Last week in Australia, customers of Optus (the nation’s second-largest telco), couldn’t get through on the emergency number Triple Zero (Australia’s 911). Tragically, lives were lost.
Optus CEO, Stephen Rue, has fronted the media several times. So far, no infamous gaffes. But this isn’t Optus’ first disaster. Or its second.
Once a brand racks up three major failures in four years, it’s not bad luck, it’s a pattern.
The Disasters 💩
So how did Optus get here? The disasters keep changing shape, but the story stays the same: fragile systems, weak crisis culture and collapsing trust.
2022 — Data breach: a cyberattack exposed the data of up to 9.8 million Australians. Optus was slammed for its comms: slow, vague and defensive. Even government ministers called it a basic breach of trust.
2023 — Nationwide outage: a 12-hour blackout paralysed hospitals, businesses and card payments. Again, the comms failed. Hours of silence were followed by vague updates. CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin appeared wooden and defensive — resigning within weeks.
2025 — Emergency calls down: customers couldn’t reach emergency services on Triple Zero during a firewall/network upgrade. At least three deaths have been linked to the outage. And Optus has repeated old mistakes. The regulator (ACMA) wasn’t notified until after the issue was resolved (more than 10 hours later). The updates that did come were described as “perfunctory and inaccurate”, with key details emerging days later.
The Breakdown 👀
So why does disaster keep dialling Optus?
❌ Fragile infrastructure — a hack, a network fault, a botched upgrade. Same result: systems break, customers pay.
❌ Weak crisis culture — in all three disasters, the instinct has been delay, vagueness and minimisation.
❌ Zero trust — once customers stop giving you the benefit of the doubt, every outage becomes a crisis.
❌ Comms have limits — words can soften the blow of a one-off disaster. But after three in four years, including one that cost lives, no message can save you.
The Bottom Line 📉
Optus has much more than a comms problem. It has a credibility problem.
Words can buy you time once or twice. But when the failures keep coming, customers don’t want apologies — they want proof the system works.
💡 Lesson: Don’t fool yourself into thinking comms can paper over systemic cracks. You can’t spin your way out of repeated failure. Fix the system first. Use comms to show you’re fixing it. Because when disasters become a pattern, words no longer connect.
Until next week, keep the lines open.
Doug.
Know someone who writes emails, press releases, or social media updates when 💩 hits the fan? Do them a favour and forward this email.
Because in a crisis, you don’t get a second draft.
Disaster Comms analyses crisis communication for its impact on public trust. It is not legal advice. In a real crisis, organisations must balance legal, regulatory and reputational risks. Always consult professional counsel before making official statements.
