Telstra customers faced a widespread service disruption on Wednesday morning, leading to some being unable to even place emergency calls. The prime minister moved quickly to quell rumors of a possible cyber attack.
Expressing their apologies, the company attributed the service failure to a glitch in their software.
Communications Minister Anika Wells confirmed that some Telstra users were unable to reach emergency services at triple zero. The problem also wreaked havoc on train networks and card payment systems nationwide.
The disruption brought the entirety of Victoria’s regional train services to a standstill, while in New South Wales, regional and intercity trains suffered from prolonged delays.
Telstra announced that the network issues were completely sorted out by 4pm, following a morning of glitches that had started early that day.
Telstra chief financial officer Michael Ackland said the telco was continuing to investigate but it was confident its teams had identified and isolated the software defect.
However, he revealed potential triple-zero call problems were more widespread than previously thought, requiring hundreds of welfare checks.
By Wednesday afternoon, Telstra had completed 333 checks on customers who made an emergency call that was unsuccessful or dropped out after connecting.
“The volume of these welfare checks was higher than we expected and it has prompted us to investigate further,” Ackland said.
Investigations into the underlying cause of the software glitch were ongoing.
“The fact that it occurred means that there is something in our process that we need to fix and to change – we are working through that,” the Telstra executive said.
Wells assured the public the problem was different to past failures, including an Optus outage in September that was linked to multiple deaths.
“This is not a triple zero outage,” she said.
“This is a Telstra retail outage that has affected their customers right across the country.”
Small businesses having troubles with failing EFTPOS transactions was “incredibly frustrating”, she added.
Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain said Australian phones are required to fall back to other networks for triple zero access.
Users began reporting issues with their internet and mobile services at approximately 4.30am on the outage-tracking website DownDetector.
Telstra earlier said the issue is a node problem affecting timekeeping across its network, resulting in intermittent outages. The source of the issue lies in servers held in data centres in Sydney and Melbourne, Ackland said.
“Time synchronisation in those nodes wasn’t working as it should. We don’t know why,” he said.
In a statement, Telstra said “We know how much our customers rely on our network and understand just how much of a disruption this is to your day.
“For that we’re so sorry.”
Ackland said as many as “tens of thousands” of people could be impacted, but that it was likely fewer. However, online reports suggest the outage could be significantly larger than Telstra describes.
In its 2025 annual report, the company said it provides around 24.9 million retail mobile services, along with 3.4 million consumer and small-business bundle, data, and voice-only services.
Emergency services interrupted
Some Telstra users have reported being unable to access emergency services, with Wells advising in a statement that police had been conducting welfare checks on those unable to reach triple zero.
Police in Victoria, NSW, and Western Australia have acknowledged the interruption could be an issue.
However, those services said there was no evidence of impact to frontline staff, or a disruption to their own networks.
Ackland said his company is investigating whether emergency services have been affected, but that it is unlikely, given they use a different network to the one affected.
Wells said the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will conduct “a full investigation”.
“Telstra will need to account for how and why this outage occurred,” she said.
Wells acknowledged the outage would test Australians’ patience with telcos as the communications watchdog and the custodian completed investigations.
“Australians expect a baseline of services when it comes to their telcos,” the minister said.
“There’s a reason telcos are the least trusted industries in Australia — it’s because of days like today.”
But Opposition communications spokesperson Sarah Henderson described the government’s response as “totally inadequate”.
“Australians are still waiting for the outcome of ACMA’s inquiry into the Optus triple-zero outage last September but all we have heard is silence,” she said, calling on the watchdog to file its report within seven days.
Prime minister denies foreign interference
Opposition leader Angus Taylor has joined One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce in calling for an investigation into whether the outage is linked to China’s ballistic missile testing on Monday.
“The government needs to explain what has gone on here, why has this happened, what they’re going to do to make sure it’s fixed and never happens again,” Taylor said.
Joyce told Sky News that he didn’t want to be a “conspiracy theorist” but he suspects Chinese involvement.
“I hope that that’s investigated and cleared as not part of the process,” he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese waved off the suggestion, saying that Telstra so far has no evidence of malicious involvement.
“What Telstra have indicated to the government is that they don’t see this as being, there’s no evidence of it being malicious, but those investigations are underway,” he said.
Regulator accused of ‘doing nothing’
A telecommunications expert has told SBS News that the government’s independent regulatory agency is not doing its job sufficiently to hold telcos accountable for outages.
Despite new laws, when Vodafone experienced a major outage in June, its service page was unable to update customers effectively about the crash, RMIT University associate professor Mark Gregory said.
“Vodafone were non-compliant. Have they been fined by the ACMA? No,” Gregory said. “Now, the same thing’s happened with Telstra.
“What is the ACMA going to do about it? Well, nothing, because the ACMA is the telcos’ mate.
“They’re not acting as a regulator, they’re acting as best buddies with these companies.”
In June, new reforms came into effect, forcing telcos to measure and report their signal strength, making it easier for customers to compare them.
In response, Telstra cut its mobile network coverage area by almost a third.
Gregory argued that the new laws do not go far enough, as they do not require the ACMA to publish a report whenever there is a significant outage, which he said is a “total failure.”
The implementation of the changes came after a series of high-profile service interruptions, the most significant of which was a 2024 major system failure by Telstra, which disrupted emergency service lines.
Telstra resolved the 2024 incident in an hour and a half; however, a Victorian man died after his family’s emergency calls were delayed during his cardiac arrest.
The company was fined $3 million following a probe into the outage.
Gregory recommended Australians carry cash, have WiFi services available, and know which of their neighbours are on alternative phone networks in case of emergencies.
Trains services halted
Dozens of V/Line train services stopped dead on the tracks and remained stationary at regional and suburban Melbourne stations, The Age reported.
Very limited coach replacement services could be provided at such short notice and passengers were advised to defer their travel.
Around 70,000 Victorians use V/Line trains every day.
Transport for NSW also advised passengers to delay their travel, warning that trains have been impacted and that “significant delays are expected to all services”.
Australian Rail Track Corporation suspended services across its 9,500km network, disrupting major freight and passenger routes.
Customers furious
Irate customers on social media berated the company following the outage.
Some claimed their businesses were affected by the interruption while others demanded compensation from the company.
Tens of thousands reported issues with outages on the DownDetector site, beginning at 4.15am and spiking at 6.30am. Reports have since declined.
Comments and complaints flooded into the website from across every state and territory, with both regional and metropolitan areas reportedly affected.
