• long running

Free Replacement of Passport for Eligible Optus Data Breach Customers @ Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

3223
Free Replacement of Passport for Eligible Optus Data Breach Customers @ Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Go to Deal
Taegukgi on 30/09/2022 - 12:57 passports.gov.au (14956 clicks)
Last edited 14/10/2022 - 19:06 by 4 other users

For those affected by the Optus data breach.

Announcement by Anthony Albanese on Facebook.

An important update for all Australians on the Optus security breach.

After actions taken by myself, Penny Wong - Senator for SA and Clare O'Neil MP, Optus has agreed to pay for replacement passports for those affected by the data breach.

From DFAT page:

If I decide to get a new passport, will I need to cover the cost?

Optus has indicated it will cover the costs of replacing affected customers’ passports. On 30 September, the Prime Minister confirmed that Optus will cover costs for affected customers wishing to receive a new passport due to the breach. The APO is working with Optus to finalise these arrangements. Optus will contact customers that are affected.

Update 14-Oct-2022

Information copied from the Optus Website regarding passport information

Do I need to replace my Passport?

For Australian passport holders, the advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is that you do not need to replace your passport.

For New Zealand passport holders with concerns, contact New Zealand Internal Affairs (NZIA).

For International Passport holders, Optus is working with the Department of Home Affairs to provide advice to these customers. You will be contacted if you need to take any action.

To help you identify the numbers this article refers to, please visit our ID Document Number reference guide.

Australian Passport Holders

There are four groups of customers with Australian passport information exposed. If Optus contacts you, we will notify you of the group to which your circumstances relate.

If you remain concerned, for Australian Passport holders there are specific circumstances where we will provide reimbursement to eligible customers to replace their passport. This process will be formalised in the coming week. Please contact us then for more information.

Please read the website for more information at https://www.optus.com.au/support/cyberattack/passport-inform…

Travel Passport

Related Stores

Australian Passport Office
Australian Passport Office
Optus
Optus

Comments

  • dust on 30/09/2022 - 12:58
    +204

    This is going to make the already long wait times for passports even longer.

          • poppingtags on 30/09/2022 - 14:03
            +130

            @vodamerc: or forums with basic decency

            • Clear on 30/09/2022 - 14:08
              +29

              @poppingtags: Unless it involved Scott Morrison when he was PM. An exception was always made.

              • morse on 01/10/2022 - 04:39
                +2

                @Clear: Oh, I didn’t get the memo to stop now he’s not PM.

                • Clear on 02/10/2022 - 10:10
                  -2

                  @morse: Turns out vodamerc was right.

                  • morse on 02/10/2022 - 14:27
                    +1

                    @Clear: It’s a joke 🙄 I’m pretty sure the former PM is okay 👌

            • bman20 on 30/09/2022 - 15:11
              +13

              @poppingtags: Name puns are indecent? Would it be indecent to say that this is an Albaneasy vote grab?

              • Bren20 on 30/09/2022 - 15:14
                +9

                @bman20: Puns work better when they don't directly reference stereotypes

                • bman20 on 30/09/2022 - 15:24
                  +7

                  @Bren20: Not sure if you have misused the word stereotype or there is some commonly held incorrect view held of Wong's being wrong that I am unaware of? It's a pun…

                  • Bren20 on 30/09/2022 - 15:24
                    +9

                    @bman20: chinese people dropping 'r' in words

                    • bman20 on 30/09/2022 - 15:27
                      +6

                      @Bren20: Eh. I am glad my mind simply sees this as an innocent name pun.

                    • FarKen on 30/09/2022 - 19:04
                      +1

                      @Bren20: Pretty sure I Penny Wong is Malaysian of origin.

                      • ToBe on 30/09/2022 - 21:05
                        +8

                        @FarKen: There are Malays, Chinese, Indians, and others of Malaysian origin. Guess which one Senator Wong belongs to.

                    • ruku on 08/10/2022 - 14:48

                      @Bren20: That's Japanese.

          • Nom on 30/09/2022 - 14:15
            +53

            @vodamerc:

            on left leaning online forums

            Not this crap again.

            Most people sit fairly centrally on the political spectrum - they are not "left leaning" just because they don't lean right ! This is just nonsense perpetuated by the same groups who think there's two sides that vehemently oppose each other.

            In reality there's the left, the right, and then a whole bunch of normal people in the middle who didn't even know the two sides were supposed to be "at war".

              • harro112 on 30/09/2022 - 14:27
                +27

                @vodamerc: ah yes the "quiet australians"

              • jorf on 30/09/2022 - 15:03
                +17

                @vodamerc:

                The right tend to keep their mouths shut and thoughts to themselves until voting day.

                You mean the same "right" that creates themselves little safe spaces like r/conservative where they can ban anyone who doesn't agree with them? Or the Murdoch-owned media who spew anti-Labor vitriol to people who can't avoid it because they own 90% of the media in this country? Lol.

                The reason you see "left wing" opinions out in the open so much is because that's what most regular people think.

                • 2ndeffort on 03/10/2022 - 00:44

                  @jorf: You can't classify people that way, there are nutcases in both left and right camps. The further you go in either direction the more nutcases you find. For every Pauline Hanson there is a Lydia Thorpe etc. If there's some little conservative group you don't like, I can guarantee you there is a left wing one somewhere just as bad. Most of the regular people I know think of one issue as being stupidly woke and way over the top political correctness (conservative right wing) then on another issue they think is something just to line the pockets of rich people (left wing). People swing back and forth depending on the issue. The people I dislike are the true believers in either direction, the activists.

                  • jorf on 04/10/2022 - 08:57

                    @2ndeffort: Except I can. I'm not talking about the extremes. You can ask most people in this country a range of questions about how they feel about certain topics, such as racism, gender equality, gay rights, accessible healthcare, environmental protections etc, and most of those people will choose the left-leaning opinion on it. And really, calling it left-leaning or left-wing isn't even correct, because it should just be normal thinking. If you don't think like this, you should evaluate who you really are as a person.

            • Ghost47 on 30/09/2022 - 15:09
              +2

              @Nom:

              they are not "left leaning" just because they don't lean right !

              QFT.

              The RWNJs out there who think that people asking for more equality are crazy lefties asking to be given everything on a silver platter are toxic people who shouldn’t breed.

            • tmo793 on 03/10/2022 - 17:20

              @Nom: No, OC was right, only lefty hippy cat-owners are interested in bargains. Meanwhile my alt-right dog and I are going to the anti-bargain store. Telstra.

            • burndoggy on 07/10/2022 - 16:49

              @Nom: Yeah…I am just here for the bargains…I wasn't aware that a political leaning was key when it comes to saving a few bucks.

          • p1 ama on 30/09/2022 - 15:50
            +8

            @vodamerc:

            You can't say stuff like that on left leaning online forums lol

            Am I the only one who finds this hugely ironic?

            I never get this victim mentality, what do you mean by he "can't say stuff like that"? He literally just said it before you replied…

          • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 15:51

            @vodamerc: Its sunny outside today and they can go to the park to hug a tree and feel better

        • KeplersLaws on 30/09/2022 - 14:12
          +17

          dry pun, but definitely not racist or indecent (coming from an asian). folks should simmer down

          • Tamtu on 30/09/2022 - 14:49
            +36

            @KeplersLaws: Coming from another Asian, I do indeed find this racist. I don't think making jokes based on "weird" non-English names is in good taste.

            I don't think "folks should simmer down" either. I appreciate people standing up for decency.

            • Circly on 30/09/2022 - 14:52
              -3

              @Tamtu: You're always going to offend someone.

              • dtc on 30/09/2022 - 15:08
                +12

                @Circly: Only if you act offensively.

              • JeBs on 30/09/2022 - 15:09
                +2

                @Circly: When your comment is racist there’s more than just someone who will be offended. Racist conduct is illegal in pretty much every facet of civilised society. The comment about in relation to Penny, was racist in every sense of the word.

            • Ghost47 on 30/09/2022 - 15:04
              +27

              @Tamtu: Agreed.

              Asians who don’t find this kind of thing racist must be fine with being made fun of, or indoctrinated by Western society to the point that they’re a banana (I.e. white on the inside and yellow on the outside).

              But hey making fun of Asians is basically a norm in Western countries. Glad to see an Asian who actually stands up for themselves and doesn’t laugh at their own identity because the White man says it’s funny.

              Reminds me of this incident 1-2 months back. Guy’s a legend for standing up for himself and not taking sh*t from yet another racist who probably loves travelling to SE Asia.

              • whyisave on 30/09/2022 - 16:42
                +1

                @Ghost47:

                making fun of Asians

                who does "Asians" refer to in this case?
                because that's a very, very wide net

              • p1 ama on 30/09/2022 - 20:56
                +9

                @Ghost47:

                Asians who don’t find this kind of thing racist must be fine with being made fun of, or indoctrinated by Western society to the point that they’re a banana (I.e. white on the inside and yellow on the outside)

                I think this is missing the point. Most of the time, people choose not to stand up to racism because of legitimate fears, not because they are a "banana" or because they are "indoctrinated".

                Unfortunately there are still many instances in society where standing up to racism has very negative consequences and we should be working to eliminate those, not blame those who themselves are victims of racism.

                As an Asian, many times I've chosen to "laugh" at a joke, not because I enjoy being made fun of, but because it's not a battle I want to engage in at that point in time. Laughing it off and telling yourself it's okay is a coping mechanism that sometimes I feel I need to be able to move on and live another day.

                I have Asian friends who have chosen to not stand up to racism for fear of losing their job, for losing opportunities, even for fear of physical harm. They laugh it off and tell themselves it's okay, not because that's how they really feel, not because they're bananas, not because they're indoctrinated, but because in some situations, that's the only choice.

                I would love to crusade against all that is wrong and unjust in the world, but sometimes I also just want to avoid conflict, go home and play video games in peace.

                Also important to note that picking every battle and jumping up and down at every opportunity you get to point out racism doesn't mean you're doing anything to stop it. As an example, a firm a family member of mine worked at fired someone for saying slanderous racist things, but turns out the entire leadership team of 50+ people are all white. I don't know about you, but the true test of racism is not whether they fired that guy, but whether Asians have the same opportunities at their firm. Right?

                • 6f0edd329de61a3ce4aa on 01/10/2022 - 00:19
                  +5

                  @p1 ama: I get the nuance of what you're trying to say, especially when it involves that implicit peer pressure from real-life settings. I've been guilty of that whilst growing up myself.

                  That being said, my pet peeve is someone going out of their way to post on the internet about how they're not personally offended about racist shit. They might as well just cut to the chase and proclaim "I'm one of the good ones" instead.

                  • p1 ama on 01/10/2022 - 08:37

                    @6f0edd329de61a3ce4aa:

                    That being said, my pet peeve is someone going out of their way to post on the internet about how they're not personally offended about racist shit. They might as well just cut to the chase and proclaim "I'm one of the good ones" instead.

                    Sure, but my point is to understand why one has to come out and say that they are not offended. It's usually not because they support racism, but because it's a coping mechanism that they have to employ to be able to move on with their lives.

                    • Ghost47 on 02/10/2022 - 13:24

                      @p1 ama:

                      Sure, but my point is to understand why one has to come out and say that they are not offended. It's usually not because they support racism, but because it's a coping mechanism that they have to employ to be able to move on with their lives.

                      I disagree completely that it's a coping mechanism. A coping mechanism is laughing it off. Going around saying "I'm Asian, this is fine" is monkey behaviour that seeds further racist remarks and is toxic to everyone who is Asian. I would say it's basically simping for White people.

                • Ghost47 on 02/10/2022 - 13:12
                  +2

                  @p1 ama:

                  I think this is missing the point. Most of the time, people choose not to stand up to racism because of legitimate fears, not because they are a "banana" or because they are "indoctrinated".

                  Not sure you got my point, which is that you can choose to let this kind of thing go and also at the same time not be fine with this sort of behaviour.

                  Being fine with this behaviour and at the same time also saying "I'm Asian, this is fine" is not the right thing to do and gives racists a green light to go ahead and continue with this sort of thing. It's not the same as keeping quiet (i.e. not picking a fight) and laughing it off which is what you're saying is in most times, the best course of action.

                  I'm not saying people should stand up at every single chance and start a fight to stop racism either because as you mentioned throughout your entire comment, self-preservation is also important to consider. I'm saying that Asians themselves should never say "I"m Asian, this is fine" when it inherently is not.

                  The main issue with KeplersLaws comment that I am pointing out is bolded below:

                  dry pun, but definitely not racist or indecent (coming from an asian). folks should simmer down

                  There is no subjectivity in the original comment; making fun of of someone's name (e.g. sum ting wong, ching chong ling long ting tong, ho lee fuk, insert Indian name slurs, insert Lebanese name slurs etc.) are all pejorative remarks aimed towards someone's name that doesn't conform to standards set in Western society and is unquestionably casual racism.

                  The part of my comment that is important to reiterate is "Asians who don’t find this kind of thing racist must be fine with being made fun of, or indoctrinated by Western society to the point that they’re a banana (I.e. white on the inside and yellow on the outside).". I'm not saying you can find this kind of thing racist, not be ok with it and you should always stand up to it. You can find this sort of thing racist, not be ok with it, and not stand up to it.

                  The issue is not finding this sort of thing racist, not standing up to it, being ok with it and speaking behalf of an entire group of people to say this is not racist or indecent, and to imply that every other Asian would be ok with it as if you have the authority to speak about racial issues.

                  Also important to note that picking every battle and jumping up and down at every opportunity you get to point out racism doesn't mean you're doing anything to stop it.

                  This seems like a very paradoxical statement. If someone simply says "that's not cool, don't be racist" to even a single person, they are "doing anything to stop it", aren't they? There is nothing wrong with starting small with this sort of thing. It's not like if you can't stop 50,000 people from being racist (or even reconsider their actions if they have any conscience at all) then you've failed.

                  TL;DR My point isn't to pick a fight every time about this, it's that saying "I'm Asian, this is ok" is idiotic to the nth degree. Maybe I was not clear enough about my point? I thought the "Asians who don't find this kind of thing racist" part of my comment was pretty obvious.

            • KeplersLaws on 30/09/2022 - 15:23
              -6

              @Tamtu: Excellent. Really appreciate it when folks “stand up for decency”, out of making a cheeky pun out of an Asian surname. Always start small steps for kindness, right? Want a free serve of floral decor with your idyllic pastel themed quote card?

            • JeBs on 30/09/2022 - 15:28
              +2

              @Tamtu: This forum has numerous racists. But you will see from the above downvotes, they are indeed in the minority.

              On a side note, it doesn’t help lessen racism when you have majority white judges in our court system, essentially defending racist attitudes - the Erin Molan decision was a case in point.

            • jpsnail on 01/10/2022 - 10:12
              +1

              @Tamtu: So true, just because Asian Aussies or Aussies in general has a higher tolerance of casual racism (mainly because of attitudes like the poster regarded as the norm by the offending group) does not make a statement not racist.

          • ToBe on 30/09/2022 - 21:07
            +2

            @KeplersLaws: You don't get to speak for the rest of us. This is why whites like to say "white people are racist to others, Asians are racist to other Asians"

            • JLai on 30/09/2022 - 22:46
              +1

              @ToBe: Neither do you.

              • ToBe on 01/10/2022 - 09:37
                +1

                @JLai: Well aware, thank you

        • pformag on 30/09/2022 - 16:11

          classic. take my upvote

        • dwarves on 30/09/2022 - 18:49
          +1

          So many leftards on OzB. If you’d made a similar ScoMo reference you’d have the highest voted comment of all time

          • Nom on 30/09/2022 - 23:03
            +8

            @dwarves:

            So many leftards on OzB.

            You must have missed the roasting that the guy further up the thread got.

            Just because people lean left of you, doesn't mean they lean left.
            Most people are fairly central in their political views.

            If you find the majority to be skewed to one side, it's a pretty good indicator that your own view is far from centre…

          • lonewolf on 01/10/2022 - 00:42
            +8

            @dwarves: 100%, as a dark skinned "Asian" I find this really crazy. All these people calling it out as racist when i see so many white politician names being changed and made fun of but hey thats ok… Then even worse people coming on here saying that if you are asian and dont find it racist, there is a problem with you.. WTF, do these people also stand up when asians are racist to other groups or only when they think people are being racist to Asians.

            If you are against Racism, you fight it both ways, even when it benefits you and disadvantages another race. You DONT only stand up and cry FOUL when you think its against you. Thats not fighting racism, thats just trying to get benefits for yourself and using the Racism card.

            I have copped so much racism from the countries i lived in before Australia. And the most racism i copped was definitely not from white people….but from other Asians. Even in Australia, I cop more racism from other Asians than i do from australians. In Fact When i travel to Asian countries now and cop racism, ironically my asian friends dont stand up for me anywhere near as much as my white friends. ……

        • baldur on 30/09/2022 - 21:34
          -1

          She is like a netflix character.

          Lesbian
          Atheist
          Vegan
          Asian
          Feminist
          Environmentalist.

          (profanity) wokes.

      • JLai on 30/09/2022 - 22:55
        +1

        I don't understand the downvotes for this comment. Can someone enlighten me?

        • kehuehue on 01/10/2022 - 19:39

          Lol idk either, I'm not against passport renewals, but atleast they should've mentioned that they would do something about the long waits

    • John on 30/09/2022 - 14:34
      +5

      Yep, gonna add to my 5 months waiting time so far…..

      • Caped Baldy on 30/09/2022 - 20:42

        Might be worth checking. I got mine after two months. I didn't even get an express order.

        • John on 30/09/2022 - 22:38
          +2

          I did check. They are useless. They can’t even say what’s current expected waiting time. When I asked, “how am I supposed to plan for overseas trip”, their reply was “we suggest you don’t book until we inform you the passport is ready.”

          Absolutely garbage service tbh.

          • Caped Baldy on 01/10/2022 - 07:18

            @John: I couldn't even call through. Would get an automated message which would hang up

        • belbo on 01/10/2022 - 04:51

          When did you apply. Was it an adult or a kid? Was it a new passport or a renewal?

          • Caped Baldy on 01/10/2022 - 07:19

            @belbo: An adult renewal. I think it was around late June and received recently.

          • John on 01/10/2022 - 07:25

            @belbo: Kid, renewal, applied in May.

            • belbo on 06/10/2022 - 13:26

              @John: WTF?! May! That is ridiculous. Did you state the date of travel, were there any complicating factors - separated parents etc - and did you use their previous passport details for ID purposes?

              • John on 06/10/2022 - 13:52

                @belbo: Nothing complicated. Standard procedure. I don't think I have booked any flight when I applied so probably why they are taking their time. I should probably call them to advise my travel date so they will be in a bit of a rush

            • Purley23 on 30/10/2022 - 12:37

              @John: that's crazy, have you tried following up? I did two kid renewals on 6 July and they were sent to me on 9 August so barely more than a month later. I put no date of travel in either

    • Lister55 on 30/09/2022 - 14:35
      +5

      Oh noooooo… I applied for 3 kids passports in June.. and still waiting!!! Travel in early Nov…

      Good for passport breach people though.. (uh, including me)

    • Flying Ace on 30/09/2022 - 14:38

      Does anyone with first-hand experience know how long passports are actually taking at the moment? DFAT says 6 weeks, but is this actually the case?

      • dust on 30/09/2022 - 14:40
        +2

        Apologies for the news.com.au link but the fact that people are using Airtasker for people to stand in line for them to chase up their passport renewal would suggest that 6 weeks is bollocks.

      • yikes914 on 30/09/2022 - 14:52
        +3

        I lodged mine and my mum's application on 17/8, received the passports on 27/9. Both were on standard issue, with no priority processing. Guessing we got lucky

      • CrazyBuyer007 on 30/09/2022 - 15:44

        More like 7-8 weeks. Received 4 passports within 8 weeks (not prioritised)

      • pformag on 30/09/2022 - 16:13
        +1

        My brother applied in Early June and got it last week.

      • lunartemis on 30/09/2022 - 16:48

        I was told 6 weeks and got it after 3 weeks (back in June) but mine was renewal of a recently expired passport

      • humperdoo on 30/09/2022 - 18:43

        My friend just picked there's up after 13 weeks. The person next to them was getting an emergency one after losing it 3 days prior. Both collected the same day

      • Broos on 30/09/2022 - 19:24

        Applied for my toddler in April and got it two weeks ago.

      • basicbb on 01/10/2022 - 02:09

        Applied for my toddlers one and got it shipped within less than a week but we paid express $3xx.

      • nigel deborah on 01/10/2022 - 06:41

        Mine took six weeks on the dot. Wait times get a lot longer for initial issue, children's passports, and applications with errors, apparently.

        If you have travel booked within 2 months I would be paying for priority processing.

      • CaptainCricket on 03/05/2023 - 08:39

        Literally 2 days + 3 days in shipping. My wife just recently got passport shipped email after 2 days of sending the docs. And passport was delivered after 3 days. Standard.

        • sicaboy on 03/05/2023 - 09:01

          Did Optus reimbursed it?

    • isthatallyougot on 07/10/2022 - 09:04

      What wait times ? My wife applied on the 16th Sep and the postman dropped it off yesterday.

  • sampson on 30/09/2022 - 13:00
    +31

    How about international passport holders?

    • TimeOrMoney on 30/09/2022 - 13:02
      +1

      Did Optus accept non-Australian passports for ID?

      • ldt on 30/09/2022 - 13:02
        +21

        Yes.

      • ninohax on 30/09/2022 - 13:41
        +4

        obviously yes

      • Rick James18 on 30/09/2022 - 14:01
        +7

        Yes and yes they have been leaked.

      • tc423 on 30/09/2022 - 13:12
        +41

        Don't think they can issue foreign passports.

          • Larsson on 30/09/2022 - 13:20
            +24

            @jv: this comment is a waste of space and clutters the conversation mate…

            • jv on 30/09/2022 - 13:22
              +19

              @Larsson:

              this comment is a waste of space

              Then why did you post it?

              • Larsson on 30/09/2022 - 13:44
                +4

                @jv: Because looks like you are unable to comprehend this is a serious issue for some people and you are not contributing anything meaningful to the conversation and just convoluting it on your own?

                It's quite obvious because you keep doing it, at least delete your main comment so all these are also removed so people can scan the convo here easier to find relevant info….

                • jv on 30/09/2022 - 13:53
                  +5

                  @Larsson:

                  this is a serious issue for some people

                  😲

                  chill…

                • jv on 30/09/2022 - 13:55
                  +3

                  @Larsson:

                  easier to find relevant info….

                  relevant info is in the description of the post.

                  everything else is just banter and opinions.

                  • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 15:12
                    +10

                    @jv: This isn't banter, it's borderline spam.. aside from other things

              • hypie on 30/09/2022 - 13:52

                @jv: 🤣

              • BankstownMoeyDW on 30/09/2022 - 22:18
                -1

                @jv:

                Then why did you post it?

                Haha. I usually just autopilot downvote all your comments, but I had to upvote this one.

      • baldur on 30/09/2022 - 16:11
        +2

        There's a thin line between clever trolling and plain stupidity.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join