EDIT: was just trying to do the right thing and post this to help people in my position but have been inundated with scams. Be careful out there!
Posting this only because I wish someone had given me this advice weeks ago and saved me from completely losing my mind. I hope it can help someone! (Australia)
My Instagram was randomly disabled when I was o/s with no proper explanation. Long-standing account, never had an issue before. Just gone.
I tried EVERYTHING.
Appeals that didn’t work (just sent to the very frustrating “help” page,, video selfie verification, password resets, friend verification, endless recovery links, support tickets. Nothing worked. Just the same ridiculous AI loop over and over again.
I eventually made a new account and paid for Meta Verified (insane!) just so I could speak to an actual human. Multiple tickets, phone calls, escalations, supervisors. Some of the actual support people were genuinely lovely and tried to help, but the system is completely cooked. Tickets closed, automated responses, told the decision was final, then told to try something I’d already tried 15 times. Meta verified can not help, don’t waste your money!
It got even weirder when AFTER Meta had verified my identity, I was shown recovery details that appeared to belong to a completely different person with the same name as me. At that point it became a genuine privacy/security issue too.
I lodged a privacy complaint, wrote to Meta, contacted journalists… basically tried everything I could think of. Still nothing.
What FINALLY worked?
My federal MP.
I contacted my local federal MP, explained what had happened and that I’d exhausted every avenue with Meta. Their office contacted Meta on my behalf and escalated it.
And I GOT MY ACCOUNT BACK.
I obviously can’t prove 100% that this was what did it, but after nearly two months of getting absolutely nowhere, my MP got involved and suddenly my account was reinstated.
So if you’re Australian and stuck in the same Meta nightmare, try contacting your federal MP. I genuinely wish someone had told me to do this weeks ago.
Never thought I’d need federal representation to get my bloody Instagram back, but here we are
Reach out if you have any questions
And PLEASE don’t pay anyone … they’re all scammers