How to get your money back after the Telstra outage

Been left out of pocket after Australia's largest carrier went dark? You're not alone. Here's how to get compensation.

Consumer advocates estimate millions of Australians were impacted by Telstra's outage last week, including over 600 who, alarmingly, had trouble reaching triple zero.

But for many, waking up unable to connect to services crucial to daily life might not have been an entirely unfamiliar experience.

Ever since Optus' first big blackout in 2023, it feels like major telco outages have rarely been out of the news, in a period when we've also seen glitches across major bank networks.

Telco outages like last week's snafu might just be an inconvenience for those of us with only our own phone to worry about, but can cause major pain for anyone running a small business.

What caused the Telstra outage?

In the early hours of last Wednesday, a device Telstra uses to keep time synchronised across parts of its mobile network malfunctioned, leading to customers across the country waking up to find they couldn't access data or make calls on their devices.

But it wasn't just the screens we use for social media scrolling that were affected - some EFTPOS terminals businesses rely on to take card payments also went dark.

Soon after the outage began, EFTPOS system provider Tryo confirmed the Telstra breakdown had left some of its machines unable to process transactions.

With cards used for 73% of payments made by Aussie consumers, according to the RBA, this left any cafés, coffee shops and other businesses relying on these machines for their morning trade seriously out of pocket.

"When those services fail, the impacts can be immediate and costly," says Skye Cappuccio, CEO of the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia.

"Small business owners should not be left carrying the cost of failures in essential services they pay for and rely on to operate."

Hinting at the scale of the issue, Telstra said some business customers were without service for longer than individual consumers, as the federal government noted the issue was causing "real stress" for these small enterprises.

Why did EFTPOS terminals stop working during the Telstra outage?

The breakdown of Telstra's network affected EFTPOS payments because some terminals used by businesses to process transactions need to connect to 4G or 5G to work

When these systems go down, as they did during Telstra's blackout, and the machines have no backup way to connect to the internet, they stop working.

Latest payment glitch after bank bug

This isn't the first time a malfunction in the systems of a major company has caused havoc with finances.

In 2024, Money reported on a glitch at Commonwealth Bank that caused customers to be charged twice for purchases they had made through their accounts.

How to claim compensation after the Telstra outage

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) -- the independent body that mediates disputes between telcos and their customers - says it expects service providers to make compensation available to customers affected by outages.

In accordance with this, Telstra has already promised assistance for individual and small business customers affected by last week's outage.

If you run a business that lost money or are someone who was otherwise left out of pocket, you can request compensation by lodging a complaint on Telstra's website.

The TIO says requests for compensation are more likely to be successful if you also provide records of:

• Your attempts to contact Telstra about the issue and any responses you received
• How long your service was disrupted for
• Any extra costs you incurred because of the outage, such as buying additional mobile data, travelling to access communications or losing business sales
• Receipts, invoices or other proof of these expenses
• Records showing impacts of the outage, such as screenshots, emails or messages about disrupted work or missed appointments.

The TIO says to contact them if you're having trouble reaching a resolution with Telstra or are unhappy with the outcome you're being offered.

Compensation scheme criticised

Consumer advocacy group the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network has welcomed the compensation scheme, but has criticised it for "putting the onus back on consumers."

The TIO agrees it shouldn't all be up to customers and says it's ready to help Australians having trouble with the process.

"Consumers shouldn't have to do all the heavy lifting after a major outage," said Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert. "If consumers aren't happy with the outcome they receive from their telco, they can reach out to the TIO for free and independent help."

The ABC reports Telstra executives will answer questions about the outage when they appear before a Senate inquiry on Friday.

How to prepare for the next telco or EFTPOS outage

Telstra's outage is a reminder of how reliant we are on telco networks, not just for chatting on the phone, but also for making payments, receiving information and organising our lives.

Consider these strategies if you're a small business owner or regular consumer looking for ways to build resilience before the next outage:

1. Carry cash as a backup

Many of us go without it these days, but notes and coins can be a lifesaving backup for essential purchases when payment networks or bank systems go down.

Financial adviser Amir Rodnia is a "big fan" of always keeping notes and coins on hand in case of an outage.

"It's sort of like keeping a spare tyre in your car: You hope you're not going to need it, but you know it's there when you have to use it," the author of Freedom Gameplan explains.

"Anywhere between $50 to $100 should suffice, unless you're in a regional area, where you may need a little bit more. [Keep some] on your person, in the car, maybe even a little bit in the house."

2. Be prepared to keep records

Your telco may ask for proof of costs you incurred, your attempts to resolve issues or other pieces of information if you go seeking compensation after an outage. Be prepared to collect this evidence.

3. Get to know your EFTPOS terminal

Running a business that uses an EFTPOS terminal connected to a mobile network to process payments? Seek information from the bank or financial institution that provided you with the device to see if there are backup options for keeping your terminal online during an outage.

4. Watch out for scams

Telstra says it's received reports of fraudsters calling customers and trying to take advantage of the recent outage by claiming to work for the telco and asking for personal details.

Beware of calls, emails, texts or social media messages appearing to come from Telstra if you haven't already lodged a request via the telco's online form. Any legitimate messages from the company should also appear in your account in the My Telstra app.

Contact the telco using details you've found yourself to confirm any suspicious requests or directions.

Beware of text messages labelled as coming from "Unverified". These have been flagged by Australia's SMS Sender ID Register - a new system designed to protect consumers and businesses from scammers.

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