Austnet seem to be having some issues, as of today the following servers are operational:
irc.iinet.net.au (iinet.wa.au.austnet.org)
irc.pacific.net.au (pacific.nsw.au.austnet.org)
irc.netspace.net.au (netspace.vic.au.austnet.org)
irc3.pacific.net.sg (pacific.sg.austnet.org)
To connect to any of these servers use /server server.name.here (eg: /server irc3.pacific.net.sg).
Servers iinet.wa and pacific.nsw only allow connections from peers (networking routes they can access free-of-charge), and netspace.vic seems to be allowing only Netspace ISP customers for the time being, however you should be able to connect to pacific.sg.austnet.org.
Hope that helps
my friends can connect but i cant.... 
HELP ME IRC IS MY LIFE lolz 