A claim by Liberal senator Kerrynne Liddle that a South Australian woman died during the nationwide Telstra outage because of a failed Triple Zero (000) call has been ruled incorrect by police. Liddle said her office had received a report on Wednesday of a "tragic death following an apparent failure to connect to Triple Zero during a life-or-death emergency", describing it as a "devastating failure" for the family. However, SA Police stated on Friday that their investigations had ruled out any suggestion that calls to emergency services had failed, and they criticised the way the family's grief had been placed in the public arena.

Police said they launched an investigation after the claim appeared on social media, with those responsible for the post providing further information alleging that a 000 call had failed. According to the police timeline, the woman's partner found her unresponsive at home at 10am on Wednesday 8 July following a medical episode; he then called a neighbour with medical experience using his Telstra mobile, and the call connected. The neighbour subsequently called Triple Zero on her own Telstra mobile to request an ambulance, which also connected without issue. Police described it as "unfortunate" that the death had been made public in the manner it was, while the Daily Mail said it had contacted Senator Liddle's office for comment.