We want to apologise again for the disruption these issues had on our customers and the broader community. We know how much you rely on our network - for work, for travel and to stay safe - and we take that responsibility very seriously.
If the outage has affected you, you'll find how to reach us further down this post.
What happened?
Early last Wednesday, we completed maintenance on a network server that keeps time synchronised across parts of our mobile network. Because of an underlying software configuration, the server restarted with the wrong date. As the incorrect time spread through the network, it caused intermittent impacts to some voice and data services.
Our teams worked immediately to identify the fault. Once the cause was understood, we isolated the affected server and progressively restored the impacted network servers to return services to normal.
Most calls and data were working correctly by mid-morning, and by 4:00pm the initial issue had been addressed. At its peak, the issue affected approximately 45% of calls and data sessions on our mobile network.
It took a little longer for some business customers to fully restore their services and we worked with them closely until they were back online.
As we resolved the original outage, we identified a subsequent issue affecting some calls to Triple Zero. In these cases, callers received an error message, and their phone may have attempted to connect to an alternative mobile network. This was linked to the same software configuration that caused the initial outage but needed to be fixed in a different way. Over the course of the outage, 58,835 calls to Triple Zero connected successfully.
As part of our operational procedures for unsuccessful calls, a welfare check was initiated automatically when a Triple Zero call was identified as unsuccessful.
We completed 604 welfare checks over the course of the outage:
- 335 confirmed that they did not need assistance
- 102 told us emergency services were already on the scene or had been contacted
- 144 did not respond and were referred to police for follow-up
- 23 were referred to the relevant emergency services organisation for assistance
Since this solution was put in place, no further welfare checks have been required for this issue.
This process operated as intended and was initiated automatically.
We worked closely with Emergency Services nationally and are not aware of any life-threatening outcomes as a result of this outage.
For a more detailed explanation of the root cause of this outage as we understand it today, see the Opening statement blog.
Note: this section was updated on 17/07/26, following further investigation.
Watch out for scam calls
We've seen reports of fraudsters calling customers, claiming to be from Telstra and trying to take advantage of the outage.
Please be extra vigilant. If you get a call from someone claiming to be from Telstra asking for your details in light of the outage, hang up and call us directly.
Our teams are working as quickly as possible to resolve any remaining issues.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we've worked to put things right. We don't take that for granted.
How can I get help?
For residential and consumer customers
If you need to contact us because you were impacted by these issues, you can do so via our online complaints form.
In many cases, we may be able to resolve your concerns through our initial review.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome, or would like to discuss your complaint further, a member of our team will contact you to discuss your circumstances and any available resolution options.
For small business customers
If you are a small business contacting us because you were impacted about these issues, you can also do so via our online complaints form or by calling us directly on 1800 242 728. We'll review your complaint and attempt to resolve it as quickly as possible.
If your business experienced a direct financial loss because of these issues, you can request a compensation assessment by lodging a complaint through the same online complaints form.
What to include in your claim
Find out more information ▼
Please provide:
About your business
- Type of business
- Whether your business operates from a fixed location or is mobile-dependent
Details of your claim
- Whether you are claiming for:
- Direct sales or revenue loss; and/or
- Costs incurred to stay connected or minimise the impact of the outage
- A description of how the outage affected your business
- Your estimated claim amount
- Any steps you took to minimise the impact
What happens next?
Once your complaint has been lodged, you'll receive an email from your case manager.
We require evidence to support your claim and will ask for you to provide this via a reply to that email (example of evidence required detailed below).
Supporting evidence
If claiming sales or revenue loss, examples of supporting evidence include:
- Point of sale (POS) reports
- EFTPOS transaction reports
- Booking records
- Invoice or order records
- Accounting reports
- Comparable sales or transaction records from previous Wednesdays
If claiming mitigation costs, examples of supporting evidence include:
- Receipts or invoices
- Proof of payment
- Details of why the expense was necessary
Need help accessing sales records?
Many businesses can obtain sales or transaction reports from their POS, payment or accounting platform. Support information is available from providers such as:
- Square
- Tyro
- Xero
- MYOB
- Shopify
- Lightspeed
- HICAPS
- Zeller
Important
Providing a clear description of the impact, your estimated claim amount, and supporting documentation will help us assess your claim more efficiently.
We may contact you by phone to discuss further evidence required or to clarify your claim, if we need to.
Previous Updates
The updates we shared as we worked through these issues remain below, unchanged.
9 July
1:30pm – Triple Zero issue identified and fix in place
As we shared last night, we identified a subsequent issue affecting some calls, including to Triple Zero. The nature of this issue only became apparent as we resolved the original outage.
In these cases, some people calling Triple Zero received an error message, and their phone would then try to connect to an alternative mobile network.
This was a consequence of the same software defect behind yesterday's outage. While the original issue was addressed, this one remained ongoing and needed to be fixed in a different way.
Overnight, our team made good progress, significantly reducing failed calls to Triple Zero. We've now implemented a solution that has addressed the impact of this issue. Mobile networks are complex, and we're continuing to work through further changes to make sure we have the most robust solution in place.
Customers can feel confident calling Triple Zero.
10:00am – New guidance for customers trying to call Triple Zero
If you experience any issues calling Triple Zero, please immediately retry your call. We have seen good success of calls connecting on retry. We'll keep you updated here as soon as there's more to share.
6:30am – Restoration work continues on secondary issue
Overnight, our team have made good progress reducing the occurrence of the subsequent Triple Zero calling error by approximately 90%, and will continue the work to eliminate this issue entirely.
Our welfare checks process remains in place, and we continue to advise customers who experience the issue to wait for the call to be connected via an alternative network or recall using a different phone.
If you experience any issues calling Triple Zero, we recommend you:
- Wait for your phone to connect to an alternative network if one is available - this can take up to 90 seconds
- Use a different phone to make the call
8 July
9:00pm – Some devices may still be experiencing issues
While we've restored the issue that caused today's outage, we've identified a secondary issue impacting some calls including Triple Zero.
In these cases, when you call Triple Zero you will receive an error message and your phone will try to connect to an alternative mobile network.
As part of our back up process, we will complete a welfare check where we detect a failed Triple Zero call.
We're working urgently to resolve this issue.
4:00pm – Issue mostly resolved
The issue in our network has now mostly resolved. In our last update, just under 90% of calls and data services were back up and running - since then we've restored more remaining services.
It may take some time for all devices to reconnect correctly. If you're still having issues, please restart your phone or device. We're also working closely with our enterprise customers to resolve things on their end.
1:00pm – We continue to make good progress restoring services.
If you are still experiencing issues, we recommend restarting your phone rather than just switching on airplane mode.
9:30am – Most calls and data working correctly
We've been able to restore some of the affected nodes, but it's taking time to flow through our network. Most calls and data are working correctly now. Our teams are working as quickly as possible to restore the rest.
4:30am – Issue identified affecting some mobile calls and data
At approximately 4.30am (AEDT) we identified an issue affecting a number of nodes that help keep time across our mobile network. When these nodes are not operating as expected, other parts of the network can be affected, resulting in intermittent issues with some mobile calls and data services. We began investigating immediately and started work to restore services.
