SMS marketing in Australia: consent, STOP and the Spam Act in plain English
If you text customers about offers, the Spam Act applies to you. Here are the three rules (consent, identify, unsubscribe) explained simply, plus a checklist and how to make compliance automatic.
SMS is the most personal marketing channel there is. Your message sits right between a text from Mum and a photo from a mate. That’s exactly why it works, and exactly why Australia has firm rules about it.
If you text customers about offers, sales or new products, those rules apply to you, whatever the size of your business. The good news is they’re not complicated. This guide explains them in plain English, and shows how to make following them automatic.
What the rules cover
Australia’s Spam Act covers commercial electronic messages: texts, emails and instant messages that offer, advertise or promote goods or services. If your business is in Australia, or you’re texting people in Australia, it applies.
That includes the obvious ones (“20% off this weekend!”), but also messages you might not think of as marketing, like “we’ve just restocked, come in and see” or a review request that also mentions a sale.
The three rules: consent, identify, unsubscribe
1. Consent: they agreed to hear from you
You need permission before sending a marketing text. There are two kinds:
- Express consent. They clearly said yes: they ticked a box saying they’d like texts about offers, signed up on your website, or texted START to your number.
- Inferred consent. You have an existing relationship and they’d reasonably expect to hear from you, like a current customer who gave you their mobile number when buying. This is narrower than people think, so lean towards express consent where you can.
Two traps catch businesses out:
- You can’t text people to ask for consent. The request itself counts as a marketing message.
- You have to be able to prove it. If someone complains, it’s on you to show where and when they agreed.
2. Identify: say who it’s from
Every message has to clearly identify your business, and tell people how to get in touch. In a text, that usually means putting your business name in the message and sending from a number they can reply to.
3. Unsubscribe: make it easy to stop
Every marketing message needs a simple, free way to opt out, like “Reply STOP to opt out”. When someone opts out, you must stop within five working days, and the unsubscribe option has to keep working for at least 30 days after the message was sent.
What about order updates and reminders?
Messages that only give factual information, like “your order has shipped” or “reminder: your appointment is tomorrow at 2pm”, generally aren’t marketing messages, so they don’t need marketing consent. They should still say who they’re from.
The catch: add a promotion to a factual message (“your order has shipped, and here’s 10% off your next one!”) and it becomes a marketing message, with all three rules.
Keep the receipts and the promotions in separate messages. It’s cleaner for customers, and much simpler for you.
What happens if you get it wrong
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) enforces the rules. It regularly takes action against businesses that text or email without consent, or make unsubscribing hard, and penalties for large businesses have run into the millions of dollars. Small businesses get warnings and fines too. More importantly, unwanted texts damage trust with the very customers you’re trying to keep.
How Colvy makes it automatic
Compliance works best when it isn’t left to memory. Here’s what Colvy does for you:
| Rule | What Colvy does |
|---|---|
| Unsubscribe | STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT and similar replies opt the person out of texts from your business straight away, well inside five working days. START opts them back in. |
| Consent | Every campaign and automated text checks consent before it goes. Anyone who has opted out is skipped automatically. |
| Proof | Each contact records whether you have express or inferred consent, where it came from, and a history of changes. |
| Identify | The campaign editor warns you if a text doesn’t name your business or is missing opt-out instructions. |
| Good manners | Campaign texts are held outside 9am–8pm by default. That’s not a legal requirement, just good practice. |
A few details that matter:
- It reads the whole message. “Can you stop by on Friday?” or “the tap won’t stop leaking” won’t unsubscribe anyone. Only a reply that is an opt-out counts.
- Automated texts include the opt-out. Back-in-stock texts and abandoned-cart reminders come with “Reply STOP to opt out” by default.
- Email follows the same rules. Every campaign email has a working unsubscribe link and one-click unsubscribe headers, and bounced or complaining addresses are suppressed automatically.
Your SMS marketing checklist
- Only text people who agreed, or who’d clearly expect it from an existing relationship.
- Keep a record of how and when they agreed.
- Put your business name in every message.
- Include “Reply STOP to opt out” on every marketing text.
- Stop texting anyone who opts out, immediately.
- Keep factual updates and promotions in separate messages.
- Send at sensible times, and not too often.
Key takeaways
- Marketing texts need consent: express (they said yes) or inferred (an existing relationship where they’d expect it).
- Every message must identify your business and include a free, simple way to opt out.
- Opt-outs must be honoured within five working days, and you need to be able to prove consent.
- Purely factual messages like order updates aren’t marketing, until you add a promotion.
- Colvy handles STOP and START, checks consent before every text and warns you before you send a non-compliant message.
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