Improving the governance and performance of Triple Zero

The Albanese Government will commence important reforms to improve the Emergency Call Service, as part of its official response to the review into last year’s Optus outage released today.

The outage left millions of Australians and small businesses without access to communications services, and left many unable to call Triple Zero, putting lives at risk.
 
The Post Incident Review – announced the day after the outage and led by Mr Richard Bean – is the first comprehensive review of the Triple Zero ecosystem in over a decade.
 
The principal cause of Triple Zero issues during the outage was a lack of wilting on the Optus 3G network, whereby signals are powered down in order to enable calls to be carried by another network.
 
While Optus has advised this issue is now addressed, the outage identified a broader need to improve information flows, governance, and technical assurance frameworks in the emergency calling context.
 
The Australian Government will implement all 18 of the recommendations from the Review, providing a pathway to help reduce the impact of future outages on Australians.
 
Over the next 12-18 months, the Government will: 

  • Establish the Triple Zero Custodian framework, initially led  by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), to improve industry accountability and end-to-end oversight of Triple Zero;
  • Implement new rules mandating how, what and when telecommunications carriers communicate with their customers during and after a major outage;
  • Require industry to provide work plans to the regulator following a major outage, to explain how an impacted telco will mitigate the risk of a similar outage in future;
  • Create a new comprehensive testing regime across telecommunications networks and telecommunications devices for calls to Triple Zero; and
  • A review and update of legislation and regulation relating to the delivery of Triple Zero.

Collectively, these measures will improve industry accountability and the effectiveness of regulatory oversight and other supporting processes.
 
Consultation during the Review involved a range of stakeholders, including communications providers, Commonwealth, state and territory government entities, regulators, and industry and consumer representative bodies.
 
Separately, the independent regulator – Australian Communications and Media Authority – is undertaking an investigation into Optus’ compliance with the Emergency Call Determination 2019.
 
For more information on the Bean Review’s recommendations visit:
https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/media-communications-arts/phone/review-optus-outage-8-november

Quotes attributable to Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP:
 
“Australians need to have confidence in our telecommunications services, particularly when it comes to Triple Zero.
 
“Last year’s Optus outage and the Telstra Triple Zero fault earlier this year highlights vulnerabilities in the system.

“This Review is the most comprehensive examination of the Triple Zero ecosystem in over a decade. It means we have a workable blueprint to implement changes that will help improve the resilience of telecommunications in this country.
 
“The Review identified opportunities every part of the system need to do better, and these recommendations will help us do just that.
 
“I acknowledge those who provided feedback toward the Review, including the industry for working cooperatively and transparently, and thank Mr Bean for his work in delivering this strong report.
 
“We will take these Recommendations forward.”