13 November 2026 - For Immediate Release
The Australian Computer Society (ACS) has renewed its call for a national review of sovereign risk in Australian IT, as Australian workers, and the IT professionals who support them, spent this morning locked out of email, Teams and Copilot.
Australian organisations that rely on these services were left refreshing a global status page to find out what the outage meant for them.
“Where were the direct updates to Australian customers and media? Who in Australia was accountable for keeping them informed? And who will answer for the lost productivity and the cost to the Australian economy?” ACS CEO Dr Prins Ralston said.
“Customers may be able to claim service credits under their cloud contracts. Those credits won’t make up for a lost morning of trade for a small business.”
The outage began shortly before 5am AEDT and affected ASIO and the Australian Federal Police. Australia Post suspended its phone payment system, suppliers were unable to send delivery notices to supermarket distribution centres, and the Bureau of Meteorology warned that media enquiries sent by email might not reach it.
Senior officials were reported today as saying they were not worried, and would not urge Australians to move away from the platform.
Dr Ralston said: "Australians who couldn't get paid, couldn't send an invoice, or couldn't reach a government service this morning are entitled to be worried. ASIO and the AFP had workarounds. Most small businesses and many agencies don't. Resilience shouldn't depend on whether you happen to have a second system.
"Is this what Australians can expect? We had CrowdStrike in 2024, and now this. Each time we are told it isn't a cyber attack, we wait for the fix, and nothing changes. ACS told the Senate this week that systems this country depends on should be overseen by resident, independently assessed professionals who are accountable here, the same standard we expect of surgeons, auditors, and lawyers. The Government is yet to take that seriously."
Other governments are acting. Germany's Schleswig-Holstein moved more than 40,000 government mailboxes from Microsoft Exchange and Outlook to open-source alternatives in October 2025.
In April 2026, France's government digital agency began moving its own computers from Windows to Linux and required every ministry to plan to reduce its reliance on non-European technology.
France is also replacing Teams and Zoom with its own video conferencing platform, Visio, across central government. Austria's Digital Austria Act 2.0 promotes open-source software to reduce dependence on single providers.
In its 2026–27 pre-budget submission in January, ACS called on the Federal Government to commission a review of sovereign risk in Australian IT. Ten months on, the review has yet to begin. Today’s Microsoft outage shows why it can’t wait.
ACS is calling on the Federal Government to:
- Commission the national review of sovereign risk to identify which critical systems depend on a single provider, and where backup options, including open-source alternatives, can keep essential services running.
- Require a resident senior accountable officer in Australia for providers of critical digital services, responsible for informing government, customers and the public directly during a major incident.
- Set an Australian incident communication standard, with local updates to customers and regulators within fixed timeframes.
- Require a public post-incident report to government and affected Australian customers, covering the cause, the impact on Australia and the steps taken to prevent a repeat.
- Review whether contracts for critical digital services give Australian customers, particularly small business, a fair remedy when services fail.
- Mandate assessed professional capability, using frameworks such as SFIA, for the people who run and recover critical systems.
We need to know the systems that keep this country running won't simply fall over without notice," Dr Ralston said. "And when they do, someone in Australia has to pick up the phone, front the media and take responsibility."
ACS also reminds businesses to be alert to phishing emails exploiting the outage, and to check Microsoft's incident notices EX1550543 and MO1550821 in the admin centre for verified updates.
ENDS
Further information
Troy Steer
Director of Member Engagement & Public Affairs
M – 0417 173 740
E – troy.steer@acs.org.au
About ACS
The Australian Computer Society (ACS) is the professional body for Australia’s technology profession. Since 1966, we have championed a trusted, skilled, and world-class profession, representing 42,000 members across business, government and education, with branches in every Australian state and territory. Our work strengthens Australia’s digital sovereignty, responsible AI adoption, cyber resilience, workforce capability and digital trust. We set professional standards, accredit education, certify practitioners and advocate for the skills and capabilities Australia needs. ACS is committed to advancing the profession and ensuring technology serves Australia’s national interests and delivers lasting public value.
About Cyberpath
CyberPath is a Commonwealth grant-funded cyber professionalisation pilot led by ACS which brings together industry, government and education to standardise career and education pathways, skills requirements and recognition frameworks for cyber security.