Telcos will now face real-time reporting, enforced testing, and a no-excuses mandate under new laws to stop another 000 fail.
Telcos will have new stringent reporting and performance requirements in response to the triple zero outage on September 18 that was linked to three deaths.
Communications Minister Anika Wells met with the chief executives of Optus, TPG and Telstra this morning before introducing the legislation to parliament.
“Telco providers know under the law they must provide reliable access to triple zero, that is their legal obligation,” she said in parliament.
“That’s why this morning, I met with the CEOs of Optus, Telstra and TPG-Vodafone, ahead of the approaching natural disaster season. There are no excuses, and I made that crystal clear today.”
After the Optus triple zero outage in 2023, one of the recommendations was introducing a Triple Zero custodian. This person was appointed in March this year and was attempting to understand the gaps in the triple zero model.
This new legislation will enshrine the custodian’s powers and help strengthen oversight of the triple zero system.
From the 1 November, telecommunications carriers will have to provide real-time reporting of outages to Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and to emergency services. They will also have to test triple zero during outages and maintenance and make sure calls fall back to other networks if needed.
The custodian, through ACMA, may also provide additional performance requirements within six months of the bill starting. They haven’t said what those requirements might be nor what the penalties might be if carriers don’t meet them.
It also gives AMCA powers to provide direction to carriers to provide critical information such as technical details of an outage, policies and processes affecting triple zero.
“This framework allows information to be shared with emergency service organisations, regulators and other relevant bodies to remediate problems before they cause a crisis and to respond during an outage of the triple zero system,” Ms Wells said.
ACMA is investigating the September 18 outage, and Optus has commissioned its own review into the incident.
According to Ms Wells, “legislating a triple zero custodian will help, but there is no silver bullet solution for corporate failure”.
“If a telco fails Australians like Optus did, they will face significant consequences. There is no excuse,” she said.
