Communications Minister Anika Wells mentioned that public “confidence has undoubtedly been affected” in the national emergency service framework after the struggling telecom company did not detect a significant failure affecting over 600 triple-zero calls within a 13-hour timeframe on Thursday.
Optus CEO Stephen Rue revealed three people had died the following day, admitting the situation was “completely unacceptable”.
Optus is now introducing a mandatory escalation protocol for instances when triple zero issues are reported via their customer service center, alongside an internal inquiry.
The telco is also working with ACMA, which is investigating and will also probe Telstra’s compliance with new communication requirements.
ACMA will hand the government a report and recommendations in due time.
This incident might also lead to a broader examination of the telecommunications sector and the emergency services network, as Optus is not the sole company to experience triple-zero outages.
“We are evaluating what actions are needed comprehensively or through legislative measures for the Australian populace, considering their trust has undeniably been shaken by these events,” Wells stated today.
