Federal Court approves ACCC orders on inappropriate sales practices

The Federal Court has today approved the orders proposed by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Optus arising from unconscionable conduct and inappropriate sales practices between August 2019 and July 2023.

Under the orders, Optus will pay a $100 million penalty.  Optus has also entered into an Enforceable Undertaking to implement changes to improve Optus sales practices and better support customers, particularly those who are vulnerable.

Optus is remediating impacted customers as a matter of priority – whether they were part of the ACCC’s claim, or they have come forward separately. We have fully remediated most of the customers identified by the ACCC. We are working closely with financial counsellor services to help us identify and support customers impacted by sales misconduct. 

Optus will also pay $1 million to support digital literacy initiatives for First Nations Australians. 

Optus is committed to working closely with the ACCC and an independent auditor to ensure the Enforceable Undertaking is implemented fully and transparently within the agreed timings.

Optus has established a dedicated program to address the Enforceable Undertaking commitments and is introducing changes to better support our customers and reinforce responsible selling standards.

Recent actions we have taken include:

·       Improvements to our coverage checks and credit checking process;

·       Updates to our sales incentive programs as well as to in-store compliance score cards to reward the right behaviours;

·       Additional Code of Conduct training for retail staff;

·       Updates to our complaints handling process; and

·       Changed our product range to minimise the risk of unexpected large debts being incurred. 

We have also strengthened our senior leadership with recent appointments to the Optus Executive Committee including a new Chief Legal Officer role to lead our Legal, Privacy and Compliance functions and a new Chief Security & Risk Officer to lead our Security and Risk function.  

In addition, a new Vice President of Retail, who is responsible for the operations of our Retail stores, will be starting next month and a Vice President of Contact Centres, AI and Analytics, who is also responsible for our global contact centres, has recently started.

Customers can call our specialist customer care team on 1300 082 820 or check our website here Sales Misconduct Update for further information or support. 

ENDS

Media contact: 
Optus Corporate Affairs 
02 9037 8179
media@optus.com.au