Archive · 24 Sep 2025
Optus Fined Millions for Abusive Sales Practices
Optus, a major telecom company in Australia, was fined a lot of money because they treated some customers unfairly.
They pressured vulnerable people, like those with disabilities or in financial trouble, to buy services they didn't need.
Optus also faces problems with an outage that may have caused deaths.
The company is promising to fix these issues.
Optus's parent company has invested billions of dollars, and the government is investigating if the money is being used correctly.
The outage was a result of human error.
Optus was fined USD 66 million for predatory sales practices.
The company targeted vulnerable customers, including Indigenous communities.
Sales staff used pressure and fabricated details to secure contracts.
Optus faces separate scrutiny regarding an emergency call outage linked to deaths.
The parent company, Singtel, has invested billions in Optus's infrastructure.
- Who
- Optus, a subsidiary of Singtel
- What
- Was fined for unconscionable sales practices and faces scrutiny over an emergency call outage.
- When
- The fine was announced on Wednesday, September 24th.
- Where
- Australia
- Why
- For applying undue pressure to customers and fabricating customer details
- Company Fined
- Optus
- Fine Amount
- 100 million AUD (USD 66 million)
- Reason for Fine
- Unconscionable sales practices to vulnerable customers
- Affected Customers
- Vulnerable individuals, including Indigenous communities
- Additional Issue
- Emergency call outage potentially linked to 4 deaths
- Parent Company
- Singtel
- Parent Company Investment
- 9.3 billion AUD in the last 5 years