ACCAN has raised concerns after Telstra was fined for a major service failure.
Serious concerns were voiced after Telstra failed to keep the 106 emergency call service running for over 12 hours.
This represents a critical failure in Telstra’s duty as the nation’s designated emergency service call provider and falls well short of the standard the public expects from Australia’s largest telecommunications company.
ACCAN CEO Carol Bennett said that the incident must be treated as a warning sign—and a call to action to modernise Australia’s emergency call infrastructure.
“People with hearing impairments rely on the 106 service as their lifeline to emergency assistance. When this fails, their safety is at risk,” Ms Bennett said.
“We are fortunate that no one was harmed during this outage—but relying on luck is not a public safety strategy. This should be treated as a near-miss and a wake-up call.”
“We thank Telstra for committing to an independent review of what went wrong and look forward to hearing how systems and processes will be strengthened to prevent a recurrence.”
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“This incident underscores the urgent need to modernise Australia’s emergency services. Text-to-Triple-Zero is already in place in many countries. Australia must not fall further behind.”
During outages, many Australians turned to social media to share concerns and seek updates, highlighting its role in crisis communication. However, this also exposed gaps in official channels, reinforcing the need for more resilient and accessible systems that don’t depend on luck or third-party platforms during emergencies.
“With new technologies such as SMS via low-earth orbit satellite becoming available, the time to implement accessible, resilient emergency communication is now,” Ms Bennett said.
ACCAN continues to call on the Federal Government to prioritise investment in a ‘Next Generation Triple Zero’ system to ensure all Australians—regardless of location or accessibility needs—can reach emergency services reliably, at any time.
Adrianne Saplagio is a Content Producer at Comms Room, where she combines her passion for storytelling with her expertise in multimedia content creation. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for engaging audiences, Adrianne has been instrumental in crafting compelling narratives that resonate across various digital platforms.
