Experiences and Barriers in Contacting Triple Zero: Full Report

Triple Zero is a life-critical infrastructure, with limited data available on calls which do not connect. ACCAN and Essential Research conducted the Triple Zero Experience Survey in May 2026 to further explore consumer experiences contacting Triple Zero from a mobile phone. 

ACCAN earlier published our snapshot report on the preliminary findings from the May survey.

This report provides more detail on the consumer experience and public sentiment about contacting Triple Zero from a mobile phone.

Findings from the report include:

• A consistent number of consumers report having issues contacting Triple Zero from their mobile due to a mobile outage in the last 12 months (10% in Feb, 8% in May). 

• Awareness of emergency calling processes and limitations remains low, with 73% of consumers reporting that they were unaware that their mobile may attempt to connect via a different network when calling Triple Zero during an outage.   

• Almost half (43%) of Australians are concerned their Triple Zero call could fail in an emergency. 

• Eleven percent (11%) would not know what else to try if their call to Triple Zero failed. 

• One in five (22%) of Australians say their trust in Triple Zero has declined over the past two years, ACCAN CEO Carol Bennett said the findings demonstrate a clear public expectation that government and industry take further action to improve emergency communications.

Read the report here: