About the Client
The Parliamentary Services Department (PSD) provides specialist support services and resources to Parliament users in Western Australia, including Presiding Officers, members of Parliament, and visitors. Services range from building management and IT infrastructure to parliamentary education. PSD ensures that Parliament operates smoothly and provides a safe, welcoming experience for over 50,000 visitors each year.
The Challenge
PSD had been operating on legacy systems, including a Nortel Avia 100C PBX and outdated SIP border routing infrastructure. These systems were not only at end-of-life but also unable to support modern communication and collaboration needs. The telephony infrastructure was a critical component for both staff and members of Parliament, who required dependable service, including support for more than 110 common area phones and numerous analogue devices.
Additional challenges included:
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The need for high availability (HA) with dual SIP trunks across two locations.
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Requirements for physical handsets for Parliament members.
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An impending move into a new Parliament building in early 2024.
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Outages—such as the national Optus incident—highlighted the need for local survivability and redundancy.
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Integration with the Nortel system had to be maintained via E1 during the migration phase, as SIP channels were unavailable.
PSD needed a modern, resilient telephony solution aligned with their Modern Work strategy launched in early 2023.
Our Solution
To address these challenges, PSD partnered with Zetta. Leveraging previous success on similar projects—Zetta proposed a robust Microsoft Teams-based telephony platform underpinned by AudioCodes technology.
Key components of the solution included:
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Deployment of two AudioCodes Mediant 800B SBCs, configured as a high-availability pair across Parliament’s two sites.
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E1 integration to maintain call routing with the Nortel system during migration.
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Rollout of over 300 Teams-certified handsets (C470HD and C455HD) across the organisation.
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Deployment of an SBA (Survivable Branch Appliance) to maintain local calling during outages.
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Use of AudioCodes OVOC for simplified management of handsets and SBCs.
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Transition of analogue SXF devices to an AudioCodes Mediapack ATA, supporting up to 16 channels.
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New SIP trunks provisioned for Microsoft Teams, ensuring seamless telephony integration.
The implementation followed a phased migration strategy, allowing user groups to be progressively transitioned from the legacy Nortel system to the Teams environment with minimal disruption.
The Outcome
PSD successfully modernised its telephony environment, gaining a resilient, cloud-integrated calling solution that aligned with its Microsoft 365 E5 licensing and Modern Work goals.
Key benefits included:
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Improved service reliability through a dual-site HA setup and local survivability.
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Full retirement of legacy infrastructure, reducing technical debt and support overheads.
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Enhanced collaboration and mobility for Parliament staff and members using Microsoft Teams.
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Streamlined endpoint management via OVOC and integration into the existing network (Cisco and Extreme Networks).
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Rapid response to outages—such as the Optus incident—highlighting the strength of having redundant, locally-managed infrastructure.
By partnering with Zetta and AudioCodes, PSD delivered a future-ready telephony solution that supports the evolving needs of a modern parliamentary environment.
