Australian spam law goes up for public review

13.12.2005
Australia's Federal Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan has called for public submissions to review the Spam Act of 2003.

Senator Coonan said the Australian Spam Act is internationally recognized as a "leading legislative model" to crack down on the scourge of spam that is overloading people's in-boxes and causing "great frustration".

"Since the Act came into effect, many professional spammers that had been based in Australia have either shut up shop or left the country," Coonan said.

Australia's Spam Act applies to unsolicited commercial electronic messages, including those sent via e-mail, SMS, instant messaging and multimedia messaging service (MMS).

Recognizing that spam is an "evolving issue", the government committed to a review within two years of the Spam Act's implementation. A public consultation process is now being undertaken and feedback received will contribute to a report to be tabled in Parliament next year.

"A great deal of spam continues to be received from overseas sources. It is an international problem requiring an approach that focuses on both domestic and international initiatives," Coonan said. "The government remains committed to a multi-layered strategy against spam that includes international cooperation, industry codes of practice, education and awareness activities and the promotion of technical countermeasures."