Optus is investigating a network outage that resulted in nine failed emergency calls in the Wollongong area of New South Wales. The outage occurred on Sunday, affecting calls made between 3 a.m. and 12:20 p.m. The company stated that the issue originated from a mobile phone tower site in Dapto.

In a statement, Optus confirmed that it had communicated with police and verified that "all callers who attempted to contact emergency services are OK." Among the failed calls were instances where individuals needed urgent assistance. One caller required an ambulance and successfully reached emergency services using a different phone. Another caller attempted to contact emergency services but was unable to connect.

Additionally, four calls were made to NSW Police for welfare checks, including two from the same address, all of which were confirmed as safe. There were also two accidental calls to the triple-0 emergency number.

This incident follows a significant outage just ten days prior, which resulted in hundreds of failed triple-0 calls and has been linked to the deaths of four individuals. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has initiated an investigation into that previous outage. In November 2023, Optus faced a nationwide outage that left 2,145 people without access to emergency services. As a result, the company was fined $12 million in 2024, and assurances were made to the public that such failures would not recur.

Optus estimated that approximately 4,500 customers were impacted by the recent Dapto outage. The company has since apologized to those affected, and service in the area has been restored.