Telstra, Australia's largest telecommunications company, has been fined $3 million for a significant failure in transferring emergency calls to Triple Zero services during a mass outage.

The outage, which occurred on March 1, 2024, prevented the transfer of 148 out of 494 emergency calls over a 90-minute period, tragically leading to a man's death after multiple failed attempts to reach emergency services.

An investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) revealed that 127 emergency calls were not forwarded to emergency services during this critical timeframe.

The investigation identified a total of 473 breaches of regulations by Telstra, although the company managed to transfer 346 calls using a backup system.

A database failure and software bug hindered Telstra's ability to provide caller details and digital location information, which are essential for effective emergency response.

Despite having a contingency plan that included backup numbers for call transfers, many of these numbers were found to have incorrect contact details during the outage.

In response to the incident, Telstra issued an apology to those affected and stated it has made improvements to ensure better support for Triple Zero calls in the future.

To rectify the situation, Telstra has updated its backup phone number list and hired an independent consultant to conduct an incident review.

Samantha Yorke, an ACMA member, acknowledged Telstra's historical compliance and its efforts to communicate with the public during the outage, but emphasized the need for effective fail-safe systems.

Yorke expressed concern over Telstra's failure to update its backup phone data, highlighting the critical importance of reliable systems for emergency call providers.

This incident follows a previous penalty imposed on Optus, which was ordered to pay $12 million after thousands of customers faced difficulties calling Triple Zero during network outages last year.

Following the incident, Telstra confirmed that it has paid the fine in full and acknowledged the disruption caused to the public.