Hours after it was revealed that Optus’ owner was in talks to potentially sell a stake of more than 30% in the carrier, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced it would take the telco to court over a major outage linked to multiple deaths.

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel) has confirmed it is holding discussions with interested parties,  including New Zealand-based infrastructure investor Morrison, over a potential transaction reportedly valued at more than $2 billion.

But the possibility of a penalty exceeding $250 million could complicate negotiations, with questions likely to emerge over whether Singtel, Optus or a future investor would carry the financial liability.

Communications Minister Anika Wells (pictured below) has backed the regulator’s decision to launch Federal Court proceedings against Optus following its catastrophic network outage in September 2025.

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ACMA alleges Optus Mobile breached two legal obligations on 1,005 occasions by failing to give customers access to the Triple Zero emergency call service and ensure calls were carried to the correct termination point.

The maximum penalty available to the court is $250,000 per contravention, potentially exposing Optus to penalties of more than $250 million.

The 13-hour outage followed a failed firewall upgrade and affected customers across South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and parts of New South Wales.

More than 600 attempts to reach Triple Zero were affected, while the incident has been linked to two deaths.

“Giving access to the emergency call service is not optional, it is a fundamental legal obligation and the most important public safety responsibility telecommunications providers have,” ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin said.

Optus said it would be inappropriate to comment on the proceedings but remained focused on building “a stronger and better Optus” by investing in network resilience and improving its systems, processes and internal accountability.

Wells described the alleged failures as serious and said Australians rightly expected to reach emergency services when needed.

The action comes only weeks after Telstra experienced a nationwide outage that affected more than 600 Triple Zero calls and disrupted mobile services for millions of customers.

Wells has intensified her scrutiny of Australia’s major telecommunications providers following the incident, including questioning why she was not informed until after Telstra had briefed the media.

ACMA is investigating Telstra’s handling of the outage and its regulatory notification obligations.

Meanwhile, Singtel said there was no certainty that a sale of an Optus stake would proceed and pledged to update the market if any material developments emerged.

Morrison has reportedly secured a seven-week exclusivity period to negotiate the acquisition of more than 30% of the carrier, although no final agreement has been announced.

Singtel said it was seeking a like-minded long-term local partner to take a meaningful minority stake in Optus and help maintain it as a strong, reliable alternative operator.