Disaster relief for our flood-affected customers in QLD and Northern NSW

We are making progress reconnecting communities in south east Queensland and northern New South Wales following severe storms during the week.
Harry Tucker · 06 March 2022 · 4 minute read

Around 80% of our mobile base stations that were affected are now back online and delivering coverage to their communities and we have restored nearly 75% of landline services (excluding nbn). We have also brought more than half the number communities that were in isolation back online.

More power outages, likely due to severe weather late yesterday, have affected a small number of sites in northern NSW. We have more than 1,100 technicians and staff on the ground working to restore services and more are on standby from other states if necessary.

Many areas are still inaccessible, however, due to flood waters and road infrastructure damage, or are without power – and we need both to assess whether there has been any damage to our network. Unfortunately, we have found significant damage to some of our network, which will take time to fix.

We are working with power companies and local authorities to access the affected areas so we can get to work to bring services back online. We are also working with nbn co to ensure our nbn customers’ services are restored as soon as possible.

Latest stats:

Updated 10 March 1:30PM (AEDT): Additional suburbs eligible for assistance packages across Queensland and New South Wales have been added below.

  • 53 mobile sites affected (either partially or completely offline), down from 74 yesterday.
    • NSW – 26 sites affected, down from 39 yesterday.
    • Qld – 27 sites affected, down from 35 yesterday.
  • 9,625 fixed line phone/ADSL affected, down from 11,252.

The communities of The Channon, Mullumbimby, Koonorigan, Ocean Shores, Pillar Valley, Jiggi, Stokers Siding, Uki, Modanville, Ulmarra, Tucabia, Wooli, Duranbah, Kingscliff, Whian Whian, Main Arm, Woodburn, Tyalgum may be isolated. There are now no communities isolated in SE Queensland.

With significant rainfall and flood waters causing damage, disruption and displacement across south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales, we’ve activated an assistance package for our customers as well as enabling free Telstra Air Wi-Fi access where possible. Our retail stores across these regions will also be closed until the situation eases and is safe to re-open.

It’s been a terrible few days for many, and unfortunately it’s not over yet. Our thoughts are with everyone affected and we’re here to help.

We're here to help

Payphones in the area are already able to make free local and national calls to standard fixed line numbers and free calls to standard Australian mobile numbers, after we made payphones free in August 2021. During this flooding situation, we will also be allowing free use of the Telstra Air Wi-Fi network at locations where payphones are equipped to provide this.

If you’ve been displaced from your home during this disaster, we’ve activated an assistance package that gives our customers both short and long-term measures to help out. That assistance can range from extra data on your mobile and free call diversions to a one-off credit to help cover the cost of getting a fixed phone service back up and running.

Our assistance package also gives Telstra customers access to free and interim services during short-term impacts from damaging weather, with long-term measures also available for customers who have suffered severe damage or loss of their homes and businesses.

What is included in an assistance package?

Short-term assistance package

For customers who have been displaced from their residence or business during a natural disaster event, short-term assistance can include:

  • Calls diverted from a fixed line service to another number while you’re displaced from your residence or business (to Australian numbers only)
  • 25GB data pack for post-paid mobile customers (30-day expiry, not transferrable to another service)
  • 25GB prepaid data and free calls (30-day expiry, not transferrable to another service)
  • There may also be longer term assistance available for Telstra customers who have suffered severe damage to or loss of their premises and require longer term assistance.

Long-term assistance package

The long-term assistance package includes:

  • Free call diversion from the customer’s Telstra fixed phone service to another Australian fixed or mobile service of their choice, regardless of the carrier.
  • A one-off credit to the customer’s Telstra fixed phone account to cover the costs of connecting a Telstra fixed phone service at one temporary address; and
  • Re-connection of a Telstra fixed phone service at the customer’s original permanent address.

To access this assistance, all you need to do is add your details in this long-term assistance package application form and you will have them automatically applied to your account. Alternatively, you can call us on 1800 888888 and we can talk you through it.

Suburbs eligible for Disaster Assistance

 

 

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By Harry Tucker

Technology writer and editor at Telstra Exchange

Harry is a technology writer and editor at Telstra Exchange. Harry joined Telstra at the end of 2020 after a slog in the trenches of the tech and startup space. Previously, he was the Technology Editor at Business Insider, Australian launch editor of telco comparison site Reviews.org and a reporter at News.com.au. He loves breaking down really technical topics and making them digestible and fun to read for everyone. Outside of work, he has an uncanny ability to turn every conversation into something about Formula 1 or the NBA.

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