Do Not Call Register rules: a pre-call checklist for Australian businesses

Before your business makes sales calls in Australia, you need to know whether each number on your list is on the Do Not Call Register, whether you have consent or an exemption to call it, and whether your records would hold up if the ACMA asked to see them. The short version: wash your list against the register regularly, only call registered numbers when you have real consent, keep evidence of that consent, and put compliance in writing if someone else calls for you.

This article sets out the Do Not Call Register rules as a checklist you can work through before a campaign starts. It's general information, not legal advice. For anything specific to your business, check with the ACMA or a lawyer.

Understand what the register actually does

A lot of businesses assume the register stops calls from going through. It doesn't. The Do Not Call Register does not block calls; it lets businesses check their calling lists and remove registered numbers before they make calls. That puts the job on you: the system won't stop a non-compliant call, so your own process has to.

It's also worth knowing that registration lasts. Registering a number is free, only needs to be done once, and the number stays on the register indefinitely unless the owner or their representative removes it. Don't assume an old registration has lapsed.

Checklist item: know which numbers can be registered

Before you work out what to wash, be clear about what can be on the register in the first place.

• Home phone numbers, personal mobile numbers and fax numbers can be added to the register, but a business phone number cannot.
• A phone used for both business and personal calls can be registered as long as personal use is more than 50% of total use.

That second point matters most for B2B callers. A sole trader's or tradie's mobile might look like a business number on your list, yet it could legitimately be registered. Don't skip washing just because you sell to businesses. If your list includes mobiles that belong to individuals, even when they run a business, treat them as numbers that could be registered.

Questions to ask about your list

• Where did each number come from, and when?
• Do we know if it's a dedicated business line or a person's own mobile?
• Has the list been washed, by whom, and on what date?

Checklist item: allow for the 30-day window on new registrations

New registrations don't take effect straight away for callers. Once a number has been on the register for 30 days, telemarketers can only call it if the person has given consent or the caller is exempt.

In practice, that 30-day window is how long your business has to pick up a new registration. If someone registers today, you have that period to catch it in a wash and take the number off your call list. That's why one-off washing isn't enough for a list you keep using.

Checklist item: wash your list and keep the evidence

Washing means checking your calling list against the register and taking out any registered numbers you don't have consent to call. The rules give you some protection if you do it properly: calling a registered number is not a breach if you washed your list against the register in the last 30 days and the number was not on the register at that time.

To make that protection count:

• Wash every list before it's used, and wash again before the last wash is 30 days old.
• Record the date of each wash and which list version it applied to.
• Make sure newly added leads go through the wash before anyone dials them.
• Stop people calling from old exported spreadsheets that missed the latest wash.
• Keep your wash results with the campaign records so you can show what you knew and when.

Washing deals with the register itself. It doesn't replace consent for numbers that are registered, and it doesn't cover other telemarketing obligations such as calling hours and identifying yourself.

Checklist item: check whether an exemption actually applies to you

Some organisations can call registered numbers. According to the ACMA, these include government organisations, registered charities, educational institutions where the person is or was a student, registered political parties, members of parliament and election candidates.

Most commercial businesses aren't on that list. If you think an exemption covers you, check the exact conditions with the ACMA or a lawyer before you rely on it, and remember that being exempt from the register doesn't exempt you from other telemarketing rules.

Checklist item: make sure your consent is real, current and recorded

If a number is registered and you're not exempt, you need consent. This is where most of the risk sits.

What counts as consent

Under the Do Not Call Register Act 2006, consent means express consent, or consent that can reasonably be inferred from the person's conduct and their business and other relationships. Two limits catch people out:

• Consent cannot be inferred merely because a phone number has been published. A number on a website, in a directory or on a social profile is not permission to call it.
• If a consumer says they don't want telemarketing calls from your organisation, consent ends immediately and can no longer be inferred. Your system needs a way to record that on the call and stop further calls.

How long consent lasts

Consent goes stale. Under the Act, express consent that isn't given for a specified or indefinite period is taken to be withdrawn 3 months after the day it was given. The ACMA's guidance says the same: consent to telemarketing that is more than 3 months old becomes stale unless the consumer agreed to a longer period under terms and conditions.

This is a strong reason to contact new leads quickly. A form submitted months ago may no longer cover a call.

How to collect it

The ACMA recommends express consent based on clear terms and conditions, readily accessible where consent is given, that explain what the marketing is for, who will use it, how long it will be used and how consent can be withdrawn. It also says businesses should not use pre-checked tick boxes, bundled consent or refer-a-friend arrangements.

What to record

The ACMA expects consent records to show how consent was obtained, the terms that applied, and the date and time it was obtained, and those records must be produced if the ACMA requires them. Check your forms and CRM:

• Does each lead record the source, the exact wording shown, and a timestamp?
• Can you pull that record quickly for a single number?
• Is opt-out status recorded and respected across every list and team?

Checklist item: respect calling times

Telemarketing calls have permitted calling times under the industry standard. Calls outside those times are allowed only if the account holder or their nominee gave express consent in advance to that particular call on that day or at that time, and the caller can show this to the ACMA if required. Check the current permitted hours in the standard, and set your dialler or scheduling to match the time zone of the person you're calling, not your office's.

Checklist item: put compliance in the contract when someone else calls

If an agency, a contractor or a technology provider makes calls for you, the responsibility stays with you. A business that arranges for a third party to make telemarketing calls on its behalf must include express provisions in that contract or arrangement requiring compliance with the Do Not Call Register Act. The ACMA is direct about this: businesses that outsource telemarketing or buy marketing lists cannot outsource their obligations; ultimately, the business is responsible.

Before you sign, ask:

• Does the contract expressly require compliance with the Do Not Call Register Act?
• Who washes the list, how often, and how will we see the wash records?
• How is consent captured, and can we get the record for any number?
• How are opt-outs passed back to us and applied everywhere?
• If we're buying a list, how was consent obtained, and is it still within its valid period?

The same thinking applies to texts and emails. Under the Spam Act, you need consent from each recipient even if someone else sends messages for you, and it's up to you to prove it.

Why this is worth getting right

When the ACMA finds breaches, it can take the matter to the Federal Court, give an infringement notice, issue a formal warning or accept a court-enforceable undertaking. Recent outcomes show it does. In July 2026 the ACMA reported that TAB paid more than $2.7 million in penalties, including for 351 calls to registered numbers without consent, 82 calls outside permitted hours and nearly 4,000 calls without properly identifying the caller or purpose. The ACMA also said businesses had paid more than $12 million in penalties for spam and telemarketing breaches over the past 18 months.

A quick pre-call recap

• Know which numbers can be registered, including personal-use mobiles.
• Wash every list and repeat within the 30-day window.
• Confirm any exemption with the ACMA or a lawyer before relying on it.
• Only call registered numbers with valid, current, recorded consent.
• Act on opt-outs immediately.
• Keep to permitted calling times.
• Write compliance into any third-party calling contract.

Speed helps compliance as well as conversion. When a lead has just asked to hear from you, calling straight away means the consent is fresh and the context is clear. That's what we built Dialessa for: an AI voice agent that calls new enquiries within a minute, inside your calling hours, asks your qualifying questions and books the appointment into your calendar. Whatever tools you use, the checklist above still applies, and your business remains responsible for every call made in its name.