Slater and Gordon filed a group proceeding (class action) in the Federal Court of Australia against Optus on 21 April 2023. The class action is brought by two lead applicants, a school teacher and a government employee, on behalf of Optus customers whose personal information was compromised in the Optus data breach announced on 22 September 2022. Almost all current and former Optus customers were affected.
If you would like to stay updated on the progress of the class action, you can register your interest by clicking the button below:
Keep me updated
All personal information collected by Slater and Gordon through the registration process will be kept private. We will only use or disclose your information for the purpose of legal proceedings or as required by the Court or by law.
Trial date set down
On 12 December 2025, the Honourable Justice Beach set down the class action for trial, commencing on 7 June 2027. To be notified about future updates, register here.
Justice Beach has also ordered the parties to attend a mediation in early 2027. This will be the second mediation, after the first mediation in May 2025 did not result in a settlement.
Background
On 22 September 2022, Optus announced that a cyberattack had compromised its systems and resulted in unlawful access to the personal information of millions of current and former customers.
Optus advised its customers that the following types of identity documents were disclosed:
- Driver licence numbers
- Proof of age/proof of identity documents
- Australian and international passport details
- Medicare card numbers
- Invalid/incomplete ID document numbers (relating to the above listed forms of ID)
Approximately 9.5 million former and current Optus customers were affected, including approximately 10,000 customers whose details were exposed on the dark web.
More information about support from Optus can be found here.
Eligibility
All former and current Optus customers whose information was compromised in the September 2022 data breach are eligible to participate in the class action.
Most affected customers were notified by Optus in the weeks following the data breach that their information had been impacted.
If you think that you have not been notified by Optus as your contact details may have changed, we encourage you to request confirmation from Optus.
Further information on obtaining your personal information from Optus can be found here.
Allegations
The class action makes allegations against a number of entities in the Optus Group (Optus), including:
- Singtel Optus Pty Ltd (Singtel Optus)
- Optus Mobile Pty Ltd (Optus Mobile)
- Optus Internet Pty Ltd (Optus Internet)
- Optus Networks Pty Ltd (Optus Networks)
- Optus ADSL Pty Ltd (Optus ADSL)
- Optus Satellite Pty Ltd (Optus Satellite)
- Optus Systems Pty Ltd (Optus Systems)
It is alleged that Optus failed to protect, or take reasonable steps to protect, the personal information of its current and former customers.
Accordingly, the following is alleged:
- Optus breached its contract with Optus customers;
- Optus breached the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth);
- Optus breached the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth);
- Optus breached its duty of care to Optus customers; and
- Optus breached Australian Consumer Law.
Funding arrangements
A reputable litigation funder has agreed to fund the legal costs of the class action. In exchange, the litigation funder will be entitled to a commission in the event of a successful outcome – the size of the commission will be determined by the Court.
Participating in the Optus Class Action will not expose you to any out-of-pocket costs.
If the class action is not successful, the litigation funder will incur costs in relation to Optus’s legal fees. Group members will not bear any financial risk as a result of participating in the class action.
The Court has oversight of legal fees charged to group members, and will consider whether proposed fees charged in the class action are reasonable and proportionate.
Register your interest
FAQs
This class action is relevant for all former and current customers of Optus whose information was compromised in the data breach. If you are unsure whether your information was compromised, please register your interest so that we can keep you updated and in the future, check whether your information was compromised.
Currently you do not need to take any steps to register in the class action. We recommend you register your interest here so we can tell you when this changes.
Once you’ve registered your interest, we will keep you up to date about new developments in the class action.
We may contact you at a later stage if there’s anything we need from you.
We ask that you keep a record of any steps you’ve taken since becoming aware of the data breach (e.g. changing your phone number or replacing your licence) and how much time you’ve spent doing that. You do not need to provide us with this information now, but we might ask you for it at a later stage.
Your personal information will only be used for the purposes of the legal proceeding as required by the Court, or otherwise by law. In all other cases, we will seek your consent before disclosing any of your personal information. We will not disclose any personal information to third parties, including other clients.
For more information, see our Privacy Policy.
Anyone who is a current or former Optus customer can register their interest with Slater and Gordon to receive updates on the class action as it progresses, even if you have already registered your interest with another law firm.
A class action is a type of legal proceeding in which one person, the lead applicant, brings a claim on behalf of a wider group of people who have all been affected by the same conduct.
By grouping claims together and pursuing them collectively, the overall value of the claim makes it economically worthwhile to do so, even if the value of individual claims are modest.
Initially, we will only require you to provide the information requested in the registration of interest form. At a later stage, we may get in touch with you to request further information.
You will not be exposed to any out-of-pocket costs or adverse costs orders as a result of your participation or registration of interest.
What can I do if I've been affected?
Those impacted by the incident are advised to contact reputable sources for information. You should not use non-government sites to check if your data has been exposed. Reputable sources include:
We otherwise encourage you to have heightened awareness across your accounts, including:
- Looking out for any suspicious or unexpected activity across your online accounts, including your bank accounts. Make sure to report any fraudulent activity immediately to the related provider.
- Look out for contact from scammers who may have your personal information. This may include suspicious emails, texts, phone calls or messages on social media.
- Never click on any links that look suspicious and never provide your passwords, or any personal or financial information.
- If people call you posing as a credible organisation and request access to your computer, always say no.
We are here to help. Make an enquiry now.
If you have a question about the class action, make an enquiry now. Please note we are currently experiencing a high volume of enquiries. Our team will be in touch as soon as possible.