Optus penalised $1.5m for large-scale public safety failures
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The news: Optus has paid a $1,501,500 penalty after the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found large-scale breaches of public safety rules.
The numbers: An ACMA investigation found Optus left nearly 200,000 mobile customers, supplied under the Coles Mobile and Catch Connect brands, at risk by failing to upload required customer information to the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) between January 2021 and September 2023.
Over the past 18 months the ACMA has taken action against five telcos for IPND breaches, with financial penalties totalling more than $2 million.
The context: The IPND is used by critical services like the Emergency Alert service to warn Australians of disasters such as flood and bushfires, and by Triple Zero to provide location information to the police, ambulance and fire brigade in an emergency.
The ACMA commenced its investigation into Optus after a compliance audit indicated that the telco had failed to upload data via its outsourced supplier, Prvidr.
In addition to the financial penalty, the ACMA has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Optus that requires an independent review of its IPND compliance where it uses a third-party data provider, and make any improvements recommended by the review. Optus has also been formally directed to comply with the IPND industry code.
What they said: ACMA member Samantha Yorke said: “When emergency services are hindered there can be very serious consequences for the safety of Australians.
“While we are not aware of anyone being directly harmed due to the non-compliance in this case, it’s alarming that Optus placed so many customers in this position for so long.
“Optus cannot outsource its obligations, even if part of the process is being undertaken by a third party.
“All telcos need to have systems in place that ensure they are meeting their obligations, including having robust oversight and assurance processes for third-party suppliers.”
The source: ACMA media release
