56/07 Thursday 10 May 2007

More than half a million Australians say ‘no’ to unwanted telemarketing calls

Senator Helen Coonan, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, today announced registrations on the Do Not Call Register were over 530,000, just one week after pre-registrations opened on 3 May.

“Australian consumers have voted with their feet and given the Do Not Call Register the thumbs-up,” Senator Coonan said.

At the peak we were receiving over 400 registrations per minute, which equates to over 24,000 registrations per hour. Since we began taking pre-registrations there have been an average of 52 numbers a minute registered.

Telephone registrations are scheduled to open on 22 May.

“The initial overwhelming response to the opening of pre-registrations, which resulted in more than 250,000 registrations in the first 24 hours, has now settled down,” Senator Coonan said.

“However, there is clearly a very high level of public interest in the Register and I urge consumers to register their numbers using the method that suits them best. At the moment, that can be either online or by post, with telephone registration to be available in the near future.”

The Do Not Call Register will begin operation on 31 May. From that date, it will generally be unlawful to make telemarketing calls to numbers on the Register.

From 25 May, telemarketers will be able to submit their calling lists to the Register operator for checking against the register. This will allow enough time for telemarketers affected to have their lists checked against the Register before the scheme commences on 31 May.

Postal applications are downloadable from the Do Not Call Register website (www.donotcall.gov.au) and will be available from Australia Post outlets from 15 May.