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Today's reading time is 7 minutes. - Miko Santos
Australia’s second-largest telecommunications company Optus was ordered to pay a record $100 million fine Tuesday for unconscionable sales practices, as the Federal Court delivered its penalty while the company faces mounting scrutiny over a network failure linked to multiple deaths. Justice Patrick O’Sullivan described the company’s conduct as “extremely serious” and “appalling,” noting that more than 400 vulnerable consumers, including First Nations Australians and people with disabilities, were sold products they could not afford or use between August 2019 and July 2023.
The court found that Optus engaged in systemic failures across 16 stores in multiple states, with sales staff pressuring customers into expensive contracts despite inadequate network coverage in their areas. Justice O’Sullivan determined that senior management knew or should have known about these predatory practices, which he characterized as unconscionable conduct targeting society’s most vulnerable members. The penalty represents one of the largest consumer protection fines in Australian telecommunications history.
The Federal Court’s decision coincides with ongoing investigations into Optus CEO Stephen Rue’s admission that human error caused the September 18 network outage that prevented approximately 480 customers from reaching emergency services. Rue confirmed that technicians failed to follow established protocols during a firewall upgrade, directly contributing to triple-zero call failures that have been linked to four deaths across three states. The company has commissioned an independent review led by Dr. Kerry Schott to examine the technical failure and operational responses.
Opposition Communications spokesperson Melissa McIntosh has criticized the government’s handling of the crisis, questioning why Communications Minister Michelle Rowland is attending United Nations meetings while Australians face telecommunications system failures. Consumer advocacy group ACCAN released research showing that 43 percent of telecommunications customers do not trust their providers to act in their best interests, strengthening calls for regulatory reform beyond industry self-regulation measures that have repeatedly failed to protect consumers.
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