Are you complying with Anti Spam laws?

According to the Australian Government, Department of Broadband Communications and Digital Economy, the "The Spam Act 2003 prohibits the sending of spam, which is identified as a commercial electronic message sent without the consent of the addressee via email, short message service (SMS), multimedia message service (MMS) or instant messaging. The requirements under the Spam Act apply to all commercial electronic messages, including both bulk and individual messages."

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has enforcement responsibility for the Spam Act. However, there is more to this law than just not sending without consent.

The three main things to remember are:

1. Consent - make sure you have consent to contact the recipient and can prove you have obtained it.
2. Identify - include accurate information to identify yourself or your organisation as the authorised sender of the message
3. Unsubscribe - make sure your messages have a functional unsubscribe facility, so that recipients can unsubscribe (also known as "Opt Out") at any time.

If you are broadcasting or engaging a 3rd party to do this for you, make sure you are familiar with all the Spam Act requirements.

Some organisations are exempt, such as charities, educational institutions and the government of course!

Read more on the Spam Act and Code of Practice here