1 Name
of industry standard [see
Note 1]
This industry standard is the Telecommunications (Do Not Call Register) (Telemarketing and Research
Calls) Industry Standard 2007.
2 Commencement
[see Note 1]
This industry standard commences at the same time
as Part 2 of the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 commences.
3 Interpretation
(1) In this industry standard:
Act means the Telecommunications Act 1997.
Australian number has the meaning given by
section 4 of the Do Not Call Register Act 2006.
call means a telemarketing call.
caller means a participant in a section of
the telemarketing industry that makes, or proposes to make, a call.
call operator means an individual who, on
behalf of a caller:
(a) makes a call; or
(b) by dialling a number, attempts to make a
call.
Note In some circumstances a call
operator may also be a caller.
call recipient means an individual who
receives a call from a caller, whether or not the call recipient is a relevant
account‑holder.
consent has the same meaning as in Schedule 2
to the Do Not Call Register Act 2006.
nominee has the meaning given by section 39
of the Do Not Call Register Act 2006.
relevant account-holder has the meaning given
by section 4 of the Do Not Call Register Act 2006.
research call means a call described in
paragraph (b) of the definition of telemarketing call in section
7 of the Act.
telemarketing call has the meaning given by
section 7 of the Act.
Note Section 7 of the Act contains the
following definition:
telemarketing call
means:
(a) a
telemarketing call (within the meaning of the Do Not Call Register Act 2006)
that is made to an Australian number; or
(b) a voice call (within the meaning of the Do Not Call Register
Act 2006) that is made to an Australian number, where, having regard to:
(i) the
content of the call; and
(ii) the
presentational aspects of the call;
it
would be concluded that the purpose, or one of the purposes, of the call is:
(iii) to conduct opinion polling; or
(iv) to
carry out standard questionnaire‑based research.
voice call has the meaning given by section 4
of the Do Not Call Register Act 2006.
(2) In this industry standard, and in addition to any
other meaning of cause, a person (the first person)
is taken to have caused a call to be made if:
(a) the first person enters into a contract
(other than a contract of employment) or arrangement, or arrives at an
understanding, with another person; and
(b) under the contract, arrangement or
understanding, the other person undertakes:
(i) to make calls as a call operator;
or
(ii) to cause any or all of the other
person’s employees or agents to make calls as a call operator; and
(c) the other person, or an employee or agent of
the other person, gives effect to the contract, arrangement or understanding by
making a call as a call operator.
(3) In this industry standard, and in addition to any
other meaning of cause, a person (the first person)
is taken to have caused a call to be made if:
(a) the first person is the employer of another
person; and
(b) the call is made by the other person as a
call operator on behalf of the first person; and
(c) the call is not caused to be made by any
other person mentioned in subsection (2).
4 Persons
to which this industry standard applies
For section 125A of the Act, this industry
standard applies to participants in each section of the telemarketing industry.
Note The content of this industry
standard relates to making, or proposing to make a call.
5 Prohibited calling times
Times — general
(1) Subject to subsection (3), a caller must not make,
or cause to be made, a call that is not a research call, or attempt to make
such a call, on:
(a) a weekday before 9 am; or
(b) a weekday after 8 pm; or
(c) a Saturday before 9 am; or
(d) a Saturday after 5 pm; or
(e) a Sunday.
Note A caller may be prohibited from
making a call, or attempting to make a call, at other times, in accordance with
State or Territory laws: see section 9.
Times — research calls
(2) Subject to subsection (3), a caller must not make,
or cause to be made, a research call, or attempt to make a research call, on:
(a) a weekday before 9 am; or
(b) a weekday after 8.30 pm; or
(c) a Saturday before 9 am; or
(d) a Saturday after 5 pm; or
(e) a Sunday before 9 am; or
(f) a Sunday after 5 pm.
Note A caller may be prohibited from
making a call, or attempting to make a call, at other times, in accordance with
State or Territory laws: see section 9.
(3) Despite paragraphs (1) (a) to (d), or
2 (a) to (d), a caller must not make, or attempt to make a call at any
time on:
(a) a day that is any of the following national
public holidays:
(i) New Year’s Day;
(ii) Australia Day;
(iii) Good Friday;
(iv) Easter Monday;
(v) Anzac Day;
(vi) Christmas Day;
(vii) Boxing Day; or
(b) a holiday on a weekday given in lieu of a
public holiday mentioned in paragraph (a).
Example
If Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, calls would be
prohibited on the whole of Christmas Day. Calls would also be prohibited on any
other day that is a public holiday in lieu of Christmas Day.
(4) For subsections (1), (2) and (3), a reference to a
time of day, is the time of day at the place that is the usual residential
address of the relevant account‑holder.
Note In addition to subsections (1), (2)
and (3), a caller must immediately terminate a call if the time at which the
call recipient receives the call at the place at which the call recipient is
located is a time to which subsection 5 (1), (2) or (3) would apply if it
were that time at the usual residential address of the relevant account‑holder:
see paragraph 7 (1) (a) and subsection 7 (2).
Exception where consent has been given in advance
(5) Subsections (1), (2) and (3) do not apply if:
(a) either:
(i) the relevant account‑holder;
or
(ii) a nominee of the relevant account‑holder;
has consented in advance to receiving a
call on a day or at a time referred to in those subsections; and
(b) the caller only makes or attempts to make the
call on the day, or at the time to which the consent applies; and
(c) if required by ACMA, the caller
demonstrates, to the satisfaction of ACMA, the existence of all the matters
mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b).
Note ACMA intends to review the operation
of section 5 as soon as practicable after the end of 12 months after this
industry standard commences.
6 Provision
of information during a call
Information to be provided
(1) The following information must be given, or caused
to be given, by a caller to a call recipient in accordance with this section:
(a) the call operator’s given name;
(b) the call operator’s:
(i) full name; or
(ii) employee or staff identifier that
is sufficient to enable the call operator to be identified:
(A) by the employer; or
(B) if there is no contract
of employment — by the caller;
(c) the purpose of the call;
(d) if the call operator makes the call under a
contract of employment — the name of the call operator’s employer;
(e) if the call operator makes the call under a
contract of employment — the contact details of the call operator’s
employer;
(f) if the call operator is also:
(i) the caller; or
(ii) another person who is not an
employee of the caller;
the caller’s full name, or business name,
and contact details;
(g) if a person other than the caller has caused
the call to be made:
(i) the other person’s name; and
(ii) the other person’s contact
details;
(h) the name and contact details of any person
responsible for dealing with consumer inquiries or complaints about:
(i) the call operator; or
(ii) the caller; or
(iii) another person who has caused the
call to be made;
(j) for a call made on or after 1 July
2007 — the following information concerning the call or the caller, in
relation to data that is disclosed to the caller after 1 July 2007:
(i) the source from which the caller
obtained the Australian number, or a statement that the source is a private
individual;
(ii) if
applicable — the name of the person for whom the call is intended;
(iii) if applicable — the name and
contact details of any organisation that disclosed the information to the
caller.
Note There are a number of other relevant
requirements regarding the provision of information to individuals who are
asked to disclose personal information, including the Privacy Principles (where
applicable) as set out in the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988.
Contact details
(2) For subsection (1), and subject to subsection (3), a
caller’s contact details include an Australian number suitable
for receiving voice calls during normal business hours at the location of the
call recipient, and 1 of the following:
(a) street address;
(b) postal or business address, other than a
street address;
(c) email address.
(3) If a call operator:
(a) is also a caller; and
(b) makes calls from the caller’s residential
address in the course of acting as a call operator;
the caller’s contact details do not include an Australian number
which is used by the caller principally for residential purposes, and the
caller is not required to give that number to a call recipient.
Time for giving information — research calls
(4) For a research call, the caller must:
(a) give, or cause to be given, the information
mentioned in paragraphs (1) (a) and (c) immediately after the
research call commences; and
(b) give, or cause to be given, the information
mentioned in subparagraph (1) (g) (i):
(i) immediately after being asked to
do so by the call recipient; or
(ii) if the call recipient does not ask
the call operator to give the information — before the end of the call;
and
(c) if:
(i) the call recipient asks the caller
or call operator to give some or all of the information mentioned in paragraphs
(1) (b), (d), (e), (f) and (h) and subparagraph (1) (g) (ii);
and
(ii) some or all of the information is
applicable;
give, or cause to be given, all the
applicable information immediately after being asked to do so; and
(d) if the call
recipient asks the caller or call operator to give some or all of the
information mentioned in paragraph (1) (j) — give the requested
information within a reasonable time (not exceeding 30 days) after being asked
to do so.
Note If a call recipient does not ask for
some or all of the information mentioned in paragraphs (1) (b), (d), (e),
(f), (h) and (j) and subparagraph (1) (g) (ii), the caller is not
required to give that information to the call recipient.
Time for giving information — calls other than research calls
(5) For a call that is not a research call, the caller
must:
(a) give, or
cause to be given, the information mentioned in paragraphs (1) (a)
and (c) and subparagraph (1) (g) (i) immediately after the call
commences; and
(b) if:
(i) the call recipient asks the caller
or call operator to give some or all of the information mentioned in paragraphs
(1) (b), (d), (e), (f) and (h) and subparagraph (1) (g) (ii);
and
(ii) some or all of the information is
applicable;
give, or
cause to be given, all the applicable requested information immediately after
being asked to do so; and
(c) if the call recipient asks the caller or
call operator to give some or all of the information mentioned in paragraph
(1) (j) — give, or cause to be given, the requested information
within a reasonable time (not exceeding 30 days) after being asked to do so.
Note If a call recipient does not ask for
some or all of the information mentioned in paragraphs (1) (b), (d), (e),
(f), (h) and (j) and subparagraph (1) (g) (ii), the caller is not
required to give, or cause to be given, that information to the call recipient.
7 Standard
for terminating a call
(1) A caller must immediately terminate a call, or
ensure that a call is immediately terminated, if:
(a) the caller, or call operator, receives
information that would lead a reasonable person to conclude that:
(i) the call recipient is not at the
usual residential address of the relevant account‑holder; and
(ii) the time at which the call
recipient receives the call at the place at which the call recipient is located
is a time to which subsection 5 (1), (2) or (3) would apply if it
were that time at the usual residential address of the relevant account‑holder;
or
(b) the call recipient asks for the call to be
terminated or otherwise indicates that the call recipient does not want the
call to continue.
Example
If:
(a) a call recipient receives a call on a mobile phone in a
different time zone to the usual residential address of the relevant account‑holder;
and
(b) the caller, or call operator, becomes aware that the
day or time at which the call recipient receives the call at that location
would be a prohibited day or time at the usual residential address of the
relevant account‑holder;
the caller must immediately terminate the call or cause
the call to be terminated.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the call recipient
expressly states that he or she would like the call to be continued.
8 Enabling
calling line identification for a call
A caller must ensure that calling line
identification is enabled at the time that the caller makes or attempts to make
a call, or causes a call to be made.
9 Operation
of State and Territory laws
This industry
standard is not intended to exclude the operation of a law of a State or
Territory to the extent that the law is capable of operating concurrently with
this industry standard.
Example
If a law of a State or Territory prohibits a caller from
making a call or causing a call to be made on a day, or at a time, other than a
day or time to which subsection 5 (1), (2) or (3) applies, that law will
continue to operate to that extent, and a caller to whom that law applies must
not make a call on that day or at that time.