ACMA Takes Optus to Court Over Triple-Zero Outage That Killed Two

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has filed a lawsuit against Optus in the Federal Court over a devastating triple-zero outage in September 2025 that left hundreds of emergency calls unanswered and has been linked to two deaths. The regulator alleges that the telecommunications giant breached its legal obligations on 1,005 separate occasions during the 13-hour failure, which stemmed from a flawed network firewall upgrade.

The Scope of the Outage

The outage struck Optus customers across South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and parts of New South Wales. More than 600 calls to the emergency number failed to connect, leaving people in critical situations unable to reach help. The ACMA’s investigation revealed that the disruption was caused by a faulty firewall upgrade that blocked access to the emergency call service. Two fatalities have been directly linked to the outage, though authorities have not released further details about the victims.

Legal Action and Allegations

In a statement on Thursday, the ACMA announced it had initiated proceedings in the Federal Court, accusing Optus of violating two key legal obligations: failing to provide end-users with access to the emergency call service and failing to ensure that emergency calls were routed to the appropriate termination point. The regulator emphasized the gravity of the failure, noting that Australians rightly expect their triple-zero calls to connect reliably. Access to emergency services is not optional—it is a fundamental legal duty and the most important public safety responsibility for telecommunications providers, the ACMA said. Each contravention could result in a penalty of up to $250,000, meaning Optus potentially faces fines totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

Optus’s Response

Optus has been approached for comment but has not yet issued a public statement regarding the lawsuit. The company previously acknowledged the outage and apologized, but the legal action signals that regulators view the incident as a systemic failure with severe consequences.

Broader Implications for Telecommunications

This case underscores the critical importance of robust network infrastructure for emergency services. The triple-zero network is a lifeline for Australians, and any failure can have life-or-death consequences. The ACMA’s decision to pursue maximum penalties serves as a stark warning to all carriers that compliance with emergency call obligations is non-negotiable. Industry experts note that telecommunications companies must rigorously test system changes, especially those affecting emergency services, to prevent such catastrophic failures.

Looking Ahead

The Federal Court will now determine the penalties and any additional measures. The case is expected to set a precedent for how telecommunications failures are handled in Australia. Meanwhile, the ACMA continues to monitor compliance across the industry, and further reforms may be on the horizon to ensure that no outage of this scale ever happens again. For the families affected by the two deaths linked to the outage, the legal process offers a measure of accountability, but the tragedy underscores the high stakes of network reliability.