What to do if your Triple Zero call fails to go through after Telstra's nationwide outage

By CAITLIN POWELL - NEWS REPORTER and NICK WILSON AND SAMANTHA LOCK FOR AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: 03:13, 9 July 2026 | Updated: 03:13, 9 July 2026 Some Telstra customers have alarmingly struggled to make Triple Zero calls in the wake of a nationwide outage that left millions of Australians unable to make calls, access mobile data or use electronic payment systems.  The technical failure began early on Wednesday after a software issue at the telco's Sydney and Melbourne data centres affected nodes responsible for keeping time across Telstra's mobile network. Telstra chief financial officer Michael Ackland later revealed that 300 Triple Zero calls had been affected by the fault. On Thursday morning, Telstra issued advice for those affected on how they might be able to reach emergency services.  'If you experience any issues calling Triple Zero, please immediately retry your call,' the telco said in a statement.  'We have seen good success of calls connecting on retry.' Telstra said teams had worked through the night to address the Triple Zero calling error and that its welfare check process remained in place.  'We're working urgently to fix it completely and we'll update you here when we have more progress to share,' the telco said. Some Telstra customers have alarmingly struggled to make Triple Zero calls in the wake of a nationwide outage The advice comes after South Australian Liberal Senator Kerrynne Liddle claimed her office had received a report of a 'tragic death following an apparent failure to connect to Triple Zero during a life-or-death emergency'. 'This death of an elderly South Australian represents a devastating failure for their family,' she wrote on Wednesday night. 'Our thoughts are with them. No Australian should ever be unable to connect to Triple Zero when their life depends on it.' South Australia Police said it was not aware of any death as a result of Wednesday's outage.  Communications Minister Anika Wells said she had not been notified by Telstra of a death. 'I have not had it reported to me that any failure to connect to Triple Zero has contributed to an adverse outcome. That's the update I have for your listeners overnight,' Wells told ABC radio. Telstra said the number of welfare checks completed on Wednesday was higher than expected, adding the figures were likely inflated by people calling simply to test Triple Zero. By Wednesday evening, it had completed 395 welfare checks. Telstra anyone who experiences an issue calling Triple Zero should retry their call (Pictured, Telstra Chief Executive Officer Vicki Brady) Of those, six people required emergency assistance while 79 were referred to police for physical welfare checks. Transport operators are continuing to deal with the fallout from Wednesday's outage. All regional V/Line train services across Victoria remain suspended while operators test signalling systems following the outage. Passengers have been asked to avoid non-essential train travel, with some replacement coaches available. Most regional train services are operating in NSW, though some routes in the Hunter region and south-west of Sydney continue to face delays and cancellations. On Thursday, Wells said ACMA had begun preliminary investigations into the outage. She said she was informed of the network issues about 7am, more than two hours after Telstra first identified issues. 'I think I would have liked to have heard earlier. It would seem there was some sort of delay that will form part of the investigation,' Ms Wells told ABC radio. The technical failure began early on Wednesday after a software issue affected nodes responsible for keeping time across Telstra's mobile network Last year, Wells increased penalties for telcos that fall foul of their Triple Zero obligations to $30million. Asked whether individuals within Telstra should be punished, she said her focus was getting services back online. 'And then investigation can take root, and we can learn out of that, and penalties can be administered, justice can be served,' she said. Experts say Wednesday's outage exposed just how reliant critical infrastructure is on a handful of telecommunications providers. It is the third major national outage in less than a year for the $56billion giant, which powers about 25 million Australian mobile services.