Regulator Fines Optus $1.5 Million for Large-Scale Safety Rules Violation

ACMA said Optus put 200,000 customers at risk for not submitting their data to the Integrated Public Number Database between 2021 and 2023.

Pedestrians walk past an Optus store in Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 21, 2023. Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Telco giant Optus has been fined $1.5 million (US$977,000) for violating Australian public safety rules on a large scale.

On March 6, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) said Optus had paid the penalty after an investigation revealed that the company failed to upload the information of 200,000 mobile customers to the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) between January 2021 and September 2023.