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Telstra says 90% of mobile network back online after outage
Telstra have said in a statement ahead of their press conference that about 90% of calls and data have now been restored.
We’ve made good progress restoring services, with around 90 per cent of calls and data now flowing successfully across the network.
Our teams are working as quickly as possible to restore remaining services and get all customers back online.
We know how much our customers rely on our network and understand just how much of a disruption this is to your day.
For that we’re so sorry. We’ll share further updates until all is resolved.
Key events
Have you been affected by the Telstra outage?
Tell us how, contact: jordyn.beazley@theguardian.com
NSW Fire and Rescue still operating during Telstra outage
A spokesperson for Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has confirmed it is still receiving and responding to triple-zero calls during the Telstra outage. They said:
FRNSW crews are communicating through our Connected Firefighter program’s ‘vehicle as a node’ satellite technology, where necessary.
We are liaising with Telstra and monitoring the situation.
Andrew Messenger
Audit finds 44% of released prisoners return to Queensland jails within two years
Queensland jails lack an effective approach to rehabilitating prisoners, with 44% of released detainees returning to jail within two years, according to an audit.
The statistics are included in a report by the state’s audit office tabled in parliament yesterday.
Queensland Corrective Service “does not effectively plan for and facilitate the rehabilitation and reintegration of its prisoners (into society)”, it found.
It pointed to a lack of an effective approach to case managing prisoners, a process of individual assessment of a prisoner to identify supports required to prevent them reoffending.
The service developed a framework for case management in 2019 but it has only been rolled out in nine of 20 correctional centres, representing fewer than a quarter of prisoners.
“While QCS sought to fully implement case management across all centres, it has been unable to do so due to factors such as prisoner numbers, resourcing, and funding constraints,” the audit said.
The audit found that less than half of all prisoners that left custody in 2024–25 received prerelease support, such as help setting up bank accounts and support accessing services and legal advice.
The audit office recommended the department should ensure “all prisoners get a risk and needs assessment on entry to custody to inform their rehabilitation and reintegration support”.
The Department of Corrective Services said it accepted all the report’s recommendations.
Man arrested after woman found stabbed to death at Melbourne home
A man has been arrested and is in hospital under police guard after a woman was found stabbed to death at a Melbourne home.
Police were called to a property on a leafy residential street in the outer-eastern suburb of Vermont just before 10pm on Tuesday after reports a woman had been stabbed inside a home.
When officers arrived, a 39-year-old woman was found dead at the scene.
A man of the same age was arrested and treated by ambulance paramedics before being taken to hospital under police guard. Police believe the man and woman know each other.
“The investigation into the circumstances of the incident is ongoing,” Victoria police said in a statement.
– AAP
Caitlin Cassidy
Turnitin report suggests over half of uni students use AI in their assignments
More than half of university students are using artificial intelligence in their assignment submissions, a new report suggests.
The report, released by plagiarism detection service Turnitin, found 53% of higher education submissions in Australia had some AI present. One in 10 submissions were more than 80% composed of AI.
The rates were similar to the United Kingdom but lower than in the US, where 19% of papers contained more than 80% AI.
The vast majority of Australian universities use Turnitin for academic integrity purposes, including the University of Melbourne, Monash University and the Australian University.
The use of plagiarism dropped significantly among primary and secondary students, the report found, with just three in 10 submissions containing some AI and 4.6% composed of more than 80% AI.
You can read more about how the university sector is grappling with AI here:
Telstra conducting welfare checks on triple-zero calls
Ackland said it has been conducting welfare checks on any triple zero calls that have failed.
He said:
Triple zero calls follow a different settings in our network, and therefore they were not impacted in the same way.
We have seen a small number of reports that we are investigating, and as part of our standard process, which has been operating through the night and through this morning, we conduct welfare checks when any call to triple zero fails, and we’ve been doing this.
We do ask customers not to test and try out triple zero unless you need to, unless you need triple zero.
Telstra yet to work out cause of outage
Ackland said Telstra does not yet know the root cause of the outage, which he said was national but intermittent.
He said:
We don’t yet know the root cause. We are investigating that urgently, and we’ll provide updates as soon as we get more information about the root cause. We know that customers across the whole community rely on our connectivity, and this network challenge has caused many issues, and it’s been a big disruption to many people’s days, and we apologise for that.
It has been intermittent, but it has been national, so it doesn’t matter where you’re located. It is not around particular state, it’s not about regional metro.
‘Customers who are having trouble making a call, I encourage you to try again,’ says Telstra CFO
Telstra’s CFO, Michael Ackland, is speaking to reporters now about the outage.
He said:
At approximately 4.30am this morning, we identified an issue affecting some mobile calls and data services, so the issue is impacting a number of nodes within our network that keep time across the mobile network, and when these nodes are not operating as expected, which is what has occurred, other parts of the network can be affected, resulting in intermittent issues with some mobile calls and data sessions.
We’ve been able now to restore some of these nodes, but that will take time for that to reset across all the 1000s of servers across the network.
We believe that just under 90% of calls and data services at this point are now working correctly, so customers who are having trouble making a call, I encourage you to try again, and depending on how the call is routed through the network, it may connect successfully on another attempt.
If you’re at home or in the office, and you have access to wifi, we encourage you to use that if you are connected to wifi services, such as WhatsApp messaging, or Teams, or Facebook, or Facetime.
Telstra says 90% of mobile network back online after outage
Telstra have said in a statement ahead of their press conference that about 90% of calls and data have now been restored.
We’ve made good progress restoring services, with around 90 per cent of calls and data now flowing successfully across the network.
Our teams are working as quickly as possible to restore remaining services and get all customers back online.
We know how much our customers rely on our network and understand just how much of a disruption this is to your day.
For that we’re so sorry. We’ll share further updates until all is resolved.
We’re expecting Telstra to hold a press conference in a short moment to provide updates about the mobile network outage.
Tyro Eftpos transactions hampered by outage
Eftpos machine company Tyro also reported that its transactions have been hampered without specifically naming the provider.
It said on its website:
We’re aware of an issue with a national telephone network provider and that some customers may not be able to connect to the 4G network right now to process EFTPOS transactions.
State by state: how the Telstra outage is affecting emergency services
Below is what the police have said so far about how the Telstra outage is affecting emergency services.
NSW
Triple Zero systems are not affected, but you may not be able to reach Triple Zero if you are calling from a Telstra device.
If you try to call Triple Zero and can’t get through, we recommend using another device, a landline or Wi-Fi calling.
Telstra will provide updates on the network outage as their tech teams work through a fix.
Victoria
The issue is being monitored and assessed. At this time, there is no evidence of any impact to frontline service delivery.
Triple Zero Victoria remains fully operational and continues to dispatch calls for police assistance.
South Australia
If you are in an emergency contact 000.
If you are in an emergency and have no mobile coverage, look for immediate help through neighbours, local emergency services, wifi calling or community support networks.
Tasmania
If it is an emergency situation you can call Triple Zero (000) as these calls are being re-routed via other carriers.
Only call Triple Zero (000) in an emergency, please save it for those who really need it.
If you are affected by the Telstra outage and need to call police, use a landline to call 131 444.
Western Australia
A Telstra outage is currently affecting customers nationwide, impacting their ability to make phone calls, including calls to Triple Zero from Telstra services.
If you have a vulnerable family member, friend, neighbour or co-worker, consider offering support during the service disruption.
If you are affected and do not have access to an alternative mobile or landline service, police recommend making arrangements with a neighbour, family member, or friend so you can access a working telephone in an emergency.
Police communications systems are not affected.
Queensland
The Queensland Police Service is aware of a service interruption impacting some Telstra users across Australia.
The Queensland triple zero service remains fully operational.
Impacted customers should check with their provider about what the outage means for them.
Triple zero calls still possible in Tasmania
Tasmania police have said people in the state can still make calls to triple zero despite the Telstra outage as the calls are being rerouted via other carriers.
Police said in a statement:
If you are affected by the Telstra outage and need to call police, use a landline to call 131 444.
If it is an emergency situation you can call Triple Zero (000) as these calls are being re-routed via other carriers.
Only call Triple Zero (000) in an emergency, please save it for those who really need it.
Some regional NSW trains also facing disruptions
Some regional commuters in New South Wales are also now facing disruptions after two train routes went down due to the Telstra outage.
Transport NSW have said that trains are not running between Campbelltown and Moss Vale/Goulburn on the Southern Highlands Line and there are no trains running between Newcastle Interchange and Maitland.
Replacement buses are being organised but are not yet on site.
Passengers are advised to delay travel or make alternative travel arrangements.
V/Line passengers advised to defer travel
Victoria’s V/Line has confirmed that its regional train services are unable to operate due to the Telstra outage:
Services are currently unable to operate due to the national Telstra outage affecting the network.
There is no estimated time for rectification at this stage. Passengers are advised to defer travel where possible.
Josh Butler
‘Telstra is working on resolving the issue,’ says acting communications minister
The Albanese government says the Telstra outage is affecting a large number of connections as well as Victoria’s V/Line train service.
Kristy McBain, the minister for regional development, emergency management as well as the acting communications minister, says in a statement this morning that the government “has been advised by Telstra that there is an outage affecting a large number of mobile calls and connections”.
She said:
We are also aware the issue is also affecting Victoria’s V/Line regional train services.
We understand Telstra is working on resolving the issue, and arrangements are being made for affected rail passengers. Like all telcos, Telstra must notify customers and emergency services of any major outage.
McBain says that “Australian phones are also required to fall back to other networks for 000 access”.
Jordyn Beazley
Hello, I am stepping in to lead you through our rolling coverage for the next few hours.
Triple zero calls affected by Telstra outage, say WA police
Western Australia police say the Telstra outage includes calls to triple zero from Telstra services.
They advise:
If you have a vulnerable family member, friend, neighbour or co-worker, consider offering support during the service disruption.
If you are affected and do not have access to an alternative mobile or landline service, police recommend making arrangements with a neighbour, family member, or friend so you can access a working telephone in an emergency.
Police communications systems are not affected.
