Optus fined AU$100 million for 'appalling' sales to vulnerable customers

A Federal Court in Melbourne on Wednesday approved a plea agreement between Optus and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that results in a AU$100 million fine for unconscionable conduct and inappropriate sales practices spanning four years through July 2023. Optus, the Australian subsidiary of Singapore government‑owned Singtel, faced the penalties after regulators said the company engaged in predatory sales tactics aimed at hundreds of vulnerable customers. Justice Patrick O’Sullivan described the conduct as “extremely serious and can only be described as appalling.” He added that Optus senior management knew, or ought to have known, of the system failures that allowed the unconscionable conduct which may rightly be described as predatory, noting that the impact disproportionately affected vulnerable groups including people with mental disabilities, those experiencing financial hardship, individuals with limited financial literacy, and people with limited English proficiency or learning difficulties. Among those affected were Indigenous people living in regional and remote communities, some of whom resided outside Optus’ network coverage area. The plea agreement covers four years of activity ending in mid‑2023, during which sales staff allegedly applied undue pressure on customers, fabricated customer details to secure higher credit approvals, and then enlisted debt collectors to recover what was owed.

Following the ruling, Optus said it was remediating impacted customers as a matter of priority. The company also announced a AU$1 million commitment to support digital literacy initiatives for Indigenous Australians, though it did not provide further details on the remediation program. Earlier, Optus chief executive Stephen Rue described the admitted corporate law breaches in June as “inexcusable and unacceptable.”

The case comes at a moment when Optus is already facing separate regulatory action tied to a broader outage that disrupted emergency communications last week. Regulators have launched a government inquiry to determine whether Singtel, Optus’ parent company, supplied sufficient financial support to ensure reliable emergency calling. The inquiry will also examine broader corporate governance and funding arrangements intended to support Optus’ network reliability. Singtel has argued that it has invested heavily in Optus to bolster Australia’s communications infrastructure. In a statement, Singtel chief executive Yuen Kuan Moon said the group “will continue to invest as needed for Optus to provide reliable communication services to all Australians,” noting that about AU$9.3 billion had been invested in Optus over the past five years.

Rue said investigators have determined the latest outage was caused by “human error.” He emphasized that the issue was not a matter of expenditure, but of processes not being followed. “This is about people not following processes,” Rue said, explaining that the standard operating procedures were not adhered to in the incident that affected hundreds of emergency calls and, tragically, four deaths. Authorities have indicated the outage could prompt broader inquiries into network resilience and customer protections within Australia’s telecom sector.

Industry observers note that the penalties come amid heightened scrutiny of how telecoms market and support vulnerable customers, including those in remote areas, where coverage gaps and language barriers can complicate sales and service. The ACCC has historically pushed for stronger protections around contract terms, credit checks, and debt collection practices in these settings, arguing that customers with limited English proficiency or low financial literacy are at heightened risk of being misled or overcharged. The Optus case underscores regulators’ insistence on robust compliance programs, independent oversight, and transparent remediation for customers who were harmed by improper sales practices.

While the legal resolution marks a decisive penalty for Optus’ conduct, experts say the broader governance and outage investigations could carry longer-term implications for the company and its parent. The government’s inquiry into the outage will likely scrutinize whether Singtel’s investment and Optus’ budgeting effectively balance short-term cost containment with long-term reliability and emergency readiness. The outcome could influence regulatory expectations for how telcos disclose and address service disruptions, maintain essential services, and allocate capital to improve coverage and capacity in underserved regions.

For Optus, the ruling closes one chapter of regulatory scrutiny but opens another in the wake of the outage investigation. The company has stated its commitment to remediation and to rebuilding trust with customers who were affected by both the sales practices and the service disruption. Regulators, lawmakers, and industry peers will watch closely to see whether the actions taken by Optus and Singtel translate into meaningful, measurable improvements in customer protections, service reliability, and accountability at the top of the organization.