Reports were emerging that the outage was not malicious, however, there was no information as to how long it could last with some businesses forced to close their doors while they waited.
Telstra said its services were affected by a problem with Microsoft and a software update by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike that seems to have gone awry.
A federal government spokesperson said they were working closely with the National Cyber Security Coordinator on the "unfolding outage" which started about 3.30pm.
I am aware of a large-scale technical outage affecting a number of companies and services across Australia this afternoon.— National Cyber Security Coordinator (@AUCyberSecCoord) Our current information is this outage relates to a technical issue with a third-party software platform employed by affected companies.July 19, 2024
"This outage relates to a technical issue with a third-party software platform employed by affected companies," they said.
"As the cyber security co-ordinator has said, there is no information to suggest this is a cyber security incident and they are continuing to engage across key stakeholders."
The spokesperson said the National Emergency Mechanism group would soon meet and be co-chaired by the National Emergency Management Agency.
Crowd-sourced website Downdetector has listed Telstra, Microsoft, Google, Foxtel, National Australia Bank, ABC, Uber, ANZ, and Bendigo Bank as suffering outages.
Many businesses around the country were forced to close their doors after being hit by the outage. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)
However, Qantas, Virgin Australia, Jetstar, police across much of the country and the federal and NSW governments were also hit as well as point-of-sale machines at shops including Coles and Woolworths.
The flight screens at Sydney Airport and other airports across the country were blank for some time with passengers being warned of delays.
While they started working again about 5.30pm, many passengers were still unable to board flights with Jetstar reportedly experiencing ongoing problems with their systems.
Flights across the country are being cancelled as a result.
A Virgin Australia spokesperson said some of its flights were likely to be cancelled and others would be delayed.
"We are working to resolve any delays and get our guests on their way as quickly as possible," a spokeswoman said.
Reports were emerging of the outage spreading globally with companies around the world reporting issues with their services.
Overseas airlines were cancelling international services after their systems crashed.
In Australia, many media organisations are being affected by the outage.
"The ABC is experiencing a major network outage, along with several other media outlets," it said in a news story on its website.
Nine and Sky News said their news bulletins had been impacted.
Even footy fans were being hit with AFL club Essendon warning fans to bring physical tickets so they could get into Marvel Stadium on Friday night.
The Australian National Relay Service confirmed it was working to restore services but said it was able to make emergency triple-zero calls.
"We understand the global Microsoft outage, which is affecting many government and business services, is the cause of the National Relay Service outage," a spokesman said.
We're investigating an issue impacting users ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services. More info posted in the admin center under MO821132 and on — Microsoft 365 Status (@MSFT365Status) https://t.co/W5Y8dAkjMkJuly 18, 2024
The NSW government said a Microsoft outage was affecting a range of services.
"Departments are activating business continuity plans to ensure ongoing service," a spokesman said.
The NSW Police systems were also affected with a spokesperson urging the public to only contact triple-zero in an emergency.
Victoria Police said some internal application systems had been affected by the national outage but it was not impacting its ability to dispatch or respond to incidents.
Microsoft said it was working to fix issues with its apps and services.
"We're investigating an issue impacting users' ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services", the tweet posted on the social media platform X said on Friday.
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