$285,600 infringement notice paid by Lead My Way Pty Ltd for making telemarketing calls without consent
$50,400 infringement notice paid by Service Seeking Pty Ltd for sending marketing SMS without consent
Formal warnings issued to 3 businesses
5 investigations were finalised and 6 were commenced
857 contacts with businesses about compliance
The ACMA is responsible for the telemarketing and spam—unsolicited communications—consumer safeguards. This includes providing the Do Not Call Register (DNCR), promoting responsible industry practice and monitoring compliance and enforcement.
Approach
Our activities are graduated depending on the risk of harm and consumer impact. We:
- provide compliance information to businesses
- contact businesses to provide an opportunity to rectify compliance issues
- investigate serious, ongoing and systemic non-compliance
- take enforcement action where warranted.
We rely on intelligence from a variety of sources, including complaints from members of the public, reports, industry feedback and information from international regulators. We also gather intelligence through ‘shadow-shopping’, where the ACMA acts as a consumer to check compliance with regulations.
We also use intelligence to target particular industry sectors or issues that require priority attention. In 2018–19, our focus is on the solar telemarketing, financial services marketing and spam SMS.
The ACMA has also set two education priorities for 2018–19—making informed choices about how to give and withdraw consent and raising DNCR awareness among older Australians.
Enforcement
Enforcement action for breaches can include federal court-imposed civil penalties, ACMA-issued infringement notices, formal warnings and court-enforceable undertakings. Learn about enforcement powers for spam and telemarketing.
Enforcement outcomes in the quarter
| Organisation | Outcome | Details |
|---|---|---|
|
Lead My Way Pty Ltd
|
The business paid a $285,600 infringement notice for breaching section 11(1) of the Do Not Call Register Act 2006
|
The investigation commenced following consumer complaints. The ACMA found that the business had made one or more telemarketing calls over a nine-day period in August 2017 to numbers on the DNCR without consent. |
|
Service Seeking Pty Ltd
|
The business paid a $50,400 infringement notice for breaching section 16(1) of the Spam Act 2003
|
The investigation commenced following consumer complaints that concerned SMS marketing in 2017. The ACMA found that the business sent one or more SMS marketing messages to numbers obtained from an online directory without consent. The investigation also found that some of the messages did not include an unsubscribe statement and/or clearly identify the authoriser of the message. |
|
ReachTel Pty Ltd
|
The business was given a formal warning for breaching the Telemarketing Industry Standard 2017
|
The investigation commenced in response to consumer complaints that concerned calls made in 2018. The ACMA found that the business had made one or more research calls during prohibited calling times. |
|
Force Industries Pty Ltd
|
The business was given a formal warning for breaching section 16(1) of the Spam Act 2003
|
The investigation commenced following consumer complaints that concerned email marketing in 2017. The ACMA found that the business had sent one or more email marketing messages to numbers obtained from an online directory without consent. |
|
Helen Katherine Woods
|
The sole trader was given a formal warning for breaching section 16(1) of the Spam Act 2003
|
The investigation commenced following consumer complaints that concerned email marketing in 2017 and 2018. The ACMA found that the sole trader had sent one or more email marketing messages to numbers obtained from an online directory without consent. |
Investigation
We investigate where our intelligence indicates there may be a risk of harms to the public through serious, systemic or ongoing compliance issues.
Five investigations were finalised in the quarter and six were commenced. Three are ongoing. The average time to complete an investigation was four months.
Investigations finalised in the quarter
Investigation outcomes in the quarter
| Organisation* | Outcome | Details** |
|---|---|---|
|
Lead My Way Pty Ltd |
Breach of the DNCR Act |
The ACMA found that the business made telemarketing calls to numbers on the DNCR without consent. |
|
Comparison service provider |
Breach of the DNCR Act |
The ACMA found that the business made telemarketing calls to numbers on the DNCR without consent. |
|
Financial services provider |
No breach of the DNCR Act |
The ACMA found that the business did not call numbers on the DNCR during the period investigated. |
|
ReachTel Pty Ltd |
Breach of the Telemarketing Industry Standard |
The ACMA found that the business made research calls outside permitted calling times. |
|
Financial services provider |
Breach of the Spam Act |
The ACMA found that the business sent commercial email messages to consumers without consent. |
*The ACMA does not generally publish the names of entities that have not breached or where enforcement actions have not been finalised. **Full details of investigation findings and enforcement action taken will generally only be provided after public announcement.
Compliance contacts
We contact businesses directly about issues raised in complaints from the public where enough information is available to identify the responsible party. Multiple complaints can lead to one compliance contact by the ACMA.
Complaints and other information
Complaints from members of the public are a key source of intelligence that informs our actions.
*Telemarketing complaints include complaints about the DNCR and Telemarketing and Fax Marketing Industry Standards.
This quarter, key complaint trends included:
- 34.2% of complaints about telemarketing did not contain enough information to identify the caller, including instances where there was no information provided about the calling number.
- 28.1% of telemarketing complaints and 23.5% of spam complaints related to scams where the information, such as calling number or the name of the party, is often falsified.
- Solar, utilities (gas, water, electricity) and financial services continue to be the main areas of concern identified by consumers, particularly about telemarketing.
- Other areas of concern identified in spam complaints include marketing about recreational services, retail services and business services.
Industry (including email platforms) and members of the public can also provide the ACMA with intelligence about compliance through enquiries about spam or telemarketing, or by reporting spam emails or SMS directly to us. This information helps us to identify emerging compliance issues and trends.
Making a complaint and other information
Government, industry and the public all have important roles to play in ensuring unsolicited communications don’t unduly affect the lives of Australians. The ACMA is responsible for the consumer safeguards in the:
- Do Not Call Register Act 2006 (DNCR Act)
- Telecommunications (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2017 (Telemarketing Industry Standard)
- Fax Marketing Industry Standard 2011 (Fax Marketing Industry Standard)
- Spam Act 2003 (Spam Act).
Note: Corrections were made to the figures in the graphs on 9 August 2019, specifically 'Investigations finalised in the quarter' and 'Complaints and other intelligence.'
