Latest Optus outage leaves 14,000 users unable to reach emergency services near Melbourne
Optus has reported a new emergency call outage affecting around 14,000 users near Melbourne, raising renewed concern only months after a September failure linked to multiple deaths. The telco says an aerial fibre break may be responsible, as investigations proceed amid intensified government scrutiny.
- Optus suffers new emergency call outage affecting about 14,000 users near Melbourne.
- Incident follows September’s fatal 13-hour outage linked to human and technical errors.
- Government scrutiny intensifies as confidence in Optus’s emergency call reliability erodes.
Optus reported on 26 November 2025 that an emergency call outage had affected about 14,000 users near Melbourne.
According to the company, the disruption may have been caused by an “aerial fibre break”, which is now under investigation.
The telco said on its website that customers could contact emergency services only if they were within another network’s coverage or able to connect via WiFi.
The incident has revived scrutiny following the catastrophic September disruption.
According to earlier statements by Optus, the September outage occurred during a network firewall upgrade.
A deviation from standard procedures triggered a 13-hour failure that left hundreds unable to reach emergency services.
Reports indicated that around 600 emergency callers were affected.
Three elderly individuals in Perth and Adelaide who attempted emergency calls later died.
A fourth fatality, involving an eight-week-old infant, was later deemed unrelated as another phone successfully reached emergency services.
The Australian government condemned the earlier breakdown as “unacceptable”.
Communications Minister Annika Wells said that Singtel had been asked to appoint an external reviewer to ensure accountability and systemic reform.
Wells confirmed that both human and technical errors contributed to the 18 September outage.
She warned of “significant consequences” once the Australian Communications and Media Authority completes its investigation into compliance failures.
A separate disruption on 28 September affected about 4,500 people in New South Wales after a faulty tower briefly interrupted emergency calls.
The steady sequence of incidents has raised concerns about broader systemic vulnerabilities.
The latest outage adds pressure to a company already under scrutiny.
Optus was fined A$12 million (US$7.7 million) in 2023 for failing to provide emergency call services during a nationwide outage.
Optus also suffered a major cyberattack in 2022 that compromised data for up to 10 million people.
Former CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin resigned after these incidents, with Stephen Rue taking over in November 2024.
Singtel acquired full ownership of Optus in 2001.
Its Group CEO, Yuen Kuan Moon, previously expressed that he was “deeply sorry” for the September deaths and pledged a thorough investigation with Optus’s management.
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