The independent investigator appointed by Optus to examine last September’s catastrophic triple zero outage has called out the company for its “culture of carelessness”. During today’s Senate inquiry hearing into triple zero outages, Dr Kerry Schott said she was astounded by Optus’s failure to follow basic processes in a crisis. She criticised a 40-page risk management document which was so convoluted it could not be implemented.
The hearing laid bare deeply troubling evidence – not just about systemic failures inside Optus, but systemic problems across the whole triple zero ecosystem.
Dr Schott said critical alerts were missed, procedures were ignored, and separate network disruption warnings were effectively written off without proper investigation.
She described the culture in the Networks division of Optus as “unforgivable” and one that “must be fixed”.
Optus executives admitted their failings and outlined how critical gaps in their response to the outage are being addressed. Yet many questions remain including the adequacy of back-up systems, such as the reliability of camping-on to another carrier when a triple zero call fails to connect.
The evidence today reinforces concerns long raised by the Coalition about accountability, and the consequences of government taking a hands-off approach to the management of an essential service.
While Optus must answer for its failures, this inquiry has also highlighted structural issues right across the triple ecosystem which demand government accountability and action.
Evidence today confirmed the triple zero system was designed around the 3G network – and yet the Albanese Labor government oversaw the shutdown of 3G without adequately ensuring that triple zero arrangements would remain fit for purpose.
The 3G shutdown, the proliferation of new handsets and fragmentation of software have all introduced new risks which have not been adequately addressed.
Today, NSW Ambulance said a framework of national standards should govern the triple zero emergency service.
We heard that Google’s Pixel handset can send an emergency message via satellite when the user has no mobile connectivity – but why can’t all Australians access this service?
When it comes to triple zero, near enough is not good enough. Australians deserve a system which is resilient, properly regulated, and treated with the seriousness that a life-saving service demands.