Optus Slammed with $66 Million Fine for Predatory Sales Practices

Telecommunications firm Optus was fined AUD 100 million for unethical sales practices affecting vulnerable individuals, including Indigenous communities. An outage linked to four deaths adds to their troubles. Despite investments from parent company Singtel, lapses in processes led to the service failures.

An Australian court has fined Optus AUD 100 million for its unethical sales tactics targeting vulnerable people, including those in Indigenous communities lacking service coverage. The court criticized the 'appalling' conduct over four years until July 2023.

Additionally, Optus faces separate penalties for an outage that linked to four fatalities by preventing emergency calls. The Australian government is probing whether the Singapore-based parent company, Singtel, provided adequate funding for reliability.

Optus acknowledged its failures and is working on rectifying customer impacts. Despite Singtel's recent AUD 9.3 billion investment in Optus, issues arose from procedural lapses rather than financial constraints. Both companies emphasize ongoing investments to ensure reliable service for Australians.

(With inputs from agencies.)