Do Not Call Register – Information for the public

• Background
• Exemptions
• Consent
• Industry standard
• Making a complaint
• Scam calls 
• Media releases and announcements
  • Information sheets
  • Media releases 
  • Register statistics

Background

The Do Not Call Register has opened and individuals can register their home phone and mobile numbers. Registration is free.

The register was established in response to community concern about the growth in unsolicited telemarketing calls.  It enables Australians to list their fixed line and mobile telephone numbers, used primarily for private or domestic purposes to opt out of receiving certain telemarketing calls.

To register:

• Visit: www.donotcall.gov.au
• Telephone: 1300 792 958
• or download: Do Not Call Register postal registration form (144kb)

Registration may take up to 30 days to take effect.

Generally it is against the law to make unsolicited calls to a telephone number listed on the Do Not Call Register. This is subject to some limited exemptions which are outlined below.

Any business that calls a number on the register, or arranges for a call to be made to a number on the register, may be in breach of the legislation and could face penalties.

ACMA has also determined a national industry standard for telemarketing and research calls. Together, the register and industry standard are designed to regulate unsolicited calls in Australia.

Exemptions

While it is generally unlawful for telemarketing calls to be made to numbers listed on the register, there are some exemptions. Certain public interest entities are allowed to make specific types of calls to numbers on the register. These include:

• charities
• educational or religious organisations
• registered political parties and independent members of parliament
• electoral candidates
• government bodies.

Market and social researchers conducting opinion polling and standard questionnaire-based research calls are also permitted to call. However, these calls will be subject to the industry standard for telemarketing and research calls. Further information about exemptions is available.

Consent

In some circumstances it is legal for a business with which you have a relationship to continue to call you, even if your telephone number is on the Do Not Call Register. This can occur when you have consented to receive calls from the organisation.

Consent can either be given expressly, for example, by ticking a box on a form agreeing to receive calls, or it may be inferred. Inferred consent is where a business has reason to believe, on the basis of its relationship with you, that you are willing to receive calls. For example, if you hold an account with a bank, the bank could infer that you are willing to receive calls about its products and services.

Even if you have previously consented to receive calls from a business, you are able to withdraw your consent at any time by asking the business not to contact you again.

An information sheet about consent is available.

Industry standard

In addition to the register, ACMA has made the Telecommunications (Do Not Call Register) (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2007. The standard directs when and how telemarketers can contact individuals.

Specifically, it governs:

• the times at which telemarketing and research calls cannot be made
• information that must be provided by the caller including their name and business the termination of telemarketing and research calls and
• the use of calling line identification.

Under the industry standard, a caller must not make or attempt to make a call on:

There is an exception to the rules where consent has been given by the call recipient in advance to receive the call during the prohibited calling hours.

The standard commenced on 31 May 2007.

More information about the industry standard is available.

Making a complaint

Individuals who have listed their telephone numbers on the Do Not Call Register and receive a call from a telemarketer they believe is covered by the register can lodge a complaint by calling 1300 792 958 or by visiting the website at www.donotcall.gov.au.

In the first instance, all complaints will be assessed by the Do Not Call Register operator. Where a complaint can be resolved quickly, the register operator will respond to you directly.

More complex complaints will be referred by the register operator to ACMA for further consideration.

More information about ACMA's complaint handling and investigation arrangements is available.

Scam calls

ACMA would like to draw consumers' attention to the following types of scam calls that may be made to people who have listed their number on the Do Not Call Register.

'Dial 9' holiday, and other 'unexpected prize' calls

ACMA is aware of telemarketing calls offering unexpected prizes (often holidays), where the consumer is asked to dial another digit (often '9') to redeem the prize.

ACMA is taking steps to prevent the businesses responsible from calling registered numbers in the future, and has sought the assistance of other regulators in Australia and overseas to help achieve this result. It is difficult for ACMA to enforce Australian law for calls that have no link to an Australian company.

Calls offering to register your number for a fee

Some consumers have received calls from businesses offering, for a fee, the 'service' of adding their telephone numbers to the Do Not Call Register.

The Do Not Call Register is a free service. It provides a simple and straightforward process for consumers to register their own telephone numbers without payment.

Accepting an offer to have your number registered for a fee may result in you paying unnecessarily for a service you would be able to access yourself free of charge. If you require the assistance of another person to register your number, you can nominate another person (eg. a friend or relative) in writing to register the number on your behalf. A nomination form is available within the postal registration form above.

Calls seeking personal information

Some consumers have received calls from individuals claiming to represent the Do Not Call register asking for personal information in order to 'verify' the status of the consumer's registration.

Neither ACMA, nor Service Stream (the company contracted to operate the register on ACMA's behalf) make calls to consumers to verify the status of their registration. If you wouid like to verify the status of your own registration may do so by contacting the register operator directly on 1300 792 958 or, if you registered your number online, by visiting www.donotcall.gov.au.

ACMA may contact consumers in relation to its investigation of consumer complaints. In such cases, the caller will always identify themselves as calling from ACMA and quote the reference number that was provided to the consumer at the time of lodging their complaint.

Further information

Further information about how to protect yourself against telephone and other scams is available on the Scamwatch website operated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (www.scamwatch.gov.au).

Media releases and announcements

Information sheets

ACMA has produced a number of information sheets to help consumers understand specific parts of the Do Not Call legislation.

• Overview of the Do Not Call Register legislation
• Overview of the types of calls that are considered telemarketing calls
• Overview of calls that you could still receive, even after registering on the Do Not Call Register
• Overview of whether a telephone number is eligible to be registered on the Do Not Call Register
• Overview of the consent provisions that apply under the Do Not Call Register Act

• Overview of the complaints and investigation arrangements

Media releases

Media releases about the Do Not Call Register and telemarketing industry standard are available as follows: