Regulatory Information
elefa is an over-the-top (OTT) Voice-over-IP service operated from Melbourne, Australia. This page describes what we are, what we are not, and the rules we operate under.
Company Details
Legal Name
ELEFA MOBILE PTY LTD
Trading As
elefa
ABN
16 694 346 088
ACN
694 346 088
Country of incorporation
Australia
What elefa is
elefa is an over-the-top (OTT) Voice-over-IP application. You make outbound calls over the public internet using your existing data connection. We do not provide you with a mobile or fixed-line service, and we do not issue you a phone number.
Outbound calls to ordinary phone numbers (mobile or landline, including phones with no internet connection) are carried over the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) by wholesale interconnect carriers. All traffic between your device and our servers is encrypted in transit (TLS/SRTP); the PSTN leg cannot be end-to-end encrypted by its nature.
In-app elefa-to-elefa calling, messaging and collaboration features are not currently offered. They are on our future roadmap; if and when released, end-to-end encryption is planned at launch and this page will be updated.
"elefa" (lowercase) is the trading name of ELEFA MOBILE PTY LTD. The word "Connect" sometimes appears alongside the elefa name in marketing material; it is a marketing label only and is not a separate legal entity or product.
Australian regulatory posture
Carriage Service Provider (CSP)
Under the Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth), we operate as a Carriage Service Provider - that is, a person who supplies carriage services to the public using infrastructure operated by licensed carriers. CSPs are not licensed by ACMA; only carriers that own network infrastructure require a carrier licence. We are not a carrier.
Privacy and telecommunications information
We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. When we handle "telecommunications information" (the fact, time or content of a communication) we are also bound by Part 13 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. See our Privacy Policy for the full detail.
Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code
We apply the consumer-facing principles of the TCP Code C628:2019 - clear advertising, transparent pricing shown before every call, billing accuracy, and structured complaint handling within the timeframes the Code sets out. The Code's formal scope is directed at carriers and CSPs of standard telephone services; we apply equivalent standards to our OTT service.
Spam Act and Do Not Call Register
Marketing emails and SMS are sent only with consent and always with a clear unsubscribe mechanism, in accordance with the Spam Act 2003 (Cth). We do not place outbound marketing telephone calls.
What elefa is not
To avoid any consumer confusion, we want to be explicit about what elefa does not do today:
- It is not a "standard telephone service" and the Customer Service Guarantee Standard (Telstra Standard) does not apply.
- It does not issue you an Australian phone number, so we make no submissions to the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND).
- It is not a mobile, fixed-line or NBN service. There is no SIM, no eSIM, no number porting and no data plan.
- It is not a carrier or carriage service intermediary requiring a carrier licence.
- elefa Mobile Pty Ltd is not currently a member of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) scheme. Membership will be confirmed at the appropriate regulatory threshold.
- We hold no licences, registrations or local entities in any country other than Australia.
Emergency services
elefa cannot be used to call emergency services.
Triple Zero (000) in Australia, 112 in the EU/UK and many other countries, 911 in the US/Canada, 999 in the UK and parts of Africa and Asia, 111 in New Zealand and all equivalent local emergency numbers are not supported. The Service will not transmit your physical location to emergency answer points, may not work during a power or internet outage, and may not connect at all. You must always maintain access to an alternative means of calling emergency services.
International users
Although the Service is offered globally, elefa is established and regulated only in Australia. We do not hold a local licence, registration or representative entity in any other country, and we have not appointed an EU or UK GDPR Article 27 representative. Where you reside outside Australia, your local consumer-protection and data-protection laws may give you additional non-excludable rights - nothing in our policies is intended to displace those rights.
Some countries restrict, license or ban OTT VoIP services like elefa. Before you install or use the Service from outside Australia, please read our Service Availability & Country Restrictions page.
Accessibility
Australian users with hearing or speech impairment can contact us via the National Relay Service (NRS) at accesshub.gov.au/about-the-nrs. The NRS is a free service funded by the Australian Government.
Consumer-facing documents
Fair Use Policy
Acceptable-use rules for the elefa calling service.
Read the Fair Use Policy →Financial Hardship
Help for Australian customers facing financial difficulty.
Read the Hardship Policy →Complaints
How to raise and escalate a complaint with us.
Read the Complaints Policy →Privacy & Data
How we handle your personal information.
Read the Privacy Policy →External escalation
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
For privacy complaints we have not resolved: oaic.gov.au · 1300 363 992
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
For consumer-law complaints: accc.gov.au
eSafety Commissioner
For online safety concerns: esafety.gov.au
Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO)
elefa Mobile Pty Ltd is not currently a TIO member, so the TIO cannot adjudicate disputes against us at this time. We will register at the regulatory threshold that applies to our Service. In the meantime, unresolved telecommunications complaints may still be raised with the OAIC or ACCC as appropriate.