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Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Support

The IT Dept Pty Ltd. Last updated 23 October 2026.

If you are in danger right now, call 000. Our service can't make phone calls, so use a mobile or another phone.

If you're experiencing domestic, family or sexual violence, or you think you might be, we're here to help you stay connected and safe. You can tell us in whatever words feel right. You don't have to explain what happened, and you don't have to prove anything. This page sets out the help you can expect from us, how to reach us safely, and where to find specialist support.

Our commitment to you

  • We have policies and procedures in place to protect the safety of people affected by domestic, family and sexual violence, and we follow them.
  • We are committed to keeping you connected to your service.
  • If your service has been restricted, suspended or disconnected and you tell us you're worried about your safety, we'll reverse it as a matter of urgency, the first time you ask. If we can't reverse it, we'll offer you an equivalent service.
  • We recognise that domestic and family violence, and sexual violence, can be a reason you can't pay. You may be entitled to financial hardship help under the Telecommunications (Financial Hardship) Industry Standard 2024 (see "Help with paying" below).

This help is for anyone affected, whether you hold the account or use the service, and whether you're a customer now, have been one, or are thinking of becoming one. It's the same if the violence is from a partner, a family member, someone you live with or anyone else, and it applies to sexual violence that happens outside a family or relationship too. You don't need a special plan or product to get any of it: it's part of every service we supply.

Contacting us safely

You can reach us in the way that's safest for you:

  • Phone: 02 4398 7081, 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, except public holidays
  • Email: hello@theitdept.au, any time (we reply during those hours)
  • Online: your account at https://the-it-dept.underlay.au/portal
  • Post: NSW, Australia
  • National Relay Service: if you're deaf, or find it hard hearing or speaking, use the National Relay Service and ask for 02 4398 7081: Voice Relay 1300 555 727, TTY 133 677 or SMS Relay 0423 677 767, or NRS Chat, Captions and Video Relay through accesshub.gov.au.
  • Interpreter: call TIS National on 131 450 and ask them to call us on 02 4398 7081. It's free.

If you can't get through, or now isn't a good time to talk, ask us to call you back: tell us the number and the time that suit you, and we'll call then.

When you get in touch, we'll first check that it's safe for you to talk. If it isn't, we'll stop and agree a better time or way to reach you. We'll ask how and when you'd like us to contact you (for example, only by email to a new address, or only by phone at a certain time), record it, and stick to it. We won't contact you about this any other way unless the law requires it, or you get in touch another way and tell us it's okay.

When you ask for a call back, we'll only call on the number, and at the day and time, you've told us are safe. If we call and it isn't a good moment, just say so or hang up, and we'll try again when you've told us is better.

You won't have to keep telling your story. If we need to pass you to someone else, we'll explain your situation to them first, with your agreement, so you don't have to repeat it. A friend, family member, support worker or advocate can contact us for you if you'd like.

You don't have to prove anything

We won't ask you for evidence that you're affected by violence, such as a police report, a court order or a letter from a support service. We'll only ever ask for something if the law requires us to, or if it's needed to protect you. Even then, we'll first use what we already have, ask for the least we can, and destroy any document once we've used it, keeping only a note of what kind it was.

You don't have to tell us what happened to get help. We will never ask you to contact, deal with, or get the agreement of the person using violence, or anyone acting for them.

Keeping your account and information safe

We'll explain who else can access your account (any authorised representative), and you can keep, change or remove them. We'll talk through any worries you have about your privacy or safety, and act on what you decide. We can:

  • set up a new account and service in your name that isn't linked to the person using violence, and make sure you don't pay for two services for the same days while you move across;
  • change your email address, mobile number and portal password straight away, after checking it's you in a way that's safe for you;
  • add extra protection to your account, such as a password we ask for before discussing it, or sending sign-in codes only to an email address or mobile number you've told us is safe;
  • change your service's IPv4 address and IPv6 range, free, so it can't be recognised from before;
  • help you check your own router, such as changing its admin and Wi-Fi passwords, if you're worried someone else can get into it; and
  • send your invoices the way you tell us is safe, for example to a new email address only you can see.

Unless the law requires it, we won't give anyone, without your consent, information that could identify or locate you, your contact details, or your financial information. We keep what you tell us secure, including the fact that you've told us, and only the people who need it to look after your account can see it. Our service has no phone calls, so calls to support services never appear on our invoices or records. If your information is ever accessed or disclosed without authorisation, we'll tell you (in the way you've told us is safe) and the Australian Communications and Media Authority within 2 days, and help you with safety planning. Our Privacy Policy has more about how we handle information.

Help with paying

If violence is affecting your finances, including financial abuse, talk to us. You may be entitled to help under our Financial Hardship Policy, made under the Telecommunications (Financial Hardship) Industry Standard 2024: more time to pay, a payment plan, a cheaper plan, or waiving what you owe. We won't ask for evidence. If charges or a debt were caused by the person using violence, or it isn't fair for you to carry them, we can waive them.

Once you tell us you're worried about your safety, we won't suspend, restrict or disconnect your service for non-payment while we work through your situation with you, and in any case not for at least 30 days unless you ask us to. Before we take any step to recover money from you, we'll think about how it would affect you, whether someone else ran up the debt, and whether anything we agreed (such as a payment plan) was set up properly.

If you're not happy with how we've helped

Tell us. A complaint where you've told us you're affected by violence is urgent under our Complaints Handling Policy: we'll propose a fix within 2 working days, and complete it within those 2 days if you accept. 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. Contact the TIO: phone 1800 062 058, visit tio.com.au, or write to PO Box 276, Collins Street West VIC 8007. The IT Dept Pty Ltd is a member of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman scheme.

Specialist support

These free, confidential services can help, and some are open all day, every day:

  • 1800RESPECT (domestic, family and sexual violence counselling and support, 24 hours): 1800 737 732, or chat and text at 1800respect.org.au
  • Full Stop Australia (sexual, domestic and family violence): 1800 385 578
  • Rainbow Sexual, Domestic and Family Violence Helpline (LGBTQIA+ people): 1800 497 212
  • 1800ELDERHelp (elder abuse): 1800 353 374
  • National Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline: 1800 880 052
  • National Debt Helpline (free financial counselling): 1800 007 007, or ndh.org.au
  • 13YARN (crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 24 hours): 13 92 76
  • Lifeline (crisis support, 24 hours): 13 11 14
  • Kids Helpline (ages 5 to 25, 24 hours): 1800 55 1800
  • eSafety Commissioner (technology-facilitated abuse, such as tracking or monitoring through devices or accounts): esafety.gov.au

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Our people

Everyone who deals with our customers is trained to recognise domestic, family and sexual violence and to respond safely and respectfully, and the training is refreshed every year. We review our policy and procedures at least every 2 years, and sooner if we learn they aren't keeping people safe.

About this statement

This is our domestic, family and sexual violence statement under the Telecommunications (Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Consumer Protections) Industry Standard 2025. It's always at https://the-it-dept.underlay.au/portal/legal/dfsv. We'll send you a copy free, in large print or another format you need, or talk you through it over the phone, with an interpreter if you'd like one. Just ask.

About us

The IT Dept Pty Ltd (ABN 12 665 405 505). The IT Dept Pty Ltd supplies your service, is the party to your contract and bills you. The IT Dept Pty Ltd is a member of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman scheme.

Contact us at hello@theitdept.au or on 02 4398 7081 (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, except public holidays). Our address for notices is NSW, Australia.