How the Albanese Government is still failing Australians

1. Deadly failure of the triple-0 emergency system

 

On 18 September 2025, a routine firewall upgrade at Optus caused a major 13-hour outage of Australia’s “000” emergency service in several states and territories. About 600 emergency calls failed during the outage. 

 

At least four deaths are confirmed to be linked to people trying to call emergency services during the outage. 

 

Inquiries revealed that South Australian Ambulance did not receive the outage alerts it was supposed to, even though it was signed up for the real-time notification system. 

 

The government had promised reforms after a previous nationwide Optus outage in 2023, but action remains slow and criticism strong. 

 

 

 

2. Transparency & Freedom of Information (FOI) erosion

 

Under the Albanese government, fully granted FOI requests have plunged from ~59 % in 2011–12 to just ~25 % in 2023–24. Meanwhile, outright refusals nearly doubled to ~23 %. 

 

A Centre for Public Integrity report finds that under Labor, the government is now less transparent than it was under Morrison, in terms of document production and compliance with Senate orders. 

 

Proposed FOI reforms would allow blanket refusals of requests that take over 40 hours to process, expand the definition of exempt “cabinet” or “deliberative” material, and make it more costly or restrictive for the public to request documents. 

 

Critics point out that government officials were unable to demonstrate—or provide evidence of—actual “bots” or AI misuse justifying these reforms. 

 

 

 

3. Housing, homelessness and social infrastructure breakdowns

 

Homelessness under the Albanese government has risen to what advocacy groups call its “worst levels in living memory.” 

 

The government is reportedly falling short of housing targets and the mechanisms for delivering public/social housing remain weak. 

 

Critics argue that the institutional design is flawed: Housing Australia (the federal delivery agency) has no policymaking powers, limiting its effectiveness. 

 

 

 

4. Cover-ups and secrecy on national security / border / ISIS brides

 

The government has refused to answer basic questions from parliament and the public about how many ISIS brides and children have returned to Australia, where they are placed, and under what conditions. 

 

Opposition parties claim the government is conducting a cover-up by withholding information that should be in the public interest. 

 

 

 

5. Failure to match promises and public expectations

 

In his campaign and early governance, Albanese promised greater openness and a clean break from Morrison’s “secrecy culture.” Critics now argue that his government is doubling down on secrecy. 

 

Even in areas where positive steps are claimed (e.g. improving network resilience after outages), critics say those are too little, too late, and that systemic accountability is still lacking.