SPAM ACT BECOMES LAW
19 December 2003
35/03The Spam Act 2003 will come into effect on 11 April 2004, 120 days after Royal Assent.
The legislated grace period allows businesses time to adjust their practices where necessary.
For most businesses, the impact of complying with the Act will be negligible. However, those who persist in sending spam will find themselves subject to penalties up to $1.1 million for a single day of infringements from 11 April next year.
The Spam Act prohibits the sending of unsolicited commercial electronic messages that have an Australian link. This means that commercial spam, sent by mobile phone as well as by e-mail, is not permitted to originate from Australia and is not allowed to be sent to Australian addresses, whatever their point of origin.
The Spam Act forms part of the Australian Government's multi-layered approach to combating the global nuisance of spam. In addition to domestic legislation, this includes international negotiations, public education, the development of industry codes of practice and technical counter-measures.
The Australian Communications Authority (ACA) will be responsible for enforcing the legislation once its penalty provisions come into effect and is developing mechanisms to receive and deal with complaints about spam. The ACA is working with online marketing companies and ISPs before that date to develop supporting industry codes and practices that will help combat the rising tide of spam.
The National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE) will also coordinate a 12-month information campaign about the legislation and about spam, commencing early in the new year. This will include public information and industry guides so that the contents of the Spam Act 2003 are clearly understood and to provide information on best practice in terms of sending commercial electronic messages.
This material will be available from the NOIE website at
http://www.noie.gov.au/projects/confidence/Improving/spam.htm in the new year. In the meantime, queries about the content of the Spam Act can be directed to NOIE at: spam.comments@noie.gov.au.Enforcement of the new law against overseas-based spammers will be dependent on the cooperation of other jurisdictions. Australia recently signed an agreement with the Korean Information Security Agency to cooperate on spam issues. Australia will also attend the OECD Workshop on Spam in February 2004, which will discuss the potential for international cooperative efforts and multilateral arrangements to combat spam.
The Spam Act 2003 sets a new world standard for anti-spam legislation, providing a model for other countries considering legislation to counter spam.
It also reflects the Australian Government's commitment to freeing consumers from this growing menace.
Media Contact: Carina Tan-Van Baren (02) 6277 7480 or 0439 425 373
