The Spam Act 2003 (Spam Act) sets out Australia’s spam rules. They include when commercial electronic messages can be sent and what information must be included in the message.


Spam rules are important as they prevent intrusion on an individual’s privacy, which can cause offence or harm. They also ensure that Australia’s electronic communication channels are working effectively. The ACMA plays a key role promoting responsible industry practice and enforcing the spam rules.

The key rule is that commercial electronic messages cannot be sent without permission (or consent).


Who needs to comply?

You must comply with these rules if you’re planning to send any commercial electronic message to an electronic address, or have engaged someone to send them on your behalf. This includes messages sent by:

  • email
  • SMS
  • MMS
  • instant message


Key rules

There are three key parts to the rules that you need to be aware of:

  1. Permission (consent)—messages can only be sent with the permission of the person who owns the account for the address (usually the recipient).
  2. Identification—messages must contain the name and contact details of the person or business that authorised the message (sender identification).
  3. Unsubscribe—messages must contain a low (or no cost) way for the recipient to stop getting messages (to ‘opt out’ or unsubscribe).


To access a copy, please click here