A review into the Optus Triple Zero outage, which was linked to two deaths in September, has uncovered widespread failures and an overall “lack of care” in the handling of critical systems.
The review examined the 14-hour outage on September 18, during which 605 people across South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and parts of New South Wales were unable to connect to emergency services. It found that Optus had provided its contractor, Nokia, with incorrect instructions during a routine upgrade, resulting in at least 10 critical errors.
The report revealed that both Optus and Nokia were unaware of the outage for nearly 13 hours, as call centre staff failed to escalate reports from five callers who complained that Triple Zero calls were not going through. It also identified internal shortcomings, including poor information flow, siloed operations and a failure to recognise the seriousness of the outage.
“The lack of care and work discipline evident in all the mistakes that were the cause of this incident is more difficult to address,” the report stated.
Another major concern was that Triple Zero calls failed to switch to other networks as intended, an issue the report described as “puzzling”. It raised broader questions about how effectively the Triple Zero system is operating and whether improvements are needed.
The review made 21 recommendations, including encouraging staff to escalate issues beyond their immediate teams, reconsidering whether Optus should outsource complex and essential services, and addressing the siloed nature of work within the organisation.
At a meeting earlier this week, the Optus board accepted all the recommendations and agreed to implement them swiftly. The board also decided that employees found personally accountable for the failures would face disciplinary action, including fines or dismissal.
Optus chairman John Arthur described the report as a “sobering read” and apologised for the outage and its impact. He said the company recognised the scale of the challenge and would act decisively to strengthen the business and rebuild public trust.
Chief executive Stephen Rue said some key reforms were already under way and that Optus would regularly report on its progress. He emphasised that the company’s commitment went beyond compliance, aiming to set a new standard as a provider of critical infrastructure and essential services.
“Australia deserves world-class emergency call services,” Rue said, adding that Optus is working closely with government, regulators and the wider telecommunications sector to improve the reliability of the Triple Zero service.
