- Optus’ 13-hour outage on 18 Sept 2025 blocked emergency calls, linked to four deaths.
- Faulty firewall update affected 600 customers; 2,700 triple-zero calls failed.
- Optus admitted response failures, offered free data, and will cooperate with the ACMA review.
- Leaders have criticised the company; the incident has raised calls for stricter telecom regulations.
Image Credit – Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images
Optus is facing intense scrutiny after a nationwide network outage on September 18, 2025, left thousands of Australians unable to access emergency services.
The 13-hour disruption, caused by a botched firewall update, is linked to at least four deaths across South Australia and Western Australia.
Approximately 600 customers were affected by the outage, with nearly 2,700 emergency (triple zero) calls failing to connect.
Optus admitted that reports from customers about the issue were routed to offshore centres but did not trigger necessary escalation processes.
The company acknowledged that the outage was unacceptable and pledged full cooperation with governmental and regulatory investigations.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is investigating the incident, and Optus plans to appoint an independent reviewer.
The federal government is considering the consequences following the review. This marks another severe incident following a major Optus outage in 2023, which occurred under previous leadership.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas criticised Optus for its inadequate response and delayed communication, calling the company’s handling “incompetent” and “unbelievable.”
Western Australian Minister John Carey echoed these sentiments, emphasising the need for reliable access to emergency services.
The incident has prompted calls for stricter regulations and redundancy planning to ensure the reliability of emergency services in the future.
Optus has offered customers free data as compensation for the outage, but some affected individuals argue that the gesture is insufficient given the severity of the incident.
The company has announced the implementation of a compulsory escalation process for reports of triple-zero failures, designed to prevent similar issues in the future.
As investigations continue, the incident highlights the critical importance of telecommunications providers maintaining robust systems that support emergency services.