Extracts from an article originally published in Australian newspaper "The Age" on 13/08/2026:
Link to the original article:
https://www.theage.com.au/technology/telstra-boss-lands-11pc-pay-rise-in-year-of-1200-job-cuts-20260813-p60nvy.html
Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady says “ultimate accountability” for July’s national Triple Zero outage rests with her, after the company’s board stripped $607,000 from her short-term bonus.
Brady was speaking as the company delivered its annual results on Thursday, with Telstra’s net profit rising 2.7 per cent to $2.4 billion. Brady’s total pay rose 11 per cent, to $6.8 million, and the telco says the failure that cut off Triple Zero calls has cost it almost no customers.
“There were things within our control that triggered the outage,” Brady said on Thursday, describing the board’s reasoning.
“As CEO, ultimate accountability rests with me for the outage.”
Telstra directors cut her individual performance multiplier by 20 percentage points, leaving her a short-term bonus of $2.762 million. Then-group executive of global networks and technology Shailin Sehgal took the same reduction, and the rest of the senior executive team, including chief financial officer Michael Ackland, lost 10 points each, taking a further $1.29 million out of the bonus pool.
Brady said the external investigation was still running and the board could impose further consequences through FY27 pay once it reports
This masthead (The Age + other publications), first revealed the outage was caused by a server that had reached the end of its supported life almost a decade ago and was never replaced, despite newer devices costing less than $30,000.
In its full-year results on Thursday, Telstra revealed its direct workforce is now 4 per cent smaller, at 29,334, and the telco has signalled it will keep cutting as it simplifies the business. The job losses lifted its redundancy bill by $92 million to $206 million.
That cost-cutting helped drive a full-year result that has delivered shareholders a bigger dividend and a fresh $1 billion share buyback.