Delay due to severe weather in the Mallee and Wimmera Districts and parts of the Northern Country, North Central, Central and South West Districts of Victoria.

As previously notified by Optus on 21 December 2018, the Mallee and Wimmera Districts and parts of the Northern Country, North Central, Central and South West Districts of Victoria were impacted by severe weather on or about Wednesday 12 December 2018 through to Saturday 15 December 2018. This event resulted in extensive damage to the network. Due to the extent of damage to the network, the impact in the affected region has been greater than initially estimated, and as a consequence of the continued weather effects, the expected recovery date has now been extended to 10 February 2019.

The effect of these circumstances applies to an additional 195 services bringing the total number of services impacted to approximately 555 services. This number may increase as Optus assesses the full effect of the severe weather conditions. Based on current information, the resumption date of normal service operations is expected to be 10 February 2019. This date is indicative only; Optus customers should anticipate that some further delays may occur.

Optus services encompassed in this exemption are in the area bounded by and including, but are not limited to the area starting at Vite Vite North heading southwest past Byaduk to Drumborg, west to the Victorian/South Australian border then heading north to the Victorian/New South Wales border. The area continues following the border easterly past Mildura and Robinvale to Boundary Bend. From Boundary Bend the area heads south to Culgoa, southeast to Pyramid Hill, southwest to Jarklin, and south past Serpentine to Bridgewater North then southeast to Sutton Grange. The area heads south to Taradale, southeast to Pipers Creek, southwest to Trentham East, west to Raglan then southwest back to Vite Vite North. All suburbs and towns serviced by Optus within these boundaries are encompassed in this exemption.

How will this affect you?

Unfortunately, your service may be affected and we may take longer than normal to fix telephone services or complete connections. Services in the area mentioned above with phone numbers in the following number ranges may have been affected:

0343000000 to 0343011999 | 0353283000 to 0353283999

0343020000 to 0343028999 | 0353400000 to 0353400999

0343098000 to 0343098999 | 0353402100 to 0353692399

0343430000 to 0343438999 | 0353800000 to 0353997999

0344001000 to 0344008999 | 0354210000 to 0354414799

0344324000 to 0344324999 | 0354515000 to 0354799999

0344330000 to 0344331999 | 0354900000 to 0354908999

0344650000 to 0344650999 | 0354910000 to 0354999999

0350180000 to 0350354999 | 0355211200 to 0355289999

0350486000 to 0350486999 | 0355452000 to 0355452999

0350510000 to 0350559999 | 0355510000 to 0355560999

0350701000 to 0350957999 | 0355700000 to 0355889999

0353216000 to 0353219999

We’re sorry for any inconvenience this delay may cause but we can assure you we are working hard to get things back on track.

What else do you need to know?

Information as to the nature of the severe weather events can be sourced from the Early Warning Network at http://www.ewn.com.au/alerts/. Heavy rainfall and flash flooding are referred to within this site for Wednesday 12 December 2018 through to Saturday 15 December 2018; Additionally these unusually severe weather events have been widely reported by most of the news media.

Due to this event, we’re claiming an exemption under section 21 of the Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee) Standard 2011, including an exemption from the payment of compensation between 14 December 2018 to 10 February 2019 inclusive for any delays in fixing or connecting services, and the keeping of appointments relating to these activities in the impacted area.

Need more information?

If you have any questions regarding your eligibility for a CSG payment under this notice, or wish to have us reconsider whether the circumstances were a proper basis for claiming an exemption, you can contact Optus on 13 39 37 - quoting CSG exemption reference number 14122018-VIC-S-C-P-WEST VICTORIA_RUNL_EXT1

You can also view a copy of this notice on our Internet site www.optus.com.au/msd

If, after calling Optus on the above number, you remain unsatisfied with our response to your query, you have the option of raising the matter with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO). Information on the TIO and contact details are available on the Internet (www.tio.com.au) and in the White Pages® telephone directory.