The Spam Act 2003 is Australian law that regulates unsolicited commercial electronic messages, including email, SMS, MMS and instant messages. It is administered by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
It sets three core rules. Messages must be sent with the recipient's consent, which may be express or in some cases inferred from an existing relationship. They must clearly identify the sender with accurate contact details. And they must include a functional unsubscribe facility, which the sender must honour within five business days.
Retailers and hospitality venues are affected whenever they send promotions, newsletters, offers or loyalty messages. Purely transactional messages, such as a receipt or booking confirmation, are treated differently from marketing, though adding promotional content to them can change that. Voice calls fall under the separate Do Not Call Register rules.
Keep records of how and when each person consented, never buy or scrape lists, and make unsubscribing simple. Penalties can be significant, and ACMA has issued fines to well-known businesses. Pre-ticked boxes and unclear consent are a frequent problem. This is general information only, so seek legal advice about your own situation.
Compliant messaging protects your sender reputation as well as meeting the law. RetailCare's marketing services build consent and unsubscribe handling into email and SMS campaigns.