You could be saying goodbye to telemarketers as soon as May this year, as the federal Government’s Do Not Call Register comes into implementation.
The Do Not Call Register, first announced by Senator Helen Coonan last year, will allow Australians to opt-out of receiving calls (for no charge) from telemarketers by registering with a service.
Today the Senator announced that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has selected Melbourne company Service Stream Solutions to be the operator of the national Do Not Call Register.
“This is a significant step towards reducing the number of annoying unsolicited calls received by many Australians. Work on the Register has been progressing well and it will be operational by May this year,” Senator Coonan said.
“Individuals will be able to register their telephone numbers – either fixed line or mobile – that are used primarily for private or domestic use. Telemarketers will then be prohibited from making a wide range of unsolicited telemarketing calls to those numbers,” she explained.
The ACMA will also work towards developing telemarketing industry standards such as permitted calling hours.
However, the Register scheme will not rule out all telemarketing calls to your home as some exemptions will be given to “public interest groups” such as not-for-profit organizations.
