Frequently asked questions
Spam
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What is spam?
Why is spam a problem?
What does the Australian legislation do?
As a marketer or business sending commercial emails, what should I do?
As an ISP, web-based email provider or other member of the internet
industry, what should I do?
As a consumer or business end-user, what can I do to reduce the spam I
receive?
Most spam comes from overseas. How effective will Australian legislation
be?
Where do I complain?
Useful links
What is spam?
For the purposes of Australian legislation, ‘spam’ refers to unsolicited commercial
electronic messages, regardless of their content.
‘Electronic messages’ includes email, instant messaging, SMS and MMS. It does not
include fax or voice telemarketing.
Why is spam a problem?
Spam has proliferated to such an extent that it is having a significantly negative effect
on users’ confidence in using email. Spam is measured at more than 50% of all
email traffic on the Internet. There are clear signs of a deleterious effect on the
performance of the global email network. The financial cost of spam to Australian
businesses is significant—in time wasted by employees deleting spam and in IT
resources employed trying to block it.
In addition to its basic impact on the use of email, there are often associated
concerns with the content of the spam if it is offensive or fraudulent, the manner in
which email addresses have been collected and the use of viruses to propagate
spam.
What does the Australian legislation do?
The Spam Act 2003 prohibits unsolicited commercial electronic messages with an
Australian link from 10 April 2004. Penalties for breach range up to $1.1 million per
day, in addition to orders for recovery of profits from spammers and payment of
compensation to victims. The supply or use of address-harvesting software or
harvested email lists for the purposes of sending spam is also prohibited.
The Act also requires that all commercial electronic messages include accurate
sender information and a functional unsubscribe facility.
To supplement and detail these basic legislative prohibitions and requirements, the
new legislation provides for the e-marketing industry to develop codes of practice
about e-marketing activities. The code will be registered with the ACA and the ACA
will be able to direct industry members to comply.
The internet industry is also developing codes of practice about the technological,
educational and commercial steps that the internet industry can take to help prevent
spam. The code will be registered with the ACA and the ACA will be able to direct
industry members to comply.
As a marketer or business sending commercial emails, what should I do?
If you are a business sending commercial emails, SMS or instant messaging, you
need to:
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Make sure you have consent;
Make sure you include accurate sender information; and
Make sure your emails have a functional unsubscribe facility.
Official guidelines for business setting out more detail are available in PDF (240kb).
The e-marketing industry is forming a body to develop a code of practice for emarketers to supplement the basic legislation, including complaints handling and
good compliance practices. Further information, including a link to the body, will be
placed here shortly.
For more detailed information about the requirements the Spam Act places on
business, see Spam - Information for Business.
As an ISP, web-based email provider or other member of the internet industry,
what should I do?
The internet industry can do a lot to assist in the fight against spam:
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Help stop Australian spammers – enforce your acceptable use policies; assist
the ACA in investigating spammers;
Impede the propagation of spam across the network – close open relays and
open proxies; provide filtering and security solutions to customers; work with
the rest of the industry and the ACA on other technical solutions;
Education – help educate consumers and business end-users on what they
can do to reduce spam.
The internet industry is forming a body to develop a code of practice about these and
other matters. Further information, including a link to the body, will be placed here
shortly.
As a consumer or business end-user, what can I do to reduce the spam I
receive?
There are many things you can do to reduce the amount of spam you receive.
1. Be careful when giving out your email address. In particular, consider
using a separate email address when signing up for newsgroups, chat rooms,
websites and online membership directories. You may wish to reserve your
main email address for personal messages.
2. Check privacy policies and consent forms when signing up for anything
online. Check to see whether you are giving permission to use your details
for other purposes. The office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner provides
advice on protecting your privacy (www.privacy.gov.au).
3. Get a filter. Your ISP may offer a filter service. If not, you may wish to buy
filtering software. The Internet Industry Association has a list of providers
(www.security.iia.net.au).
4. Ask your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or Web email service (ie.
Hotmail, Yahoo etc.) what they are doing against spam. Most Australian-
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based ISPs should be involved directly or through their industry association in
the development and implementation of a code of practice for the internet
industry about combating spam. If they are not, ask why not.
Improve your computer’s security. Get a firewall. Download security
patches from your software providers. Your computer may be used by
spammers to send out spam without you knowing, if it is infiltrated by a virus.
Do your bit to reduce spam being sent via Australia and avoid paying for
bandwidth you didn’t wish to use, or worse, being identified as a spammer by
recipient companies and their ISPs. More advice can be found on the
Internet Industry Association site (www.security.iia.net.au).
Don’t reply to emails from unknown sources. Don’t click their unsubscribe
facility—often spammers just wish to confirm that your email address is a real
address. Once you unsubscribe, you will receive much more email, from that
spammer and from others to whom they will sell your email address.
Be aware that the content of much spam is fraudulent. For more details
of how to recognise scams, visit Scamwatch (www.scamwatch.gov.au).
Treasury also publish a booklet called the Little Black Book of Scams
(www.consumersonline.gov.au/content/resources_black_book.asp).
The codes of practice will also establish formal reporting mechanisms
closer to 10 April 2004.
For more detailed information about how you can reduce the amount of spam you
receive, see: Spam - Consumer Information.
Most spam comes from overseas. How effective will Australian legislation be?
Since most spam comes from overseas, the Australian Government has called for
international cooperation against spam, as have other countries. In November 2003,
Australia and the Republic of Korea signed a bilateral Memorandum of
Understanding (RTF 34kb) on spam regulation. Several other countries have
expressed interest in a similar memorandum of understanding.
Australia is also working with other countries in international fora, particularly the
International Telecommunications Union and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, to develop a multilateral approach to spam.
Of course, in order to do this, it is important that in Australia we are already taking
steps to clean up our own backyard.
Where do I report spam or make a complaint?
The prohibitions commenced on 10 April 2004. Spam can be reported to the ACA.
The information you provide about the spam in circulation in Australia will assist the
ACA and the internet industry in identifying patterns of spamming activities affecting
Australia.
If you believe the spam you have been sent originates in Australia, and you have
been unable to resolve the issue with the business, you can also make a complaint
about spam through the ACA, or make an enquiry about the Spam Act. See
Reporting, Complaints and Enquiries.
Useful links
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Internet Industry Association (www.iia.net.au)
Australian Direct Marketing Association (www.adma.com.au)
National Office for the Information Economy (www.noie.gov.au)
Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner (www.privacy.gov.au)
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Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (www.accc.gov.au)
Scamwatch (www.scamwatch.gov.au)
International Telecommunications Union (www.itu.int)
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (www.oecd.org)
Coalition Against Unsolicited Bulk Email (CAUBE) Australia
(www.caube.org.au)
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (www.asic.gov.au)
Consumer Information
Anti Spam
Spam – Reporting, complaints and enquiries
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Reporting spam
Complaints
Enquiries
Reporting spam
Spam is now illegal under Australian law. For more information about the Spam Act
2003, see Spam – Consumer Information.
If you have been sent spam and would simply like to report it to the ACA, you can
forward the spam directly to: reportingspam@aca.gov.au
The information you provide about the spam in circulation in Australia will assist the
ACA and the internet industry in identifying patterns of spamming activities affecting
Australia.
Including extra information about the spam you have received will assist the ACA to
track its source: every email message that reaches your inbox contains ‘hidden’
information (known as ‘metadata’) that is quite simple to extract. This is not
compulsory, but if you are reporting spam to the ACA and would like to include this
extra information by pasting it into your email, click here to obtain details relevant to
your browser type.
Complaints
There may be more than one avenue for making a complaint about spam you have
received. This is due to the fact that not only is a spam message illegal in itself
(under the Spam Act 2003), but the content of that message can also be illegal under
various other laws.
Making a general complaint about spam
The ACA’s immediate focus is on spam of Australian origin. If you believe you have
been sent spam by an Australian business or individual and would like to make a
complaint, you can do the following:
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If it is an unsolicited commercial electronic message advertising a legitimate
Australian business, you simply wish to unsubscribe; or you may prefer to
contact the business directly by telephone or in writing, to make a complaint
and request that they do not send you any more messages. Most legitimate
businesses have an interest in maintaining a good reputation and satisfied
customers.
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If you cannot resolve it satisfactorily with the business, then you can lodge a
complaint with the ACA using the electronic complaint form.
Complaints about fraudulent or misleading content – ‘scams’
You can report a spam message that contains illegal content (for example, email
scams) to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) via the
ACCC web site www.accc.gov.au or by phoning 1300 302 502 (business hours,
Monday to Friday).
To learn more about email scams, visit the Australian government’s Scamwatch
website www.scamwatch.gov.au
The Australian Securities or Investments Commission (ASIC) also deals with certain
types of complaints about the contents of spam messages, in particular those relating
to fraudulent conduct by Australian businesses. The ASIC website outlines the types
of complaints they deal with, and offers an online complaint form: www.asic.gov.au
(click on ‘Complaining About Companies or People’).
Complaints about offensive or illegal content
If you receive spam that contains content you believe is illegal or offensive, you can
report it to the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA). An online complaint form is
available at: http://www.aba.gov.au/internet/index.htm or a written complaint can be
sent to:
The Manager
Online Services Content Regulation
Australian Broadcasting Authority
GPO Box Q500
Queen Victoria Building
NSW 1230
or
Email: online@aba.gov.au
Enquiries
If you have a specific enquiry about spam, or the Spam Act 2003, there are several
useful resources available to you on this website. Please read the relevant resource
before you submit an enquiry, as this may answer your question:
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Spam – Consumer Information
Consumer Guide – Fighting Spam in Australia
Spam – General Information
Spam – Information for Business
Spam Act 2003: a practical guide for business
Spam Act 2003: an overview for business
Spam – Frequently Asked Questions
Making an electronic enquiry – business or consumers
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Electronic Enquiry Form
Making a phone enquiry – business – 1300 855 180
This telephone enquiry line is for use by businesses seeking information about how
the Spam Act affects them as senders of commercial electronic messages. Calls to
this number are charged at rate of a local call.