What the new Spam Act means for your business

On 11 April 2004, new legislation will come into effect that will make spam illegal under Australian law.

Businesses who breach the Spam Act and continue to send out spam could find themselves subject to penalties of up $1.1million for each day of infringement.

Generally, the Act means that you are prohibited from sending unsolicited commercial electronic messages that have an Australian link. This can be interpreted as any message that is sent from, or received within, Australia.

More specifically, your business's commercial electronic messages must:

1. Contain accurate sender information
2. Not be sent without the recipient's express or implied consent
3. Offer the facility for the recipient to opt-out or unsubscribe from future correspondence.

An important point for marketers to note is that the new law also prohibits the acquisition or use of email address lists.

Businesses should be aware that the new legislation is not limited to just emails. 'Electronic messages' also includes SMS (Short Message Service), MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) and IM (Instant Messaging) communications. But at the moment, it does not appear to include standard phone or fax messaging.