In the race to get their business out in front of people, many Australian small business owners don’t realise they are breaking a long-standing piece of law – the Spam Act of 2003.

The Spam Act is a piece of legislation that has become like a distant uncool relative: The one who only gets remembered when they turn up uninvited at a party and demands to know where their invitation is. Unfortunately, it is routinely forgotten when training start-ups and small businesses about their roles and responsibilities.

So what is it and why should you care?

The Legal Foundations

The Spam Act is a piece of Australian legislation that bans sending unsolicited commercial electronic messages. It is currently administered by the ACMA (The Australian Communications and Media Authority) – a government body.

Other countries have their own versions of this legislation, so if you do business internationally, you need to know the legislation of the jurisdiction you are working within.

In Australia, the Spam Act covers any electronic message that has a marketing or commercial element:

• Emails & newsletters

• SMS messages

• MMS messages

• Instant messages

• Other electronic messaging (e.g.: LinkedIn, Facebook etc. messages)

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If you communicate with people using any of these means, you need to comply with the Spam Act.