Telstra fined $1.9mn over emergency service network disruption

Sydney

Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications company, has been fined A$3 million (approximately $1.9 million) for failing to meet emergency call rules during a disruption of Australia’s triple zero emergency services network in March 2024, ACMA announced on Wednesday.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) imposed the fine after an investigation revealed that Telstra’s Triple Zero call centre experienced a significant outage on March 1, where 473 emergency calls were mishandled. Specifically, 127 calls were not transferred to emergency services because of Telstra’s failure to update its backup phone data. Meanwhile, 346 calls were successfully transferred, but Telstra failed to provide critical digital location information to emergency service organizations.

ACMA member Samantha Yorke stated that as the provider of emergency services, Telstra must have robust systems in place to ensure reliability. She added that while Telstra has taken responsibility and apologized for the incident, it must improve its contingency plans to prevent future disruptions.

This fine follows a similar incident involving Optus, which was fined A$12 million in November 2024 for a major outage that impacted triple zero calls in November 2023.

Telstra has pledged to take corrective actions to avoid a repeat of such an issue, prioritizing public safety.