Definition
The Australian Spam Act 2003 regulates commercial electronic messages sent to Australia, including email. Its key requirements are consent, accurate sender identification and a functional unsubscribe facility.
Consent can be express or inferred from an existing business or other relationship. Every message must accurately identify the sender and be sent with consent, and must include a clear way to unsubscribe that is honored quickly.
The law requires senders to maintain an unsubscribe register and act on opt-outs. While the rules align in principle with friendly-spam regimes, Australia's definitions and enforcement are specific, so international senders should confirm their compliance.
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Related Glossary Terms
Abuse Complaint
An abuse complaint is a report from a recipient who marks an email as spam, which negatively affects sender reputation and deliverability.
Anonymized Data
Anonymized data is email subscriber or interaction data that has been stripped of personally identifiable information so individuals cannot be re-identified.
Brazil LGPD Email Marketing
Brazil's LGPD regulates personal data use for marketing, requiring a legal basis such as consent or legitimate interest, plus transparency and clear opt-out in email campaigns.
CAN-SPAM Act
The CAN-SPAM Act is a US law that sets rules for commercial email. It requires accurate subject lines, a physical address, a clear opt-out mechanism, and prompt processing of unsubscribes. Violations can result in penalties up to $51,744 per email.
Canada CASL Guide
CASL (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation) requires express or implied consent, clear identification, and a functioning unsubscribe mechanism before sending commercial electronic messages to Canada.
China Email Marketing Regulations
China regulates unsolicited email through rules and blocking by major providers, so cross-border email to China requires strict consent, clean lists and monitored deliverability.
Frequently Asked Questions
It requires consent, accurate sender identification and a clear, working unsubscribe facility on every commercial email, and prompt honoring of opt-outs.
Consent can be express or inferred from an existing or prior business or other relationship. Accurately identify the sender on every message.
Provide a clear, functional unsubscribe on every message, honor requests promptly, and keep an unsubscribe register to prevent future sends to opted-out addresses.