Triple Zero should be taken out of private hands, Senate inquiry recommends

In short:

A long-running Senate inquiry into the Triple Zero emergency call crisis has handed down its final report today.

The inquiry started as a probe into the failings of Optus after its massive network outage in September 2025, but was expanded as more emergency call failures were revealed.

What's next?

Inquiry chair Sarah Hanson-Young says removing control of the Triple Zero system from Telstra should be at the top of the government's to-do list.

Control of a vital Triple Zero (000) function should be removed from Telstra and nationalised to avoid further crises, a Senate inquiry has recommended.

The inquiry was prompted by last year's Optus outage, which has been linked to two deaths, and was expanded to cover new problems with other major telcos and mobile devices that have shaken public confidence.

The report was handed down this afternoon and made 11 recommendations to overhaul the system, including:

• Mandating domestic roaming,
• Introducing minimum performance and reliability standards with automatic compensation for those impacted by outages, and
• Creating the ability for the public to text Triple Zero in an emergency.

The inquiry was chaired by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, but the report was supported by Coalition and Labor committee members.

"Australian telcos are now on notice. This is the end of the era of self-regulation,"

Senator Hanson-Young said.

"After months of work, this report recommends essential measures the government must enact if they want to end Australia's telco crisis."

The committee has called for a new national authority to be created and take over responsibility for the Emergency Call Person operations.

That role is currently performed by Telstra and involves answering calls to Triple Zero and transferring them to local emergency services.

"Triple Zero is an essential service. It is often a matter of life or death for people. We can no longer allow it to be left to private companies," Senator Hanson-Young said.

Advocates have also pushed for domestic roaming, which would allow customers to access another company's network if their telco's service was unavailable.

However, Telstra previously told the ABC that roaming could cause problems during a major outage by placing "extraordinary demand" on remaining networks.

The ACCC rejected the idea in 2017 after finding it would reduce incentives for telcos to invest in their networks, but the consumer watchdog is now reconsidering it as part of a new inquiry.

There is also a push to make it possible for people in an emergency to send a text message requesting help, in addition to voice calls.

A pilot is currently being established, which would test whether technology could make this possible.

The committee has also called for an independent review of the telco watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), to ensure its powers, resourcing and regulatory approach are up to scratch for the Triple Zero system.

The regulator should be given the power to compel evidence from telcos during investigations and enforcement, it said.