Do not call - getting closer

By now, everyone in the call centre industry would be well aware of the proposals for an Australian Do Not Call register.  It is an option that has been talked about for a long time. With the latest moves by the Federal Government, it now seems to be getting a whole lot closer.

For average Australians, the register is seen as a solution for nuisance calls. But how it will unfold in practice, at this stage, no one seems to know for sure.

At the end of October 2005, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan, released a discussion paper canvassing options for a national, legislated Do Not Call register.

“Australian consumers are increasingly frustrated by interruptions from telemarketers, particularly unsolicited calls that come from call centres overseas,” the Minister said as she released the Discussion Paper.

“But in formulating a way to cut down on unsolicited calls there are a number of important issues to consider including how bodies such as charities and legitimate market researchers can continue to operate.

“The Discussion Paper is a vital step in formulating how a national, legislated Do Not Call register would work in Australia.”

The Discussion Paper does not represent Government policy, and therefore the Government is not obliged to take action to regulate telephone marketing.

However, due to the political pressure that has been placed on the Minister, from State Governments and various consumer groups, it seems likely that the Minister will propose to regulate telemarketing, and this is likely to be in the form of a National ‘Do Not Call’ register.

A Do Not Call register would give consumers the right to ‘opt-out’ of telemarketing approaches at any time. For instance, people could put their number on a register, and telemarketers, including telemarketers from overseas, would face penalties if they phoned a number on the register.

“The Australian Direct Marketing Association has been very supportive of a regulated solution and I welcome its co-operation,” Senator Coonan said.

“Both the UK and US have experience in setting up registers, so we have the opportunity to learn from international experience and canvass the issues with industry, stakeholders and the community more broadly,” Senator Coonan said.

Recent reports by the Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner and the Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee recommended the Government consider models to address such telemarketing issues.

Following the release of the Discussion Paper, the Minister accepted submissions from interested parties for a month.

Soon after the Discussion Paper became available, news outlets began announcing that telemarketers could be fined for pestering householders, under a federal government proposal to introduce a national Do Not Call register.

The outlets suggested that the Government was canvassing options for a register that gives consumers the right to opt out of receiving telemarketing calls on their mobiles or land lines.

It was suggested that under the new plan, companies that call a household on the register, could face fines of up to $220,000, which could be legislated early in 2006.

The news outlets also suggested that market research companies, pollsters, charities and religious organisations are likely to be exempted.

For their part, the Victorian and New South Wales Governments are strong supporters of a Do Not Call register. Victorian Consumer Affairs Minister Marsha Thomson says the states can only do so much because the register needs the support of federal laws.

"We think that there is an opportunity to demonstrate that state and Commonwealth governments can work together to improve consumer rights" she said.