Optus has come under severe scrutiny following a technical failure that disrupted emergency triple-0 calls across Australia, leading to the tragic deaths of three individuals. On September 19, 2025, after a network upgrade went wrong, it triggered mass outages across the network, stranding hundreds of emergency calls. Optus CEO, Stephen Rue, confirmed the situation in a press conference, revealing that approximately 600 calls failed to connect, impacting both individuals and businesses.
The ramifications of this failure are profound. Two of those deaths were in South Australia and the third in Western Australia, all attributed to the outage. In reaction, Optus delivered welfare checks. They found that three of the homes present during the failed calls had suffered a recent, tragic loss of a loved one. In the wake of these results, newly elected Premier Peter Malinauskas was made aware of the deaths.
Technical Failure Details
In fact, on Thursday, Optus finally performed an official network rollover. Regrettably, this necessary update triggered a technical failure that left the 911 system unable to properly process emergency calls. Rue addressed the issue during the press conference, stating, “At this stage I can confirm that approximately 600 customers were potentially impacted, of which a proportion of their calls did not go through.” He promised the public that this failure had been corrected.
Rue was adamant about the severity of the situation. Continuing welfare checks are going out to those whose homes have been impacted by the outage to check on their safety and well-being. He stated, “Please know that these welfare checks are ongoing.” The damage was already done, and the results were catastrophic.
Government Reactions
Communications Minister Anika Wells expressed her outrage at the incident, calling it “incredibly serious and completely unacceptable.” She emphasized the importance of robust emergency services and holding telecommunications companies such as Optus accountable. Communications Shadow Minister Melissa McIntosh was quick to condemn the outage, saying, “Not a single triple-0 outage is acceptable.” She reiterated, however, that telecommunication providers should be held accountable for making sure emergency service calls are prioritized.
McIntosh further remarked on the tragic consequences of the outage: “The impact of this failure has had tragic consequences and my personal thoughts are with those who have lost a loved one.” It was announced that the South Australian government would hold an independent review into Optus’s actions in relation to this breach. Our investigation seeks to provide accountability and transparency.
Investigations and Penalties
While the search for the missing continues, Optus is paying dearly for its neglect of public safety. The company has subsequently been assessed over $12 million in penalties for their repeated failures. Malinauskas has taken a firm stance on ensuring accountability, stating, “My message to Optus this evening is that there will be a thorough examination conducted independently by the South Australian government on every single matter pertaining to their conduct regarding this incident.”
He further expressed his commitment to protecting the interests of affected families: “We will thoroughly pursue every avenue we can to ensure that the interests of South Australians, and the families that have been affected by this, are preserved and protected.” Malinauskas condemned the outage, noting, “I have not witnessed such incompetence from an Australian corporation in respect to communications worse than this.”
