Australia's communications minister will meet with the chief executives of the country's three major telecommunications networks on Tuesday. Anika Wells is addressing recent outages of Optus's mobile network, including a significant 13-hour disruption on September 18 that affected hundreds of triple-0 emergency calls and has been linked to three fatalities.

In response to these incidents, Wells plans to introduce new legislation aimed at enhancing oversight of the triple-0 emergency call system. This legislation will establish a "Triple Zero Custodian," a key recommendation from a report commissioned by the government in March 2024 following a previous Optus outage two years ago. The government has faced criticism for not implementing this recommendation sooner.

The September 18 outage raised serious concerns about the reliability of the triple-0 system. Wells stated, "We know Australians' confidence in triple-0 has been shaken, and it's vital that it's rebuilt." The new custodian will work alongside the Australian Communications and Media Authority to ensure comprehensive oversight of the triple-0 system.

Richard Bean, the author of the 2024 report, noted that the November 2023 Optus outage, which affected 10 million people, highlighted a lack of oversight regarding the performance of triple-0 infrastructure. He wrote, "No single body could see the whole picture. This significantly hampered the dissemination of accurate and timely advice to the community."

Rob Nicholls, a senior research associate at the University of Sydney, commented that while the custodian would not prevent network failures, it would ensure that calls could be redirected to another provider's network during outages. He expressed disappointment that it took over 18 months after the Bean review for the laws to be enacted, stating, "It's just not good enough that it's taken this long. But I think it's actually taken another network outage for the government to realize just how important this is."

Wells emphasized the need for accountability among telecommunications companies. She said she would be "literally laying down the law" during her meeting with the executives, demanding updates on compliance with new real-time reporting requirements, especially with the upcoming bushfire, cyclone, and flood season.

"Australians must be able to rely on our triple-0 system, and telcos must do better to give confidence back to Australians after the catastrophic failure on behalf of Optus," Wells stated.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is currently investigating the September 18 outage. In addition, Optus has initiated its own review of the incident and has engaged consulting firm Kearney to assess its systems.