The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) Do Not Call Register is a powerful tool that can help individuals protect their privacy and reduce the number of unwanted telemarketing calls. However, for businesses operating in the telemarketing industry, failure to comply with the Do Not Call Register rules can result in significant financial penalties and damage to their reputation.
Overview of the ACMA Do Not Call Register
The ACMA Do Not Call Register was established in 2006 as part of the Do Not Call Register Act 2006. The Register allows individuals to opt-out of receiving telemarketing calls by adding their phone number to the register. Once a number is listed on the Register for 30 days, telemarketers are prohibited from calling that number unless they have obtained the individual’s consent or fall under certain exemptions. Exemptions include calls made by government bodies, registered charities, political parties, and educational institutions.
Implications for the Industry:
For businesses operating in the telemarketing industry, the ACMA Do Not Call Register represents a significant compliance challenge. Failure to comply with the rules can result in financial penalties of up to $2.1 million for corporations, and $420,000 for individuals. Additionally, non-compliant telemarketers risk damaging their reputation and losing the trust of their customers.
The role of Data4U
Key staff at Data4U were involved in the beta testing and initial roll out of the DNCR back in 2006-2007, and then again during major system upgrades in the following years. We have a deep understanding of the system, both on a technical and legislative level, and have developed rock solid automated processes that guarantee compliance at all times.
Some of our clients, before hiring the services of Data4U, unfortunately discovered the seriousness of this legislation the hard way. Some were fined in excess of a quarter of a million dollars, which for many businesses is an unrecoverable amount. That is why it can’t be stressed enough how important good data hygiene and compliance is. At Data4U every list is washed against the DNCR right before supply, providing a full 30 days of compliance. If a client needs to call the list past 30 days, they are required to rewash it, which they can do themselves or we can do for them for a small fee.
I purchase leads from multiple sources, how can I ensure DNCR compliance?
It’s common (but not recommended) for call-centres to obtain data from wherever they can find it, and then upload it all into the same dialer. This can lead to confusion, if the data is not properly flagged within the system. One strategy that applies to most dialing systems, is to rely on the import date to exclude potentially non-complaint leads. You will have to ensure that whenever a lead is imported into the dialer it’s associated to the current date, then you setup a filter that excludes any lead older than 30 days from being sent to the agents.
However, the strategy described above is based on the assumption that every supplier has washed their data on the day of supply. This is often not the case, there are suppliers who only wash their data once a month, and there are many others who don’t wash it at all.
The say “You get what you pay for” applies to the marketing industry more than most people would think.