A Senate inquiry has recommended that control of a vital Triple Zero (000) function be removed from Telstra and nationalised to prevent future crises. The inquiry was prompted by last year's Optus outage, which has been linked to two deaths.
The recommendation is part of a broader push to reform Australia's emergency call system, which has faced scrutiny over its reliability and governance. The inquiry heard evidence about the risks of relying on private telecommunications companies for critical public safety infrastructure.
If implemented, the change would see the function transferred to a government body, aiming to improve accountability and resilience. The government has not yet responded to the recommendation.
