Optus has pledged to reimburse data breach victims who replace their foreign passports.

The company said about 100,000 Australian passport numbers were stolen in the September breach, and had previously promised to cover the cost for Australians who chose to replace their passports.

However, until now, it had not made the same pledge to foreign passport holders.

"I'm not getting anything, no compensation, they're not going to replace my passport," Melbourne-based New Zealander Liam Quartly told ABC's 7.30 earlier this week.

"Initially, I was very angry … I still very much am. I'm concerned about the fallout financially … to replace all of these documents."

Optus customer service staff repeatedly ignored Mr Quartly's requests to pay to replace the identity document, telling him last month the company was "not able to reimburse the cost".

A 10-year New Zealand passport costs $NZ199 (around $AU182).

Following Tuesday night's story on the ABC's 7.30 program, the telco has now promised to also help customers whose foreign passport details were exposed.

"Impacted Optus customers who have chosen to replace their passport document are eligible for reimbursement," an Optus spokesperson told ABC's 7.30.

"Individuals who wish to request a replacement passport document will need to do so through the passport's issuing authority."

The company has declined to say how many foreign passport numbers it lost in the cyber-attack, which impacted almost 10 million current and former customers in total.

Foreign passport holders felt abandoned

For newcomers to Australia — including students, workers and tourists — signing up for a new phone number using their passport is often one of the first things they do.