Department Reports Optus Sent Emergency Outage Notification to Incorrect Email Address

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Optus sent emails notifying the federal communications department about a deadly triple-zero outage to the wrong email address and underplayed the severity of the issue, a parliamentary hearing has heard.

The Singaporean-owned telco was required by regulation to notify the department about the emergency call outage, which occurred after a routine firewall upgrade on 18 September and was linked to three deaths.

Optus sent two emails to the department on the day, one at 2.45pm notifying about the outage and another at 2.52pm advising the matter had been resolved, department deputy secretary for communications and media James Chisholm said.

But the emails were sent to a redundant address, meaning the department didn’t learn about the outage until a phone call from the regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, at 3.30pm on 19 September — more than 36 hours after the outage began.

“That communication … was sent to the wrong address, which we have told industry a number of times is not to be used as a source for notification,” Chisholm said in Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday.

“We were not notified of the outage properly and, in this case, it was by the regulator, until the Friday afternoon.”

Department officials said the email address telcos were required to notify of outages was only changed seven days before the outage, but companies had been warned of the changeover weeks earlier.

In a fiery Senate estimates hearing, frustrated Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young accused Chisholm of being misleading in his opening statement, in which he said Optus notified the department on 18 September but did not reveal it went to the wrong address.

She grilled Chisholm on why an automated reply wasn’t set up for the redundant email address, advising it was no longer being routinely checked.

The outage prevented more than 600 triple-zero calls from connecting in South Australia, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and some parts of NSW.

The calls failed to redirect to another functioning network in the area, even though they are legally required to do so.

Optus’ emails on the 18th were also sent to an address of a staffer in the communications minister’s office.

The staffer did not relay the information to the department, but the correspondence did not reveal the true extent of the outage.

“I have just been informed that Optus has received reports that some customers in SA and WA are experiencing impacts to triple zero calls,” the initial email said.

The follow-up email seven minutes later advised triple-zero services had returned to normal and reporting showed only 10 calls may have been impacted.

Minor outage notifications are sent regularly without need for escalation, the estimates hearing was told.

Optus has appointed former NBN co-director Kerry Schott to lead an independent review of the outage. An Optus spokesperson declined to comment on the email development on Wednesday, saying the company “will not pre-empt the findings” of the report “in the interests of respecting the integrity of the independent review process”.

“We take these matters extremely seriously and remain committed to full transparency and accountability,” the spokesperson said, noting that the review is expected to be completed by the end of the year and will examine “all the relevant correspondence, timelines, and processes”.

On Tuesday, Communications Minister Anika Wells introduced legislation to enshrine a triple-zero watchdog into law and told parliament she was only made aware of the outage on 19 September.

Minister for Communications Anika Wells, wearing a white blazer, speaks in parliament. Several other politicians are seated behind her.

Anika Wells has faced tough questions over her handling of the incident. Source: AAP / MICK TSIKAS/AAPIMAGE

Opposition communications spokesperson Melissa McIntosh accused Wells of misleading parliament, and criticised the government for voting down an amendment to double the fines telcos can receive for breaches from $10 million to $20 million.

The triple-zero watchdog reforms passed the lower house, but won’t be able to become law for several weeks because the Senate does not sit until late October.

In the House of Representatives, McIntosh pushed for an inquiry into the outage, arguing a review by the Australian Communications and Media Authority was insufficient.

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong expressed his condolences over the deaths to Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese as they met in Canberra on Wednesday.

“We expect our companies to act responsibly, and we will certainly expect [parent company] Singtel and Optus to comply fully with the laws, to do whatever they can to cooperate with the investigation,” Wong told reporters.