairly yours.

• Where charges or a debt are a result of the violence — for example, usage run up on a joint account by the other person — we’ll work with you to pause, reduce or waive them rather than pursue you for them.
• We won’t refer a debt for collection, or list a default, while we’re supporting you.
• If paying is hard, our Financial Hardship Policy offers payment plans, cheaper plans and deferrals — and the two forms of help work together.

Tell us you need support — you can use the words “family violence” to get straight to the right team, or any words at all:

• Phone: 1300 425 240 (8am–8pm AEST, 7 days)
• Email: help@galah.example

A friend, family member, financial counsellor or support worker can deal with us on your behalf once you’ve told us that’s okay. If you ever feel you’re in immediate danger, call 000 first.

We can help with your service, but these services are the experts in your safety, and they’re free and confidential:

• 1800RESPECT — national domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, 24/7: 1800 737 732 or 1800respect.org.au
• Lifeline — crisis support, 24/7: 13 11 14
• Men’s Referral Service — for anyone wanting to stop using violence: 1300 766 491
• Emergency: 000

If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your situation, you can raise it through our Complaints Handling Process, and we’ll treat it as a priority. If we still can’t make it right, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (1800 062 058) can review it for free.