With the launch of Donate Your Data, we’re now giving eligible Postpaid and Prepaid customers the opportunity to donate a portion of their monthly data allowance to young Australians in need.
As part of this program Optus provides a free Prepaid service which includes data and unlimited national talk and text to eligible participants via our charity partners. Your generous donations are then provided to these services to support young Australians in need.
To learn more about how your unused data will benefit young Australians in need, head to the Donate your Data FAQ page.
How does it all work?
Prepaid and Postpaid customers on selected rate plans are eligible to donate. You can donate your data multiple times per month via either the My Optus app (for Optus Postpaid customers) or via SMS (for Optus Prepaid customers). To find out how you can participate, see below.
Donated data will be distributed to young Australian’s in need identified by our charity partners, including The Smith Family.
Donate your Data participants
Eligible participants who’ve been identified through our charity partners will receive a free Prepaid SIM card. Participants can head here for more information about the program.
Donating as a Postpaid customer
Postpaid customers can donate via the My Optus app. Fleet customers and customers on Tech fund and Unleashed plans are not eligible to donate.
Eligibility criteria:
- All eligible consumer plans (Postpaid & Prepaid)
- Eligible SMB plans (SoHo/Micro Mobile plans)
- You’ll need to be registered for My Account and logged in via the My Optus app.
- Only the account holder will be able to submit a donation
- You must have at-least 6GB of data remaining in your data pool to donate. The maximum amount you can donate in one request is 10GB. Each donation must leave you with at least 5GB of remaining data in your Data Pool
Keep in mind: Postpaid customers must wait 12 hours before submitting another donation.
To donate, follow the steps below:
1. Once you’ve opened the My Optus app, tap the Donate Your Data banner
2. Chose the amount of data you’d like to donate (up to a maximum of 10GB)
3. After submitting your donation, you'll see a confirmation in-app
Note: The data is debited from your data pool and is reflected in your remaining data balance. Data usage information is typically updated every 4 hours.
Donating as a Prepaid customer
Eligibility criteria:
Customers on the below rate plans are eligible to donate:
- My Prepaid Ultimate
- My Prepaid Ultra
- My Prepaid Ultra Plus
- New Turbo Cap Plus
- Optus Crew Cap
- Optus Prepaid Cap
- Optus Prepaid Epic Data
- Optus Prepaid Epic Value
- Optus Prepaid Supercharge
- Prepaid Ultimate Plus
- Super Cap by Optus
- Turbo Cap Bonus
Keep in mind: Donations will be taken from MyData and cannot be donated from MyData Rollover. The maximum donation you can submit in one request is 5GB. You must have at least 2GB of data remaining on your service to donate, and selected donation options will be offered to you depending on your balance.
To donate, follow the steps below:
1. SMS the word donate to 4567
2. After recharging $30 or more, you’ll be sent an SMS asking if you’d like to donate data
3. Depending on your current data balance, you’ll be presented with different donation options; You will need to have a MyData balance of at least 2GB to be eligible to donate
4. You’ll receive a confirmation SMS after successfully submitting your donation
5. Donations will appear as usage when tracking your data via the My Optus app
6. Should you want to donate at any time between receiving reminder texts from us, simply text donate to 4567 and follow the prompts
Frequently asked questions
Q: Can I claim a tax deduction for my data donation?
A: Optus is not a deductible gift recipient (DGR). You should seek your own independent tax advice.
Q: Who will be receiving the data that is donated, and how is it shared?
A: Optus will donate your data to young Australians in need supported by Optus together with our charity partners including The Smith Family. Please refer to optus.com.au/donate-your-data for more details.
Q: Can I ask for my data to be donated to a different charity?
A: At this stage, data donations will be made to The Smith Family. We are however looking at working with other charity partners in the future so stay tuned!
Q: How do prepaid customers opt-out from receiving future Donate Your Data texts?
A: If you would like to opt-out of Donate your Data you can SMS ‘cancel’ to 4567 at any time.
Q: I cannot see the option to donate my data in the My Optus app?
A: In order to see the option to donate your data please ensure that you have the latest version of the My Optus app and are on an eligible plan.
Q: If I’m sharing data with my other Postpaid Mobile services including Postpaid Mobile Broadband on my account, will the donation be taken out of the data pool?
A: Yes, the donation will be taken out of your data pool. You will need to have a minimum of 6GB left in your data pool to be able to donate.
Q: What happens if I have donated too much data?
A: All data donations made through Donate your Data are final and cannot be reversed. Please consider your monthly data needs before donating. If you have donated in error, please contact us.
Q: Can I donate my data if I am a small business customer?
A: SoHo/Micro Mobile customers are now eligible to donate via the My Optus app.
Q: As a prepaid customer, what will happen if I respond with two donation amounts in my donation SMS?
A: Only one donation amount will be accepted for example if you respond with “2GB 1GB” 2GB will be accepted as your donation.
Q: If I am a recipient of Donate Your Data can I also donate data?
A: No, if you are currently a participant in the Donate Your Data program you are not eligible to donate your data.
Q: Does everyone get the same amount of data from Optus?
A: We ensure that all participants of Donate Your Data receive a comparable amount of data so they can all get the same opportunity to reach their full potential.
Q: Can I also donate money?
A: No, Donate Your Data is all about providing connectivity to those who need it most so they can realise their full potential.
Q: How do I know the data I give is going to the people that need it?
A: Optus is working closely with our charity partners, to ensure that the data you donate is going to those who need it most.
Q: How do you choose charity partners?
A: Optus works with charities and organisations that support Australians in need across a range of areas including education, employment, and hardship. The charities and organisations must be able to satisfy specific Risk and Governance processes to ensure that the data donations get to the people who need it most. Charities must have DGR1 status.
Q: How do charity partners choose recipients and how do I know they really need my data?
A: Each charity works with young people and families in need to determine the right level of support they require. All charities that Optus partner with have criteria to determine need and eligibility, and Optus is guided by charity partners as experts in their field.
Q: How much data is too much data? And what are you doing with the excess data?
A: We will be making sure that all data that is donated by our customers is donated to those who need it most through our charity partners. If we receive too much data to donate in one particular month, we will distribute the remaining data in subsequent months.
Q: Do I require a new number, or can I keep my existing number from another carrier?
A: If you’d like to get a new number, follow the standard Prepaid SIM activation process. If you wish to keep your existing number, you’ll receive a prompt asking if you’d like to keep your number.
Q: I have an existing Optus Prepaid mobile number; can I keep it?
A: Yes, you can. You’ll need to visit us in-store or call us on 133 937 to complete a SIM replacement using the specially marked ‘Donate your Data SIM card provided by your charity partner. Once we’ve replaced your SIM card, you’ll need to change your rate plan to the Optus Prepaid Epic Value plan (if you’re not already on the plan).
Note: We suggest using your remaining credit before switching across to the Optus Prepaid Epic Value plan. We will not refund any credit that you may have had before changing your plan. As long as you switch to the Optus Prepaid Epic data plan within 30-days of changing your SIM, you will remain eligible.
Q: I have an existing Optus Postpaid mobile number; can I keep it?
A: Yes, you can. You will need to contact us on 133 937. We’ll assist you with changing your Postpaid service to a Prepaid service. We’ll then be able to assist you with replacing your existing SIM with a Donate your Data’ SIM card.
Note: We will not waive any cancellation fees or existing device costs. If a cancellation fee or device payout fee applies, we’ll let you know before submitting the Postpaid to Prepaid transfer.
Awesome! @Paddylee
Just donated my first lot of 10GB. More to come 🙂
@Ray_YC , @Optus_Community you're up next.
If you've found my answer helpful, please mark it as a Accepted Solution and be generous with that Kudos button
This is a brilliant initiative, I easily have 40GB+ unused every month.
Just tried to make multiple donations but got the limited to once every 12 hours message *coughjustestingthatitworkedcough*.
Did we answer your question? Please mark it as a Accepted Solution and be generous with that Kudos button
Dave
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I’m a Yes Crowd Champion (not an Optus employee). I share my knowledge on Yes Crowd on a voluntary basis. If I answered your question, please mark it as a Accepted Solution. If I helped you out, hit that Kudos button
