Optus chief executive Stephen Rue is under intense scrutiny following accusations that he may have misled a Senate inquiry regarding the company’s response to a catastrophic network failure. This outage, which occurred on September 18, 2025, blocked Triple Zero emergency calls and has been linked to multiple fatalities.
During a heated Senate hearing on Monday, Rue and other Optus executives faced allegations of providing inconsistent information to regulators and ministers. They were accused of failing to escalate critical information internally and withholding the full scale of the disaster from authorities for over 24 hours. The inquiry revealed that 605 customers were unable to reach emergency services for more than 14 hours during the outage.
Senate Inquiry Uncovers Communication Failures
The Senate hearing saw senators repeatedly pressing Optus executives on the communication breakdowns within the company and the delays in informing government officials about the severity of the incident. Liberal senator Sarah Henderson questioned Rue on whether he had communicated with the families of the victims, to which Rue declined to provide a direct answer, citing privacy concerns.
“You are under the rules of Senate estimates, you are required to answer the question. That is not an answer, and you are ducking and weaving the question. It can be a contempt of this committee to not answer questions,” Henderson stated.
While the Senate has the authority to declare individuals in contempt for obstructing its inquiries, penalties for such actions are rare. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young criticized Rue for the delay in notifying the communications regulator and the federal government about the fatalities.
“It seems very clear that it was more important to you and to your executive team to make sure your corporate ducks were in order, that your profits will be in order, than people’s safety and transparency with government,” she said.
Optus’ Response and Future Plans
In his opening statement, Rue announced several measures Optus is taking in response to the network failure. These include adding 300 personnel to Australian call centers focused on Triple Zero customers and on-shoring network operations from offshore contractors. Rue expressed regret that reforms were not implemented earlier to prevent such failures.
“We are all deeply sorry, the tragic deaths of people during this outage will stay with us as individuals and as a company, as we investigate and build on our response while progressing a sweeping transformation of Optus,” Rue stated.
Despite calls for his resignation, Rue defended his position, arguing that a leadership change would disrupt the ongoing transformation at Optus and create further risks. Optus chair John Arthur supported Rue, emphasizing the importance of completing the current overhaul.
“That’s his job. Now, he’s partway through this job and I’m expecting him to finish it,” Arthur said. “Because I never in my life want to be in the position I’m in today where I have to answer these sorts of questions about a company I’m associated with.”
Technical Missteps and Accountability
The inquiry revealed that the crisis stemmed from a botched firewall upgrade at the Regency Park exchange in South Australia. Technicians failed to redirect traffic before locking down a critical “session border gateway,” according to Optus’ submission to the inquiry. The submission also disclosed that Nokia contractors used an outdated procedure document and incorrectly rated the change as “zero risk,” bypassing crucial engineering reviews.
Automated alarms for general call failures were generated shortly after the outage began but were dismissed as routine maintenance activity. The outage was only identified when the South Australian Ambulance Service contacted Optus directly. Although services were restored by 2.34pm, the damage had already been done. Efforts to conduct welfare checks on affected customers were delayed due to technical faults, with the first fatality reported at 8.43pm on the day of the outage.
Looking Ahead
Optus has appointed former Sydney Water chief executive Dr. Kerry Schott to lead an independent review and engaged consulting firm Kearney to oversee network management improvements. The Senate inquiry, established by the Greens and the Coalition, will hold additional hearings before delivering its report. Communications Minister Anika Wells has been called to appear at the next hearing.
As Optus navigates this crisis, the company faces the challenging task of rebuilding trust with its customers and stakeholders. The outcomes of the internal review, regulatory examination, and Senate inquiry will likely shape the future of Optus’ operations and governance.
