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Telstra has been penalised by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for mistakenly blocking access to an emergency number during a server migration last year.
Between 5 and 6 July last year, access to the 106 emergency call number, which is designed for hearing-impaired people by using a teletypewriter (TTY), was inaccessible for almost 13 hours.
“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,” said ACMA consumer lead and member Samantha Yorke.
Emergency call service rules dictate that telecommunications carriers must maintain the function of networks that are used for emergency calls.
“While no emergency calls failed during the disruption on July 6, 2024, we understand the critical importance of maintaining reliable emergency call services and the potential consequences of any disruption,” a Telstra spokesperson said.
Despite no calls being made, the ACMA has penalised Telstra the maximum amount for the incident, $18,780.
“We fully accept the findings of the ACMA and have committed to an independent review of our change management processes and operational arrangements to ensure such a mistake doesn’t happen again,” said Telstra.
As part of the review, Telstra said it would “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”.
The ACMA added that “Telstra will implement any reasonable recommendations of the review, develop and provide staff training, and report regulatory to the ACMA on its progress implementing these undertakings”.
Telstra has previously been penalised by the ACMA for breaching emergency call rules. In December 2024, Telstra’s Triple Zero call centre suffered a disruption for 90 minutes, leading to a penalty of $3 million after the ACMA uncovered 473 breaches of the rules during the outage.
Additionally, Telstra’s November 2023 network outage disrupted emergency call services, which resulted in a $12 million ACMA penalty.
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