Opposition accuses Labor of ignoring triple-0 warnings after death

Shocked that another Australian has died because a call to triple-0 failed, an MP says it’s “unacceptable” and has pleaded with authorities.

The opposition has accused Labor of failing to ensure Australians can call triple-0 amid revelations a person died last week after calls to the emergency line did not go through.

TPG Telecom on Tuesday said a customer using a Samsung device on a Lebara service could not make emergency calls on its mobile network on November 13.

As a result “a person tragically lost their life”, it said.

Two months since the deadly Optus outage, opposition communications spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh said she was “shocked that another Australian has died because calls for help to triple-0 failed”.

Opposition communications spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh says Labor has ignored her warnings. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“My heart goes out to the family and loved ones of the person who has tragically passed away,” she said in a statement.

“This situation is unacceptable and opportunities to prevent this have not been acted on.

“I have been warning about this and trying to pull every lever for the government to act, from amendments to legislation, calling for a public register of outages and listing our triple-zero network as an essential service.

“Time is of the essence. The minister must act now and direct all telecommunications providers to immediately check in with each of the thousands of Samsung device holders to ensure they have either updated the software on their phone or have secured a replacement device.”

Ms McIntosh said “text messages” reminding users to “update software aren’t good enough”.

“Direct and urgent customer outreach to each person needs to happen now,” she said.

TPG Telecom confirmed the death on Tuesday. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

In its statement, TPG Telecom said it was “deeply saddened” by the incident and extended its “sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of that person at this difficult time”.

The company was notified of the incident on November 17 at 5.22pm by NSW Ambulance.

According to the company, TPG Telecom’s mobile network was fully operational with no reported outages at the time of the attempted emergency call.

Early investigations indicate the failed calls were caused by the customer’s Samsung device running software incompatible with triple-0 calls on TPG Telecom’s network.

Samsung had previously identified that certain older devices required a software update to enable emergency call functionality.

TPG Telecom said it had communicated with affected customers to urgently update their devices.

Under new regulations, handsets not updated are blocked from making triple-0 calls 28-35 days from the first notification. The company’s most recent update notification was sent on November 7.

TPG Telecom managing director and chief executive Inaki Berroeta said customer safety was the company’s “highest priority”.

“This is a tragic incident, and our condolences and thoughts are with the individual’s family and loved ones,” Mr Berroeta said.

“Access to emergency services is critical. We urge all customers with outdated software to replace or update their devices without delay to ensure they can reach triple-0 in an emergency.”

It comes months after a fatal Optus triple-0 outage. Picture: NewsWire / Christian Gilles

The company has also notified Communications Minister Anika Wells, the NSW government, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the Triple Zero Custodian and other relevant government and regulatory bodies.

Ms Wells said it was a “tragic situation that will be investigated”.

“My thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the person who has died,” she said.

“TPG’s compliance with the Emergency Call Service Determination will be rigorously assessed by ACMA.”

In a statement, Samsung said it was continuing to work closely with its carrier partners to ensure all devices operated reliably in every emergency situation.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of a TPG Telecom customer and extend our heartfeld condolences to their family and loved ones in this difficult time,” the statement read.

“We strongly encourage customers to keep their mobile devices updated with the latest software, as this is critical to maintaining the highest standards of safety, security, and performance.

“Customers with mobile devices requiring updates or replacements have been notified by their mobile carrier with instructions.”

The death comes after a major network outage at Optus that occurred during a scheduled firewall upgrade on September 18.

The upgrade triggered widespread technical failures that blocked about 600 triple-0 calls across South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and NSW. Normal calls were largely unaffected.

The outage has been linked to the deaths of three Australians – a 68-year-old woman from Queenstown, a 74-year-old man from Willetton, and a 49-year-old man also from Western Australia.

Originally published as Opposition accuses Labor of ignoring triple-0 warnings after death