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Access to the emergency call service during network outages: FAQs for industry

New rules to improve the reliability of access to the emergency call service during outages start on 1 November 2025.

Get started early: Several major telecommunications carriers are voluntarily starting to share outage information from 30 June 2025. If you would like to start sharing information before the 1 November 2025 commencement date, please email national.interests@acma.gov.au.

Q: What are the new rules?

A: New rules (set out in the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Amendment Determination 2025 (No. 1), referred to here as the ECS Determination) require telcos to:

  • wilt facilities if they lose connectivity to a core network
  • take steps to prevent the provider’s facilities from impeding emergency call camp-on functionality during an outage
  • test that emergency calls can be delivered to the emergency call persons, including when using the emergency call camp-on functionality
  • share information about outages with specified entities
  • report specified information to the ACMA and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sports and the Arts after a major outage that affects the delivery of emergency calls, setting out how similar outages will be prevented in the future.

Q: Who needs to follow the new rules?

A: Most of these new rules apply to carriers but there are some changes to existing rules that apply to carriage service providers as well.

Q: When do the new rules start?

A: The rules start on 1 November 2025. However, several major telecommunications carriers will voluntarily start sharing this information from 30 June 2025. If you would like to start sharing information before the 1 November 2025 commencement date, please email national.interests@acma.gov.au.

Q: What are the circumstances for wilting facilities and how does this help?

A: If a mobile base station loses all connectivity to its core network and cannot carry emergency calls, the carrier must ‘wilt’ the base station. This will force emergency calls to be carried by another mobile network if it is available and within range via emergency call camp-on functionality.

Q: Is there an exemption to the wilting rule?

A: Carriers in a multi-operator core network arrangement that have arranged for emergency calls to be carried by another core network connected to the mobile base station in an outage are not required to wilt.

Q: What is ‘real-time network information’ about outages?

A: Information about the scale, cause, impact areas, types of services affected, and estimated times for updates and restoration of services. 

Q: Who is required to provide ‘real-time network information’ about outages?

A: Carriers that have either a major or significant network outage.

Q: Who receives the real time network information?

A: The emergency call persons for 000 and 112, and 106, emergency service organisations in the state or territory affected by the outage, the ACMA, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sports and the Arts (DITRDCSA) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

Carriers must email information to:

Q: Is the real-time network information under the ECS Determination the same information required under the Customer Communications for Outages Standard?

A: Yes. The information about the outage is the same, but the recipients are different. One set of information can be sent to entities to satisfy the requirements under both the ECS Determination and the Customer Communications for Outages Standard.

Carriers are only required to provide real-time network information if an outage affects emergency calls on its network.

Q: What if, at the time of the outage, a carrier doesn’t know all the real-time network information that is required to be provided? 

A: Carriers are required to provide the information available to them at the time they are sharing it. If, for example, the cause of outage is not known immediately, a carrier is not required to provide information about the cause. If the cause is known at the time of the next update, a carrier must provide information about the cause in that update.

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