Telstra has blamed a software defect for a major outage on Wednesday that left thousands of mobile customers unable to make calls or access data, and caused disruptions to regional train services and triple-zero emergency calls. The telco, which powers approximately 25 million mobile services nationwide, confirmed the outage began at 4:30am AEST, with all services restored by 4pm AEST.
Cause of the Outage
Michael Ackland, Telstra’s chief financial officer and acting chief executive while Vicki Brady is on leave, stated that the issue was not due to malicious activity but stemmed from a software fault that caused a GPS node to reset. The GPS node provides precise time synchronization to the network, and the reset led to incorrect time and synchronization, affecting authentication and data speeds. “The fact that it occurred means that there is something in our process that we need to fix, and we change, and we are working through that,” Ackland said.
Impact on Commuters
The outage caused significant disruption to regional train services in Victoria and New South Wales. Transport Victoria reported that all V/Line services were suspended due to radio network issues, with chaos at Southern Cross station as commuters faced lengthy delays and long lines for bus replacements. V/Line customers were advised to make their own way home and avoid using the service on Thursday. In New South Wales, trains between Campbelltown and Moss Vale/Goulburn on the Southern Highlands line, and between Newcastle interchange and Maitland, were halted due to the Telstra outage. Replacement buses were organized.
Triple-Zero Calls and Welfare Checks
Telstra operates the triple-zero emergency call system, which remained available for non-Telstra customers during the outage. Ackland revealed that Telstra conducted welfare checks on 333 people who attempted to call triple zero during the outage. Of those, 238 said they did not need assistance, while the remainder were referred to state and territory police for welfare checks. Six customers said they needed assistance, which was provided immediately. Some triple-zero calls successfully switched to TPG and Optus mobile networks. The volume of calls to triple zero was higher than expected, possibly due to people testing the service.
Government Response
Communications Minister Anika Wells and Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain stated that the Triple Zero Custodian reported some emergency calls did not connect. “The core triple-zero system remains operational, with connected calls flowing as expected from carrier networks to the Emergency Call Person (ECP), and on to state and territory emergency services dispatchers,” they said. “However, the Triple Zero Custodian has advised that some callers were unable to connect to the ECP, and that these are being investigated by Telstra.” The Australian Communications and Media Authority will conduct an investigation into the outages. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the outage as “deeply concerning,” while Opposition Leader Angus Taylor demanded the government explain the incident.
Scam Warnings and Previous Outages
Ackland warned that scammers were calling people claiming to be from Telstra. “Our advice to our customers is, if you get a call from someone claiming to be Telstra asking you for details in light of today’s outage, please hang up and call us back directly,” he said. The Telstra outage follows similar issues at Vodafone in June and a major Optus outage in September 2025 that lasted almost 14 hours and was linked to two deaths. New rules from the Australian Communications and Media Authority, effective March, require telcos to publish outage details including start time, restoration time, and cause.
