AUSTRALIA DEMANDS OPTUS PAY FOR NEW CUSTOMER ID DOCUMENTS

Australia's federal and state governments called for Optus to pay for replacing identification documents including passports and driver's licenses to avoid identity fraud after 9.8 million of the telecommunications company's customers had personal data stolen by computer hackers.

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The Australian government has blamed lax cybersecurity at Optus for last week's unprecedented breach of current and former customers' personal information.

Most at risk of identity theft are the 2.8 million customers who had driver's licenses and passport numbers stolen.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected opposition lawmakers' calls for the government to waive the costs of replacing compromised Optus customers' passports.

"We believe that Optus should pay, not taxpayers," Albanese told Parliament.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong wrote to Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin requesting her "earliest confirmation" that the Sydney-based company would pay for vulnerable customers' passports.

"There is no justification for these Australians or for taxpayers more broadly on their behalf to bear the cost of obtaining a new passport, Wong wrote.

Optus did not immediately reply to a request for comment.