Triple-0 Tragedy: Baby Boy Among Three Dead After Optus Network Failure Sparks Chaos Across SA, WA and NT
- Optus network failure blocks hundreds of Triple-0 calls, leading to three devastating deaths, including an eight-week-old baby boy
- Technical issue sparks outrage, with Communications Minister Anika Wells blasting the breakdown and vowing a thorough investigation
- Optus chief executive officer Stephen Rue apologises for the “completely unacceptable” failure, promising a thorough investigation and cooperation with government agencies
Three lives have been tragically lost, including an innocent eight-week-old baby boy, after a catastrophic Optus network failure blocked hundreds of Triple-0 calls across South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory.
The technical issue, which occurred during a network upgrade on Thursday, has sparked widespread outrage and demands for answers. Communications Minister Anika Wells has blasted the breakdown, saying it is “unacceptable” and vowing a thorough investigation.
Optus chief executive officer Stephen Rue has apologised for the “completely unacceptable” failure, promising a thorough investigation and cooperation with government agencies. “I want to offer a sincere apology to all customers who could not connect to emergency services when they needed them most,” he said.
Rue revealed that the technical issue, which only affected Triple-0 calls, has been rectified, but the damage has already been done. “I have been advised that during the process of conducting welfare checks, three of the Triple-0 calls involved households where a person tragically passed away,” he said.
The circumstances of each death, including any impact of the outage, are being investigated, and a report will be prepared for the State Coroner in each case. SA Police are working through about 150 matters connected to the disaster, while WA Police are conducting a number of welfare checks.
Flinders University associate professor Paul Gardner-Stephen, who has a background in disaster-zone telecommunications, explained that mobile networks are complex systems. “The Triple-0 service in Australia leverages the dedicated emergency call facility in those networks and, when it works correctly, allows Triple-0 calls from any mobile phone using any network that’s available,” he said.
The impending investigations will shed light on the “exact nature” of the system collapse, which has raised questions about the effectiveness of current regulatory oversight and the readiness of telecommunications providers to protect public safety.
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas has launched an investigation into the cause of the outage, the adequacy of the response, and the circumstances that led to the deaths. “This is completely unacceptable. South Australians expect and deserve to know that when they call Triple-0, help will be there,” he said.
The Optus network failure has also raised concerns about the company’s history of outages and data breaches. In November, Optus was fined more than $12 million over a nationwide outage in 2023 that stopped 2100 customers from phoning emergency services.
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has called for greater accountability and transparency from telecommunications providers. “This failure from Optus must not happen again, but frankly, we are beyond tired of saying such things when it comes to this telco,” ACCAN chief executive Carol Bennett said.