Australians losing trust as system failures surge

New research reveals that 41% of Australians have experienced a system failure, incident or outage with a telecommunications provider in the past 12 months, followed closely by financial services (38%) and retail (29%).

These failures are not just inconvenient and frustrating; they’re costly. Australians lost an estimated 73 million hours and $5.3 billion in the past year alone due to service disruptions.

The PagerDuty research findings highlight growing consumer frustration and a sharp decline in trust across essential services, with 72% of Australians reporting they would stop or consider stopping use of a company’s products or services due to system failures
or outages.

Callum Eade, Vice President of Asia Pacific at PagerDuty states Australians are disappointed and frustrated when left in the dark during incidents.

“Australians expect swift resolution and proactive measures to prevent issues before they escalate. Thankfully PagerDuty helps businesses stay ahead by enabling smarter, faster responses that minimise downtime and maintain consumer trust.”

“Fortunately, advancements in technology, particularly AI and AI agents are reshaping how organisations manage service reliability. These tools are helping teams become more proactive, resilient and efficient in preventing and addressing disruptions across
complex digital environments.”

Decline in trust leads to behavioural shifts

The research shows that declining trust is prompting Australians to change how they prepare for future failures.

• Almost a third (29%) of Australians have lost trust in telecommunication providers with over half (54%) having taken proactive steps to ensure they can stay online or connected in the event of future telco failures.
• In the banking and financial services sector, more than a quarter (28%) of Australians experienced an outage that left them unable to access their money. As a result, 25% reported a loss of trust, prompting 61% to carry cash more often as a backup.
• These concerns extend across industries. A significant 77% of Australians are worried about being left ‘stranded’ or ‘locked out’ when critical online services such as banking, retail, telecommunications, and airlines fail.
• Looking ahead, they expect outages to become even more frequent, with 34% predicting more failures in telcos, 31% in airlines, 30% in banking, and 29% in retail over the next 12 months.
• Consumers are also demanding more from businesses. An overwhelming 97% of Australian consumers expect action when a failure occurs. 68% want a fast resolution, 64% expect regular updates, and 63% seek a clear explanation of what went wrong.

“The message from consumers is very clear. Australians are no longer just frustrated by incidents and outages; they are actively preparing for them. This shift presents a powerful opportunity for businesses to step up, rebuild trust, and lead with resilience.

By investing in automation, and rapid response, companies can turn moments of disruption into moments of connection. “