Optus and Officeworks will put up to $500 towards your new phone (if you're willing to commit)

By Anula Wiwatowska

Last updated 02 February 2022

If you’re up for it, Officeworks will give you a hefty discount on a new handset if you commit to an Optus plan for a year or two.

When you buy an eligible new phone, outright through this Officeworks portal you’ll get access to five exclusive Optus plans. Two of these plans will enter you into a 24-month contract, while the other three will only lock you in for the year. The more you spend, and the more time you are willing to commit to Optus, the greater the discount you will get in exchange.

Here are how the plans stack up:

Monthly price	GB per month	Handset discount	Contract	5G access
$49	40GB	$100	12-months	No
$69	100GB	$300	12-months	Yes
$89	200GB	$400	12-months	Yes
$69	100GB	$400	24-months	Yes
$89	200GB	$500	24-months	Yes

Each of these contracts includes Endless Data capped at 1.5Mbps, if you happen to blow through the generous data inclusions. They do not however include any international call inclusions - these can be bought as an additional add-on through the My Optus app if required.

If you decide to cancel the contract while still within the minimum term, you’ll be required to pay 50% of the plan charges remaining on the term. So if you cancel six months into a 12-month plan, then you’ll need to pay out the equivalent of three months.

For reference, here are Optus' Optus Choice Plans.

#1	Optus	Optus $55 Optus Choice Plus Plan 50GB data Optus 5G in selected areas (exc NT) with a 5G device $55/mth Min. cost $55 Go to Site	$55/mth Min. cost $55	Go to Site
#2	Optus	Optus $65 Optus Choice Plus Plan 200GB data Optus 5G in selected areas (exc NT) with a 5G device $65/mth Min. cost $65 Go to Site	$65/mth Min. cost $65	Go to Site
#3	Optus	Optus $79 Optus Promo Plan 360GB data Optus 5G in selected areas (exc NT) with a 5G device Deal: Get up to $10/mth SubHub credit to use on your favourite subscriptions for 12 months. T&Cs apply. $69/mth Min. cost $69 Go to Site	$69/mth Min. cost $69	Go to Site
#4	Optus	Optus $85 Optus Choice Plus Plan 400GB data Optus 5G in selected areas (exc NT) with a 5G device SubHub: Receive up to $20/mth SubHub credit when you have an active SubHub account with subs greater than $0. T&Cs apply $85/mth Min. cost $85 Go to Site	$85/mth Min. cost $85	Go to Site

Each of these exclusive offers are more expensive month-to-month than Optus’ Choice Plans. For example, 200GB costs $65 per month directly through Optus, but will set you back $89 with these deals. So the question is whether the discounts make up for the lost dollar value across the life of a plan.

For the sake of comparison, we’ll break down the numbers on Optus’ cheapest options across the minimum contract term, both direct from the provider and through this deal. We will also do a direct comparison of the 200GB plans since this is the only instance where the GB allowances line up.

There are plenty of handsets available, ranging from budget phones starting under $200, through the Apple, Samsung, and Google flagships. For argument’s sake we’ll take a look at the iPhone 13 Pro below.

	Handset	Outright Price	Handset discount	Minimum contract term	Monthly plan price	total cost
Officeworks deal	iPhone 13 Pro (128GB)	$1,697	$100	12 months	$49	$2,185
Direct from Optus	iPhone 13 Pro (128GB)	$1,697	$0	12 months	$45	$2,237
Officeworks deal	iPhone 13 Pro (128GB)	$1,697	$400	12 months	$89	$2,365
Direct from Optus	iPhone 13 Pro (128GB)	$1,697	$0	12 months	$65	$2,477

Over the course of a 12 month repayment period, you'd end up saving a between $50 and $112 across the term if you opt for the Officeworks deal. If you can swing the initial outlay for the phone with the discount, and you’re happy to stick with Optus for a year in exchange then this will end up saving you some money.

Plus after a year you can always switch to a cheaper mobile plan elsewhere.