Senate Says 000 Emergency Calls Must Leave Private Hands

The probe began after Optus suffered a massive network outage in September 2025. The failure lasted almost 14 hours, during which 75 % of the 605 emergency calls to Triple Zero did not connect, and two deaths were linked to the blackout.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson‑Young chaired the Senate inquiry and, after months of evidence, the final report recommended that control of the Triple Zero system be taken away from Telstra and placed under national ownership. The report contains 11 recommendations, including the creation of a new national authority to run Emergency Call Person operations and a review of the regulator ACMA’s powers.

Telstra responded that it takes the report seriously but remains wary of any mandate for domestic roaming, saying compulsory roaming could reduce infrastructure diversity and resilience. The company said it will keep working with the government on service standards while holding its position on mandated roaming.

The federal government has already raised the maximum penalty for telco rule breaches to $30 million and introduced new outage‑reporting requirements and public registers. These steps aim to improve transparency and deter future failures of the emergency‑call network.

Lawmakers argue that the Optus blackout exposed how a private‑run system can jeopardise public safety. By moving Triple Zero to a national authority, the Senate hopes to restore confidence, ensure consistent access during outages, and protect lives.

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