Telstra outage LIVE: Users report mass network disruption across Australia

A spokesperson for the V/Line regional rail network in Victoria has issued a statement confirming the entire regional train network is now inoperable.

"The V/Line network has been impacted by the nationwide Telstra outage. This has resulted in significant impacts to our passengers this morning with no trains able to run on the V/Line network.

"A very limited coach replacement service is in place and passengers are asked to avoid travel until further notice. Passengers are encouraged to check on the V/Line website and app for the latest information. We thank passengers for their patience and understanding while we work to restore services as soon as possible."

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has called for the cause of today’s Telstra outage to be investigated, whilst laying the blame at China's feet. The far-right MP linked ballistic missile testing ran by China on Monday as a possible cause to the widespread outage, but provided no evidence to back up his claims. 

“I hope it’s just a coincidence about the intercontinental ballistic missile that went into the Pacifie," Joyce told Sky News Australia.

"I hope there’s no, you know, I don’t want to be paranoid or conspiracy theorist, but we know there is the capacity for … China to affect that sort of software and that sort of network, and I hope that that’s investigated and cleared as not part of the process."

Regional and some intercity trains in NSW are now also struggling with significant delays amid this morning's widespread Telstra outage.

In Sydney, both suburban Sydney Trains services and Metro services seem to not have been impacted so far. A spokesperson for Transport for NSW has warned, however: “Due to Telstra outage, significant delays are expected to all services."

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Victoria Police has also issued a statement about this morning's Telstra outage.

"Victoria Police is aware of a telecommunications outage affecting a number of Victoria Police mobile and landline services," a spokesperson said in a statement.

"The issue is being monitored and assessed. At this time, there is no evidence of any impact to frontline service delivery. Triple Zero Victoria remains fully operational and continues to dispatch calls for police assistance."

Australia's federal government has issued a statement reminding key telco provider Telstra of its baseline responsibilities to ensure that customers can still contact emergency services amid the ongoing network outage.

As per a statement from the office of acting Communications and Transport Minister Kristy McBain: “The Australian government has been advised by Telstra that there is an outage affecting a large number of mobile calls and connections. Like all telcos, Telstra must notify customers and emergency services of any major outage.

"Australian phones are also required to fall back to other networks for 000 access.”

The Australian government said in the same statement that it was aware of the rail outages impacting Victorians, with services grinding to a halt for regional train operator V/Line.

The statement added: “We understand Telstra is working on resolving the issue, and arrangements are being made for affected rail passengers.”

A Telstra spokesperson said the telecommunications giant is now investigating the issue.

“We’re looking into an issue affecting some mobile calls and data connections,” the telco said in a statement.

“If you’re having trouble connecting, try again as it may work on a retry. We’re on it and will share an update as soon as it’s fixed. Thanks for sticking with us.”

No cause of the outage has been confirmed. No restoration time has been provided either, so it is currently unknown when the telco will be restored to full network coverage.

Customers who aren't on the nationwide Telstra network are also being impacted.

Due to Australia being a huge land mass, a number of other mobile providers also use Telstra's network infrastructure and phone towers.

Other providers reporting disruptions include including Boost Mobile, Belong, Aldi Mobile, Everyday Mobile and Tangerine.

In Victoria, regional trains are also being impacted by the fault.

Regional operator V/Line has temporarily suspended train services after citing a “radio network fault affecting all lines”. A spokesperson for V/Line has advised commuters to defer travel where possible, as limited replacement busses could be arranged to plug the gaps.

New South Wales Police have issued a statement pertaining to the Telstra outage, to let Australians know across the state that while phone outages are impacting some devices across the nation, emergency calls have not been impacted.

A spokesperson said: "The NSW Police Force understands a Telstra outage is affecting some network devices. Triple Zero systems are not affected, but you may not be able to reach Triple Zero if you are calling from a Telstra device.

"If you try to call Triple Zero and can’t get through, we recommend using another device, a landline or Wi-Fi calling. Telstra will provide updates on the network outage as their tech teams work through a fix."

The outage has affected both businesses and individuals, with people across Australia unable to make calls or access mobile data this morning.

Many businesses that rely on the Telstra network have reported disruptions to both internet and EFTPOS services, with some retailers taking to social media to share they they are unable to process card payments at this time.