The same law as email, applied to a channel with far less tolerance

Not legal advice. General information only. Verify with a lawyer, and check current ACMA guidance. SMS rules have moved more than any other channel in recent years.

Part 1: The law

Spam Act 2003 (Cth)

SMS and MMS are commercial electronic messages under the Spam Act. The requirements are identical to email.

1. Consent: express or inferred

Express consent is direct agreement to receive messages.

Inferred consent may arise from an existing business relationship, or from conspicuous publication of a number in a work-related capacity, where the message is relevant to that person's role and no statement excludes unsolicited commercial messages.

The practical difficulty is that most conspicuously published business numbers are switchboards rather than personal mobiles. A personal mobile obtained from a purchased list has no consent basis at all.

2. Identify the sender

The message must clearly and accurately identify who authorised it, with accurate contact details.

3. Functional unsubscribe

Every marketing SMS requires a functional opt-out, honoured within five working days, and it must remain functional for at least 30 days.

"Reply STOP" is the convention. It must actually work. An automated reply to a number nobody monitors is not an unsubscribe facility.

Regulator: ACMA. Recipients can report spam SMS by forwarding to 0429 999 888.

Sender identification

Australia has introduced measures on alphanumeric sender IDs to reduce SMS impersonation and scams.

Requirements in this area have changed recently. Confirm current obligations with your provider before configuring a sender ID.

Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)

The Australian Privacy Principles apply to mobile numbers as personal information, including:

• Collection
• Notification
• Accuracy
• Security
• Destruction when no longer needed

The Notifiable Data Breaches scheme applies.

Regulator: OAIC.

Timing

Industry standards restrict the hours during which marketing messages may be sent.

Australia spans multiple timezones, and more during daylight saving, so timing must be assessed against the recipient's location rather than the sender's.

Part 2: What we do in practice

Operating practice, not law.

SMS is a follow-up channel, not a first touch.

We use it where the recipient already knows who we are:

• Confirming or reminding about a booked meeting
• After a no-show
• When a conversation started elsewhere has gone quiet
• Time-sensitive logistics, such as a session starting shortly

We do not send marketing SMS to purchased mobile numbers.

This is the single firmest rule we hold on this channel.

One marketing message per prospect, per campaign.

If there's no response, the channel is finished for that person. Persistence on SMS reads differently to persistence on email.

Opt-outs are shared across channels.

A STOP request removes that person from email, LinkedIn and calling lists as well.

Business name in the body, not only in a sender ID.

Sent inside the recipient's business hours, checked against their timezone.

Why the practical bar is higher than email

The legal requirements are the same. The tolerance is not.

An email waits in an inbox. An SMS interrupts. Reporting spam SMS takes one forward to a five-digit number. And there is no preview pane or folder structure. Everything about the message is immediate.

That is why we treat express consent as the working standard here even where inferred consent might be technically available.

The checklist

Spam Act

• Consent basis identified and defensible for every number
• Sender clearly identified in the message body
• Functional opt-out, actively monitored
• STOP requests actioned within five working days, across all campaigns and channels
• Sender ID requirements confirmed with your provider

Privacy Act

• Numbers sourced from somewhere you could state out loud
• Held securely, kept accurate, destroyed when no longer needed
• Data breach response process in place

Timing

• Sent within permitted hours, assessed in the recipient's timezone

Summary

SMS is governed by the same legislation as email.

What differs is the tolerance: the channel is interruptive, complaints are easy to make, and there is nowhere for a poorly judged message to hide.

It works as a follow-up to people who already know you. It is a poor choice for introductions.

Key legislation: Spam Act 2003 (Cth) · Spam Regulations · Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) · Australian Privacy Principles · relevant telecommunications industry standards

Regulators: ACMA · OAIC

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