Don't send SPAM!
The Australian spam act
New laws combating spam in AustraliaSince the 10th of April 2004, the new Australian SPAM Act passed in parliament late last year has become effective. This means that there are now laws in place prohibiting the distribution of spam, and imposing large penalties on those who do not comply by these laws.
The SPAM Act in summary:
What is spam? According to the SPAM Act, spam is any 'unsolicited electronic message'. This includes emails, instant messaging and SMS.
Even a single email can be SPAM. Messages do not have to be sent or received in bulk to be considered SPAM.
To be effected by the SPAM Act, the message must be commercial in nature, for example:
- Offering a commercial transaction
- Directing the recipient to a location where a commercial transaction can take place.
- Not all commercial electronic messages are considered SPAM - only those sent without the prior consent of the recipient - i.e. unsolicited.
How to comply?To comply with the new laws, the following steps must be adhered to:
- Consen
Your commercial messages should only be sent when you have consent.
- Identify
Your commercial messages should always contain clear and accurate identification of who is responsible for sending the message, and how they can be contacted.
- Unsubscribe
All commercial electronic messages must contain a functional unsubscribe facility, allowing people to opt-out from receiving future messages. Such a request must be honoured.
It is important to be aware of the new laws and to consider what implications they could have on your business.
