1 February 2007
ACMA awards contract for Do Not Call Register
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has selected a fully owned subsidiary of Melbourne-based Service Stream Limited to build and operate the Do Not Call Register until February 2011.
The Do Not Call Register will enable individuals with Australian fixed line and mobile numbers to list their fixed and mobile telephone numbers on the register and opt out of receiving a wide range of telemarketing calls. ACMA will retain responsibility for overseeing the register’s operation and investigating breaches of the Do Not Call Register legislation.
The Do Not Call Register is being established in response to the increasing levels of community concern about the growth in unsolicited telemarketing calls.
Service Stream Solutions Pty Ltd was awarded the contract following a competitive tender process and has proposed a solution that ACMA believes will be easy to use for individuals wanting to register their telephone numbers. ACMA concluded that Service Stream has the resources, technical skills and experience to operate the register and its bid was assessed as providing value for money.
A listed company on the Australian Stock Exchange, Service Stream is headquartered in Melbourne and has a national workforce of 3000 people.
The Do Not Call Register is expected to be fully operational by no later than the end of May 2007. From that time, it will be unlawful, in the absence of consent, for any non-exempt telemarketer in Australia or overseas to contact a number listed on the register.
The Do Not Call Register legislation provides for telemarketers to submit their calling lists for checking against the Do Not Call Register.
ACMA has also released for public comment a draft determination setting out the arrangements for telemarketers accessing the register.
Copies of the draft determination are available on the ACMA website at: www.acma.gov.au/donotcall. Written responses to the draft determination are due no later than Friday 23 February 2007.
Submissions should be sent to:
Manager, Do Not Call Taskforce
ACMA
PO Box 13112 Law Courts
Melbourne Vic 8010
Or by email to: donotcalltaskforce@acma.gov.au
Media contact: Donald Robertson, ACMA Media Manager, on (02) 9334 7980.
Backgrounder
Legislation to establish the Do Not Call Register scheme received Royal Assent on 30 June 2006. The Australian Government introduced the legislation in response to the increasing level of community concern about the growth in unsolicited telemarketing calls.
The government announced funding of $33.1 million over four years for developing and implementing the Do Not Call Register scheme.
Under the Do Not Call Register legislation, ACMA is responsible for establishing and overseeing the operation of the Do Not Call Register and for developing and establishing a national standard for minimum levels of conduct by telemarketers.
The Do Not Call Register will allow individuals to register their home and mobile numbers in order to opt out of receiving a wide range of unsolicited telemarketing calls. There will be no cost to the applicants for registering their telephone numbers on the register.
The legislation allows a number of limited exemptions to the prohibition to enable certain public interest organisations to make telemarketing calls. Exemptions also apply where the account holder has consented to a call or where consent can be reasonably inferred.
Telemarketers will pay a fee determined by ACMA for accessing the register. Full cost recovery of the register’s operating costs is intended to occur from January 2011.
For more information about the legislation, refer to the Explanatory Memorandum to the Do Not Call Register Bill 2006 at www.comlaw.gov.au
Tender for establishment and operation of Do Not Call Register
On 5 October 2006, ACMA called for tenders for the development and operation of the national Do Not Call Register. The tender period closed on 2 November 2006.
Service Stream Solutions Pty Ltd (a fully owned subsidiary of Service Stream Limited) was selected as the preferred tenderer in December 2006. Negotiations were recently successfully concluded. Service Stream is contracted to operate the Do Not Call Register for an initial four-year period, for $12.1 million (excluding GST), with an option for an additional three years, and is responsible for:
building, commissioning, keeping, operating and administering the register
promoting and raising awareness of the register, and
handling complaints and enquiries about the register’s operation.
ACMA will continue to be responsible for overseeing the register’s operation and investigating breaches of the Do Not Call Register legislation.
As part of its consumer and industry education program, ACMA will be working closely with Service Stream to raise awareness of the register.
Draft Do Not Call Register (Access to Register) Determination 2007
The Do Not Call Register Act 2006 provides for telemarketers to submit their calling lists for checking against the Do Not Call Register. The proposed arrangements for submitting telephone lists for washing to the register operator are set out in the draft Do Not Call Register (Access to Register) Determination 2007. The draft determination explains:
how a list of telephone numbers is to be submitted to the register operator for washing, and
how the register operator must inform telemarketers which numbers on a list submitted for washing are registered or not registered on the Do Not Call Register.
ACMA has released the draft determination for public comment.
