Good afternoon, everyone. I begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet today, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people. 

Together we stand on the shoulders of 1,600 generations of First Nations people, and that is our shared history.

I extend that respect to First Nations people in attendance, including co-chairs of the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group, Ms Dot West and Professor Lyndon Ormond-Parker. 

It is a great pleasure to stand here with you as your Minister for Communications.

 We believe in a simple principle – no one held back, no one left behind. 

Connectivity has become woven into the fabric of everyday life, and when telecommunication services fail to deliver, it’s not an inconvenience, it has an impact.

And as connectivity is essential to public safety, economic participation, and social inclusion, the public interest must sit firmly at the centre of the system. 

We cannot ignore the searing experiences of 2025. They necessitate a change in how we operate in 2026. 

The Triple Zero failures last year shook public confidence.

Frankly, they exposed elements of a system that relied on a best efforts approach, and sadly, in some instances, those efforts were far from the best. 

At a deeper level, it exposed a discordance between how the industry is regulated, and perhaps how it sees itself, versus how the public expects it to operate. 

We have to face reality. At the end of 2025, public opinion of the communications sector was very low. 

That is a problem. It’s also an opportunity to improve. 

Australians must be able to rely on a telecommunications system. A system that is accessible, accountable and affordable. A system where consumers are not an afterthought – but a starting point.

Being an essential service carries responsibilities. Effort is no longer discretionary. It is a must. And the needs of Australians must be put front and centre of what we do.

I say we – that is all levels of government, industry, and regulators. 

We have a collective social responsibility to deliver a reliable, accessible, and affordable telecommunications system in a way that enhances people’s lives and lets us all achieve our ambitions.

Which is why I want to begin with public safety – or rather, our safety. 

Because it’s not just “the general public” at the end of a Triple Zero call. It’s a person in need, and a person who can help. 

And in that moment, the experience of the person making the call is what matters most. 

The Albanese Government knows that Triple Zero is Australia’s most critical telecommunications service.

Australians expect to connect when they need it most – and everyone here knows that reality meets this expectation the vast majority of the time.

In 2025, more than 11 million Triple Zero calls were answered, and over 9 million were transferred to police, fire, and ambulance services. 

These numbers demonstrate both the extraordinary scale of this essential service, and the trust Australians place in Triple Zero, when they need it most. But that trust is fragile. It must be earned and maintained, and right now, it must be rebuilt.

Triple Zero call failures are unacceptable. Whether they arise from network, device, or system failures, any time an emergency call is initiated but not successfully carried represents a serious breakdown in a system that we all depend on to work when we need it. 

The Optus outage in September 2025 was a clear reminder of how emergency calling has become dependent on our mobile networks. 

It was a lightning rod moment for Australians who rightfully asked serious questions about how this could happen.

About 85 per cent of Triple Zero calls are now made from mobile devices. Yet much of the regulatory framework for the service was designed for a fixed-line world. 

So, the Government has acted decisively.

In October 2025, we established the Triple Zero Custodian in legislation, providing end-to-end oversight and stronger coordination across Australia’s emergency calling system. 

The Custodian and ACMA now have improved powers to hold industry to account when failures occur. 

But it’s not just about penalties – a reliable service depends on effective collaboration, including ACMA, the Emergency Call Person, state and territory emergency services organisations, and telecommunications carriers responsible for network resilience and fault detection. 

To support this, we are strengthening transparency through improved outage reporting and greater visibility of network performance affecting Triple Zero.

The Government is also investing more than $12 million over three years in a world-first device testing facility and associated research at the University of Technology Sydney. 

This work will help identify real-world device and network issues and build a more robust emergency calling system. 

These initiatives are all designed to ensure Triple Zero remains accessible and accountable today. 

But we are also looking to what a new model for the future will look like. 

Triple Zero, of course, must always prioritise people and their safety. But it should also be adaptable enough to meet public expectations of how we communicate.

My vision for the future of Triple Zero is that access should closely mirror consumer use of technology and be flexible enough to adapt as consumer preferences change. 

I see significant opportunities for all actors in the Triple Zero ecosystem to pursue a truly connected emergency call service.

One built on continuous improvement – and where we understand how the system is performing in real-time, and where any issues are proactively identified and addressed. 

It’s also critical the public have access to clear information on how Triple Zero operates, and how they can best access help when they need it. 

There is more work to be done – for governments, for the regulator and for industry – to determine what is possible for a future Triple Zero model. 

I have tasked the Custodian with leading this work and ensuring the Triple Zero ecosystem remains accessible and accountable today, and tomorrow. 

On that point, I want to update you on where we are with the Bean Review following the 2023 Optus outage.

Of the 18 recommendations, all but one have been actioned or are well underway.

The final recommendation: number 18 – a comprehensive review of Triple Zero legislation and regulations – is a key step in rebuilding public confidence in the system and ensuring we have the right framework to reduce the risk of a major outage happening again. 

To that end, I am announcing today we will imminently commence this critical piece of work. 

The review will draw on lessons from the 2023 and 2025 Optus outages, the 3G switchover, and recently identified device issues.

I will have more to say on the review scope and structure in due course. 

But let me make it very clear. This is of the upmost importance to me, to the Government, and most importantly, to the Australian people. 

We must do everything in our power to ensure Triple Zero remains reliable, resilient, and fit for purpose –now and into the future. 

As I said in my introductory remarks, the public interest must sit firmly at the centre of the telecommunications system.

We must put people front and centre, as we move to a better-connected Australia enabled by the NBN, mobile services and new technologies like LEOSats.

First to the NBN. 

It is central to productivity, economic growth, and social connection. It underpins jobs, innovation, and opportunity in our cities and across regional and rural Australia. 

The Albanese Labor Government is proudly delivering this vision to Australians, and we have just passed a major milestone. 

Following the Government’s $2.4 billion investment in 2022, NBN Co has now enabled 1.5 million fibre-to-the-node premises to upgrade to full fibre – with more than half of those in regional communities.

It means more people – now more than 10 million households and businesses can now access faster NBN broadband speeds – that is a tangible outcome that matters to people and makes a difference to their lives. 

It is also an election commitment that we have delivered because we are proud backers of the NBN and the difference it makes to normal people. 

And we are going further. 

In January 2025, we announced up to $3 billion in additional equity funding to upgrade the final premises serviced by fibre-to-the-node technology. 

By the end of 2030, at least 94 per cent of premises in the fixed-line footprint will be able to access multi-gigabit speeds, including hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses outside our major cities where over 70 per cent of premises can access the NBN via fixed-line technology. 

Alongside the significant upgrade to the NBN fixed wireless network completed in 2024 and future low orbit satellite arrangements, this is about future-proofing Australia, and ensuring regional communities are not left behind. 

And, crucially, making sure that NBN Co itself remains in public hands, and keeps serving the public interest above all else. 

Now you can’t talk telecommunications without talking spectrum. And I know there are differing views on this in the room. 

Spectrum is a finite and critical national asset. 

Without it, there is no mobile coverage, no satellite connectivity, no broadcasting – and no modern digital economy.

But let’s be clear – it is a public asset that Australians deserve a fair return on. 

Access to spectrum comes with responsibility. 

Responsibility to use it to ensure all Australians, including people living in rural and remote communities can benefit from new technology and experience increasingly reliable coverage.

Australians recognise that Government has a role in encouraging and supporting industry to expand terrestrial coverage, even as low Earth Orbit satellites will offer baseline voice and text coverage to more Australians than ever before. 

We are continuing to work with industry to expand mobile coverage and resilience, funded by the Better Connectivity Plan for Rural and Regional Australia. 

We have funded further rounds of the Mobile Black Spot Program, the Mobile Network Hardening Program, and the Peri-Urban Mobile Program, and we are currently rolling out the Regional Roads Australia Mobile Program to increase coverage on critical regional highways and major roads. 

We will also soon open a third round of the On Farm Connectivity Program to support our primary producers to take advantage of the incredible advances in connected farm technology and will shortly be in a position to announce the outcomes of Mobile Black Spot Round 8. 

On that point, we will continue to refine our co-investment programs as technology and market conditions changes, as recommended by the 2024 Regional Telecommunications Review. 

At the end of the day, both government and industry have a part to play in expanding and uplifting capacity in rural and remote Australia. 

We want to work with the people here in this room and industry broadly to ensure Australians are connected and nobody is left behind.

Looking up, Australians have embraced low Earth orbit satellite services for one simple reason, they work, especially in places where distance has always been a barrier. 

I am pleased to say NBN Co’s partnership with Amazon to deliver satellite-based broadband services is on track and will provide even more choice for our most remote homes and businesses. 

This year, our legislative agenda will lead with the progression of the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation Bill which I introduced last November. 

The Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation will expand mobile coverage and choice, beyond the edge terrestrial networks. 

This is a priority for the Albanese Government because it underpins regional connectivity and provides coverage in areas where, despite decades of government and industry co-investment, it has not been possible to reach. 

The Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation will deliver baseline outdoor mobile coverage nationwide – and again, with clear public (and personal) safety benefits. 

There is clearly a lot work to do in this portfolio but I am ready for it.

In 2022, I addressed aged care providers at a forum much like this one… at the beginning of what would be generational change for that sector. 

The road ahead was daunting but it was absolutely and unequivocally necessary. 

Because at the heart of the reform agenda was the person – and their right to live with dignity and with choice. 

And it was in a similar space last year with the under 16-year-olds at the centre of our world-first social media minimum age laws. 

I stand before you today with that same conviction 

Because at the centre of Australia’s communications sector is the end user. 

A person, like you, like me.

And this is more than laying cables in the ground and placing satellites in the sky.

I have a very clear vision about where I see us heading.

• Securing universal outdoor mobile coverage as soon as the market is capable of doing so.
• Improving mobile connectivity in regional and remote areas, and in the peri-urban fringes.
• Providing access to high-speed broadband for every postcode, every day, regardless of wholesaler, retailer or access technology.
• Supporting place-based solutions to drive local socio-economic benefit.
• Managing spectrum in the short term while looking for a long-term solution.
• Adopting the best and latest low Earth orbit satellite technology, and fostering competition in that market using the levers available to us.
• Using regulation to improve transparency and accountability and rebuild the trust in our industry and our Triple Zero system.
• And most importantly, ensuring people are at the forefront of our collective industry. 

That’s what will keep our community connected for decades to come, and ensure no one is left behind. 

So, for the communications sector, 2026 is, as it always should be, about people first.

For the small business owner in outer Melbourne and the WA grain grower. 

It’s for the mums and dads accessing specialist health care, and the First Nations communities now able to access community Wi-Fi at no cost. 

It’s the five-year-old learning remotely. 

And it’s for the 13-year-old checking the local netball fixtures instead of uploading a selfie to social media.

They are not just communications consumers. They are people. 

And I look forward to working with you to strengthen connectivity for all Australians, no matter where they live, and to build trust in the essential services that this sector provides.

We have an ambitious long-term reform agenda for communications

And right now we have all of the building blocks to put people front and centre of this industry. 

But this is not an industry that stays still and as technology changes, we must work together to deliver for all Australians. 

There is a lot of work ahead – but we’re in this for the long term. 

Thank you.