You have been at the helm for eight months. How is Optus making progress in its goal to rebuild its position as Australia’s leading challenger telecommunications brand?
Since joining Optus in November 2024, I have made it a priority to engage with our customers, partners, government representatives, regulators, investors and the broader community. In speaking with them, it is clear there is a deep desire for Optus to succeed and a strong belief in the role we play in providing choice in telecommunications for all Australians.
While we have faced some significant challenges in recent years, I see our commitment to providing a clear choice for customers as a starting point for meaningful transformation. We are now focused on reigniting our challenger mindset and redefining what Australians expect from their telco.
Our plan is anchored around resilience, growth, and simplification and efficiency — three priorities that will shape the next chapter of Optus. In FY2025, we saw encouraging progress: strong momentum in mobile, growing our customer base by 238,000 in the full year, leading market share in major device launches and the introduction of integrated multiproduct offers to our customers. We also gave new customers a reason to try us, with a seven-day free mobile trial on our award-winning network.
We have continued to build our use of AI to make life easier for our customers and employees. Our 5G home and roaming services are building a more seamless experience, and we are gaining traction in Enterprise, Small Business and Wholesale, with standout partnerships, including our largest yet with Services Australia, a significant customer-focused arm of the Federal Government.
We also announced our continued collaboration with HOYTS to deliver an improved and fully immersive connective cinema experience utilising Optus’ network solutions. The streamlined customer experience includes ticket sales, in-cinema food and drink orders and flexible payment options, which increasingly rely on a secure and dependable network. HOYTS’ self-service channels now account for three out of every four transactions, with customers preferring to purchase tickets online and through digital kiosks, meaning a robust and reliable network solution has never been more important.
The challenger ethos further extends to our partnership with Aussie Broadband, where we have signed an agreement to extend the current wholesale mobile partnership for another five-year term. The partnership provides Aussie Broadband customers with full access to Optus’ mobile network, premium 5G and Fixed Wireless Access services, creating even more mobile choices for Australians, particularly in regional areas.
In regional Australia, our network sharing arrangement with TPG Telecom is helping us fast-track our 5G roll-out, part of a broader effort to improve the reliability, speed and capacity of our 5G network.
In the area of community efforts, Optus’ Localisation team made a meaningful impact across Australia by enhancing community engagement, deepening relationships and building trust. Teams across Optus worked together to keep customers connected as ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred impacted southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales.
Being a challenger is not just about price or product. It is about offering real choice and standing for something different across our key market segments. That is what we are doing across our brand portfolio, including amaysim, which continues to grow through its NBN expansion and acquisition of the Australian customer base of Circles.Life.
With a clear strategy, the right focus and a team of committed people, I am confident we will consolidate Optus’ position as Australia’s top telco challenger brand. Competition drives better outcomes for all Australians, and we are determined to play our part.
You very quickly introduced “championing the customer” as a key element of Optus’ purpose. What does that mean for your customers?
For Optus to truly champion the customer, we must ensure we are a company that consistently puts people and the systems, processes and products that support them at the centre of every decision we make.
We have an extensive programme of work underway to ensure we deliver on our promise to our customers. We will amplify our commitment to being transparent, proactive and accountable to our customers, owning every part of their experience, not just what happens at the frontline. Every part of our business, at every level, has a role to play. We are embedding that thinking into how we operate, holding ourselves accountable for the entire customer journey, from network reliability and billing clarity to the way our people show up in the moments that really matter.
Supporting customers facing vulnerability remains a key priority for Optus. Our dedicated customer advocacy programmes are designed to ensure our services are accessible, inclusive and responsive for those doing it tough in the community.
We are also making it easier for customers to manage their products and get support. Whether online, in-store, or through My Optus app, we are focused on bundling value across fixed, mobile and devices to simplify life and deliver more.
At the same time, we are tackling legacy pain points like improving regional coverage, offering clearer and more proactive communication and investing in smarter digital journeys. This is a long-term commitment, but one that is central to earning back the trust of our customers.
What key initiatives is Optus undertaking to rebuild trust and deliver value to customers and stakeholders?
The biggest opportunity we have is to do better for our customers and stakeholders, and do it consistently. That starts with regaining trust. We are focused on the fundamentals: exceptional service, reliable infrastructure, competitive offers and disciplined cost and capital management. By doing these well, we earn the right to grow.
We are also focused on increasing our return on invested capital by prioritising the markets where we can win, expanding bundling, reducing complexity and focusing our capital expenditure where it drives long-term value.
At the heart of all this are our people. I want to thank them sincerely for their hard work, their resilience and their willingness to embrace change. Their efforts are making a difference, and we know we are not done.
FY2026 will be about pushing forward with discipline and pace. We will create momentum while also continuing to simplify, operate more efficiently and invest in areas that matter to our customers and shareholders alike.
A strong, credible and resilient Optus is good for our customers — and good for Australia. That is the future we are building towards.
