Restrictions on the Use and Disclosure of Emergency Communication System Information
Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025
House of Representatives
Senate
Assent
Topics
critical infrastructure data privacy information disclosure network outages telecommunications
Introduced by: The Hon Anika Wells MP (ALP)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Anika Wells ALP
“I move: That this bill be now read a second time. Introduction Triple 0 is the most critical service in our telecommunications system. It is the number Australians call in their most desperate moment of need, when lives and safety are on the line. Australians should trust that when they call triple 0 someone will answer and help will come.”
Melissa McIntosh LIB
“I rise today to speak on the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025.”
Susan Templeman ALP
“I’m really disgusted to hear people suggest that this isn’t something that Labor is taking seriously and that this government isn’t doing everything it can to ensure that people can access triple 0 when they need it, from wherever they need it. I know it’s tempting to play politics with something like this.”
Helen Haines IND
“I rise today to speak on the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025. The bill is welcome, but the circumstances in which it has been introduced are definitely not. This urgent bill responds to yet another catastrophic triple 0 Optus outage.”
Tom French ALP
“I rise to speak in support of the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025. This bill represents something simple yet profound: the guarantee that, when Australians dial triple 0, help is always within reach. It says that, in a country as advanced as ours, no person should ever hear silence at the other end of an emergency call.”
Anne Webster NAT
“It has sadly taken the tragic death of four Australians due to a second Optus triple 0 outage in September for this government to progress this legislation, the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025, today.”
Tony Burke ALP
“Before the doors are locked, I seek leave—everybody is supportive of this—to call the division off. Leave granted; question agreed to. Original question agreed to. Bill read a second time. Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.”
Jess Walsh ALP
“I move: That this bill be now read a second time. I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard. Leave granted. The speech read as follows— INTRODUCTION Triple Zero is the most critical service in our telecommunications system. It is the number Australians call in their most desperate moment of need, when lives and safety are on the line.”
James McGrath LNP
“I rise today to speak on the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025. On behalf of the coalition I want to be clear from the outset that this bill was rushed through the House and is now being rushed through the Senate because of the catastrophic Optus outage in September. This was no ordinary outage.”
“When disaster strikes, whether it’s a flood, a fire, a crash or a heart attack, Australians know that they can dial three simple numbers, triple 0, and get help. Triple 0 is a service that has saved countless lives. But we saw, during the Optus outage, that our emergency system—one of the most trusted in the world—is not immune to system outages.”
“I rise to contribute to the debate on this bill, the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025, that has been rushed into the parliament after what has been a very deadly and significant failure of one of Australia’s largest telecommunications companies. Of course, we know that on 18 September Optus failed its customers.”
Sarah Henderson LIB
“This year, 18 September was a shocking day for this country. A number of people died. There are still conflicting reports about whether three or four people died. They died as a result of a catastrophic failure by Optus.”
Richard Dowling ALP
“I rise to support the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025, a bill that goes to the heart of public trust and safety. Every Australian should have the confidence that when they dial triple 0, when they reach out for help in an emergency, that call will be answered and that someone will be there at the other end.”
Mehreen Faruqi GRN
“I rise to speak to the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025 and thank my colleague Senator Hanson-Young for all the work that she has done with and for the community after this devastating catastrophe.”
“I rise today to speak to the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025. Regulating telecommunications companies is essential, and the Greens welcome the introduction of this bill. However, it has taken the government far too long to take steps to regulate the telecommunications companies.”
David Shoebridge GRN
“Three people are dead because a private corporation was allowed to prioritise profits over safety. That’s what privatisation looks like, and we should be clear that it’s killing Australians.”
“This bill, the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025, is the bare minimum. The public deserve to know that when they dial triple 0, they will reach a system that works and that they will get help that they need. When it fails, there must be only the most serious of consequences. Frankly, this debate isn’t a new one.”
“I rise in support of the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025 in favour of the establishment of a triple 0 custodian. The triple 0 network is a piece of critical infrastructure. It’s as important as having clean water. Why? Because it saves lives.”
Nita Green ALP
“Firstly, before I begin talking about the details of this bill, I want to thank all of the senators who’ve contributed to the debate and consideration of the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025.”