Australia’s telecommunications company Optus has been fined AU$100 million (about US$66 million) by the Federal Court of Australia after the court found the company systematically exploited vulnerable customers.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) brought the case, documenting a sustained pattern of predatory sales practices spanning January 2019 to September 2023. The court found the misconduct widespread and deeply troubling.
In his written judgment, Justice O’Sullivan described Optus’s conduct as “appalling” and “extremely serious,” calling it a “manifest betrayal of trust.” The court concluded that sales staff, incentivised by commission structures, specifically targeted customers experiencing disadvantage — including people in remote communities, the elderly, and those with cognitive or intellectual disabilities.
Misconduct occurred across at least 16 retail outlets nationwide. Staff used pressure tactics and misleading practices to push multiple devices and contracts on customers who did not need or could not afford them. Sales representatives often failed to explain contractual terms and, in some cases, sold services to people living in areas without Optus network coverage, rendering the products unusable.
Court documents include several distressing examples. One involved a man who was deaf, mute and partially amputated; he was signed up to four separate contracts totaling more than AU$7,500 — monthly repayments he could not manage. When his support worker tried to intervene, Optus staff initially refused to communicate through the support worker and insisted on dealing directly with the customer despite being told of his disabilities.
Another case involved a woman with cerebral palsy and ADHD who relied on a disability pension. She was placed into 24 separate contracts after staff manipulated checks to approve the sales. The resulting debts overwhelmed her finances, at one point causing an overdraft of nearly AU$3,000. Repeated warnings from her carers about her incapacity to understand or afford the services were ignored, and the debts were eventually passed to collection agencies.
The court found that Optus’s internal systems contained serious weaknesses that enabled and concealed the misconduct. Employees could bypass or manipulate credit controls and approval processes to push through unaffordable sales. An internal probe found such inappropriate selling was “pervasive” at Darwin stores, identifying exploitation across at least 363 customer accounts. Managers at those locations were found to have taught junior staff how to engage in the misconduct.
Most troublingly, the court concluded senior management had known about these problems for years yet failed to take effective action. Justice O’Sullivan characterised this failure as a “complete abrogation of managerial responsibility.”
As far back as December 2019, management was aware that staff at the Mount Isa store were creating fraudulent contracts without customers’ knowledge, many affecting First Nations Australians. Despite that knowledge, Optus pursued debt collection against at least 39 of these individuals, referring supposed debts to third-party agencies and causing significant distress.
The court further criticised Optus for providing misleading information to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO). After the TIO raised concerns about misconduct in Darwin in September 2023, Optus claimed it had found no evidence of targeting vulnerable or First Nations customers. Justice O’Sullivan called the company’s failure to disclose the full extent of its findings “a disgrace.”
The AU$100 million penalty reflects both the seriousness and systemic nature of the breaches. In addition to the fine, the court ordered Optus to pay the ACCC’s legal costs of AU$1.5 million and to publish corrective notices online, in newspapers, and in its retail stores.
Optus has provided the ACCC with a legally binding five-year undertaking to reform its practices. The undertaking requires appointment of a senior compliance officer who will report directly to the CEO, redesign of sales commissions to prioritise customer care over sales volume, and improved staff training to identify and support vulnerable customers. Optus will also bring 34 licensee stores back under direct company control, focusing on locations where misconduct occurred, and donate AU$1 million to support digital literacy initiatives for First Nations Australians.
Optus has apologised and said it has begun remediation for affected customers. The court’s judgment and the substantial penalty are intended to reinforce the industry’s responsibility to protect vulnerable people from exploitation and to ensure stronger oversight and accountability within telecommunications providers.
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