Telstra CEO Vicki Brady addresses major network outage crisis affecting services, Triple Zero calls
Consensus Summary
Telstra CEO Vicki Brady returned to Australia on Friday after cutting short an overseas holiday to address a major network outage that began early on Wednesday, disrupting calls, internet, payments, and trains nationwide. The crisis led to 639 failed Triple Zero calls by Thursday morning, prompting government demands for answers and public frustration. Brady, who earned a $6.7 million salary in 2025, faced criticism for her absence during the outage, with her chief financial officer Michael Ackland handling public responses. The outage caused Telstra’s share price to dip from a high of over $5.40 to just under $5, despite earlier growth since Brady took over in September 2022. Telstra’s market capitalization remains above $55 billion, but the incident has raised questions about the company’s reliability and pricing strategy, which has seen core postpaid plans increase by $12 a month through hikes in August 2024, July 2025, and May 2026. The Guardian reported the outage was caused by a software fault in Telstra’s time-telling systems, which incorrectly set the date to November 2006, while also noting a similar 2020 outage in Jersey. Brady apologized for the disruption, emphasizing the company’s commitment to fixing the issue and ensuring Triple Zero calls are answered promptly.
✓ Verified by 2+ sources
Key details reported by multiple sources:
- Telstra CEO Vicki Brady returned to Australia on Friday after cutting short an overseas holiday to address the crisis
- The outage began early on Wednesday, blocking calls, internet, payments, and trains, with 639 failed Triple Zero calls by Thursday morning
- Telstra’s share price rose from about $3.94 per share in September 2022 to over $5.40 in 2026, though it recently fell to just under $5
- Telstra’s full-time employee headcount shrank to 29,520 by December 2026 from a peak of 33,761 in mid-2024
- Telstra proposed cutting 400 enterprise and consumer jobs in February, with many outsourced to India
- Telstra’s core postpaid plans increased by $12 a month over the past two years, with hikes in August 2024, July 2025, and May 2026
- Vicki Brady was Telstra’s 34th-highest-paid CEO with a $6.7 million take-home salary in 2025
- Telstra’s market capitalization exceeded $55 billion
- Brady took over as Telstra CEO in September 2022
- Telstra’s consumer and small business unit generated about $14.6 billion in income
- Brady joined Telstra in 2016
- Telstra’s outage caused a software fault in its time-telling systems, which incorrectly set the date to November 2006
- Brady apologized for the outage and its impact on customers, including Triple Zero failures
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- Telstra’s leadership team included CFO Michael Ackland, who fronted press conferences while Brady was overseas
- Telstra’s infrastructure-and-AI strategy was emphasized under Brady’s leadership
- Brady’s home in Killara, Sydney, was bought for $6 million in 2015
- Brady’s husband, Mark, is a stay-at-home dad for their daughters
- Brady sat on the board of Ravenswood School for Girls
- Telstra’s T22 strategy was a cost-cutting program reshaping the company
- Brady’s early career included KPMG and nearly two decades at Optus/SingTel
- Brady’s consumer and small business unit carried $14.6 billion in income
- Telstra’s leadership team included CFO Michael Ackland, who fronted press conferences while Brady was overseas
- Telstra’s infrastructure-and-AI strategy was emphasized under Brady’s leadership
- Brady’s home in Killara, Sydney, was bought for $6 million in 2015
- Brady’s husband, Mark, is a stay-at-home dad for their daughters
- Brady sat on the board of Ravenswood School for Girls
- Telstra’s T22 strategy was a cost-cutting program reshaping the company
- Brady’s early career included KPMG and nearly two decades at Optus/SingTel
- Brady’s consumer and small business unit carried $14.6 billion in income
- Telstra was warned by the government’s Cyber and Infrastructure Security Centre about the critical nature of its time-keeping services
- A similar outage occurred in Jersey in 2020, where a time server generated the wrong date (November 2000)
- South Australian police are investigating a death during the outage, linked to a failed Triple Zero call attempt
- Telstra’s time-keeping node reset and did not have the correct time when it restarted
- Telstra’s backup systems failed to prevent the outage despite redundancy measures
- Telstra faces potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation claims due to the outage
- Brady spoke with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Communications Minister Anika Wells during the crisis
- Telstra’s outage caused disruptions to Triple Zero networks, trains, and Eftpos payments nationwide
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- The Guardian states the outage began on Wednesday morning, while The Age and SMH mention the outage started early on Wednesday but also reference a secondary outage continuing into Thursday morning
- The Guardian reports Telstra’s time systems incorrectly set the date to November 2006, while it also notes a similar 2020 Jersey outage where the date was set to November 2000, but this is not mentioned in other sources
- The Guardian mentions a death during the outage linked to a failed Triple Zero call, but Telstra’s CFO denies any record of failed calls from the relevant numbers
- The Guardian and ABC both mention Brady’s apology, but only the Guardian specifies the outage caused a software fault in time-telling systems setting the date to November 2006, which is not mentioned in other sources
Source Articles
Telstra boss Vicki Brady, the CEO who wasn’t there
The absent Telstra CEO is expected to face intense scrutiny when she returns to the country following the telco’s nationwide outages.
Telstra boss Vicki Brady, the CEO who wasn’t there
The absent Telstra CEO is expected to face intense scrutiny when she returns to the country following the telco’s nationwide outages.
Telstra CEO ‘deeply sorry’ for outage and admits risk of time-keeping failure was known
Vicki Brady grilled at first public appearance since returning from overseas as SA police say call to triple zero failed before death Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Telstra has admitted it knew of the dangers of a failure of its time systems and is now investigating why backup measures failed to stop this weeks outage, as its chief executive says she’s “deeply sorry” about its impacts. It came as South Australia
Telstra returning CEO Vicki Brady 'deeply sorry' for national outage
Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady apologises to the company's customers, saying the telco let them down and that investigations into the cause of Wednesday's Telstra outage are continuing.