Telstra fined for disruption to emergency call support service

Telstra has been penalised, and has committed to an independent review, after the telco mistakenly disabled the connection to the emergency call relay service used by people with hearing and speech impairments.

An Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) investigation found the 106 emergency call service number was inadvertently made unavailable for 12 hours and 46 minutes between 5 and 6 July 2024 following a server migration process. Under emergency call service rules, carriers must maintain the proper and effective functioning of their networks and facilities that are used to carry emergency calls.

ACMA member and consumer lead Samantha Yorke said that the ACMA takes any disruption to an emergency call service very seriously, given there could be devastating consequences for members of the public.

“This mistake could have contributed to very serious harm if someone who relies on this service had needed emergency assistance but was unable to get through,” Yorke said.

“Fortunately, the records show no one attempted to use the 106 service for an emergency during the time the service was disabled.”

Telstra has given the ACMA a court-enforceable undertaking to improve its relevant change management processes and engage an independent reviewer to look at the range of operational arrangements that support reliable delivery of the 106 emergency call service.

Telstra will implement any reasonable recommendations of the review, develop and provide staff training, and report regularly to the ACMA on its progress implementing these undertakings. The company has also paid a penalty of $18,780 — the maximum the ACMA could impose under the circumstances.

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has meanwhile claimed the incident represents a critical failure in Telstra’s duty as the nation’s designated emergency service call provider and falls well short of the standard the public expects from Australia’s largest telecommunications company.

“People with hearing impairments rely on the 106 service as their lifeline to emergency assistance,” said ACCAN CEO Carol Bennett.

“We are fortunate that no one was harmed during this outage — but relying on luck is not a public safety strategy. This should be treated as a near-miss and a wake-up call.

“We thank Telstra for committing to an independent review of what went wrong and look forward to hearing how systems and processes will be strengthened to prevent a recurrence.”

According to Bennett, the incident underscores the need to modernise Australia’s emergency services, particularly given that standard text messaging for emergency services is already in place in many countries worldwide. Indeed, ACCAN is calling on the government to prioritise investment in a ‘Next Generation Triple Zero’ system to ensure all Australians — regardless of location or accessibility needs — can reach emergency services at any time.

“With new technologies such as SMS via low-Earth orbit satellite becoming available, the time to implement accessible, resilient emergency communication is now,” Bennett said.

Image credit: iStock.com/miodrag ignjatovic