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# Microsoft outage cuts off email and government services
- URL: https://www.bushletter.com/microsoft-outage-hits-outlook-and-agencies-from-3am/
- Published: 2026-11-13T04:14:48.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-13T04:14:47.000Z
- Description: Attempts to restore services faltered when servers stopped responding again. Microsoft said there was no indication of a cyber attack.
- Author: Bushletter Newsroom
- Tags: Technology, Australia

TLDR

A worldwide Microsoft 365 outage cut off Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and Copilot for Australian users from shortly after 3am AEDT on Friday. The Bureau of Meteorology, Western Australian government portals and the MyLeave agency were among services disrupted. Microsoft traced the fault to an overwhelmed secure-connection process on affected servers.

## Services down from 3am AEDT

A worldwide Microsoft 365 disruption reached Australian users shortly after 3am AEDT on Friday, 13 November, knocking out or degrading Outlook and Exchange Online access.[\[1\]](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-11-13/microsoft-outage-teams-outlook-copilot/107381196?ref=bushletter.com)

Outlook, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint and Microsoft 365 Copilot were among the services affected.[\[2\]](https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/microsoft-outage-outlook-teams-copilot-onedrive/42bfiv3e0?ref=bushletter.com)

## What Microsoft said caused it

Microsoft's service health dashboard pointed to a specific failure mechanism rather than a general traffic surge. Microsoft 365 Service Health said: "Our investigation has found that a process on the affected servers responsible for establishing secure connections becomes overwhelmed, causing the servers to stop processing requests."[\[1\]](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-11-13/microsoft-outage-teams-outlook-copilot/107381196?ref=bushletter.com)

After health checks failed, a large number of servers became unavailable, leaving the remaining infrastructure to handle the demand that had become concentrated on it.[\[1\]](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-11-13/microsoft-outage-teams-outlook-copilot/107381196?ref=bushletter.com) Microsoft's recovery effort involved returning servers to service, redirecting traffic to alternate routes, restarting affected infrastructure and testing changes intended to prevent restored servers from becoming unresponsive when load returned.

Microsoft said it was "returning a portion of affected servers to the service" and anticipated a "gradual recovery".[\[2\]](https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/microsoft-outage-outlook-teams-copilot-onedrive/42bfiv3e0?ref=bushletter.com) It later said those servers had become unresponsive again.

## Australian agencies disrupted

The outage had direct effects on public-facing Australian services. The Bureau of Meteorology published a notice on its contact page stating: "Due to the global Microsoft outage, we are not receiving messages through this form," and directed urgent enquiries to its telephone line.[\[3\]](https://www.bom.gov.au/contact?ref=bushletter.com)

The Western Australian Government said it was "currently experiencing issues due to the global Microsoft outage, including portals, telephone and email," and provided no estimated restoration time in its initial notice.[\[4\]](https://www.wa.gov.au/government/announcements/service-notice-microsoft-outage?ref=bushletter.com) WA's MyLeave agency, which manages long-service leave for the building and construction industry, took its portals offline and said some systems were unavailable during the disruption.[\[5\]](https://www.wa.gov.au/government/announcements/myleave-system-outage-13112026?ref=bushletter.com)

## Cyber security coordinator looking into outage

A spokesperson for the Home Affairs Minister said the National Cyber Security Coordinator, Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness, was aware of the outage and was looking into it.[\[1\]](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-11-13/microsoft-outage-teams-outlook-copilot/107381196?ref=bushletter.com)

A Microsoft spokesperson said there was "no indication" of a cyber attack.[\[1\]](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-11-13/microsoft-outage-teams-outlook-copilot/107381196?ref=bushletter.com)

KEY TAKEAWAYS

01Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and Copilot were among the Microsoft services affected.

02Servers stopped processing requests after a secure-connection process became overwhelmed, according to Microsoft's health dashboard.

03Western Australian government portals, email and telephone services went offline with no restoration time given initially.

04The Bureau of Meteorology's public contact form was unable to receive messages throughout the disruption.

05National Cyber Security Coordinator Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness was looking into the outage, the Home Affairs Minister's office said.

SOURCES & CITATIONS

1. [ABC News: Access to Microsoft Outlook and other services being restored as cyber security chief investigates](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-11-13/microsoft-outage-teams-outlook-copilot/107381196?ref=bushletter.com)
2. [SBS News: Australia briefed on Microsoft outage as AFP and ASIO hit](https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/microsoft-outage-outlook-teams-copilot-onedrive/42bfiv3e0?ref=bushletter.com)
3. [Bureau of Meteorology contact page notice](https://www.bom.gov.au/contact?ref=bushletter.com)
4. [Western Australian Government service notice: Microsoft outage](https://www.wa.gov.au/government/announcements/service-notice-microsoft-outage?ref=bushletter.com)
5. [Western Australian Government: MyLeave system outage notice](https://www.wa.gov.au/government/announcements/myleave-system-outage-13112026?ref=bushletter.com)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Which Microsoft services were affected by the outage?

Outlook, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint and Microsoft 365 Copilot were among the services affected.

What caused the Microsoft 365 outage?

Microsoft's service health dashboard said a process on affected servers responsible for establishing secure connections became overwhelmed, causing those servers to stop processing requests.

Which Australian government services were disrupted?

The Bureau of Meteorology's public contact form stopped receiving messages, while Western Australian government portals, email and telephone services went offline. The WA MyLeave agency also took its portals offline during the outage.