{"id":"F2021L01206","name":"Telecommunications (Fax Marketing) Industry Standard 2021","slug":"telecommunications-fax-marketing-industry-standard-2021","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":440981,"registerId":"F2021L01206-fast-fetch-1775956423875","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Telecommunications (Fax Marketing) Industry Standard 2021","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\ntitle: Principal Instrument Template\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nTelecommunications (Fax Marketing) Industry Standard 2021\n\n \n\nThe Australian Communications and Media Authority makes the following industry standard under subsection 125B(1) of the Telecommunications Act 1997.\n\nDated: 26 August 2021\n\nNerida O’Loughlin\n\n[signed]\n\nMember\n\n \n\nChris Jose\n\n[signed]\n\nMember/General Manager\n\n \n\nAustralian Communications and Media Authority\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1  Name\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Repeal of the Fax Marketing Industry Standard 2011\n\n5  Definitions\n\n6  References to other instruments\n\n7  Persons to whom this industry standard applies\n\n8  Prohibited times for the sending of faxes\n\n9  Provision of information within a fax\n\n10  Providing fax recipients with facility to opt out from receiving further faxes\n\n11  Limit on number of faxes to be sent to a recipient in a period\n\n12  Operation of State and Territory laws\n\n \n\n\n\n\n# 1  Name\n\n  This is the Telecommunications (Fax Marketing) Industry Standard 2021.\n\n# 2  Commencement\n\n  This instrument commences at the start of the day after the day it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.\n\nNote: The Federal Register of Legislation may be accessed free of charge at [www.legislation.gov.au](http://www.legislation.gov.au).\n\n# 3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under subsection 125B(1) of the Telecommunications Act 1997.\n\n# 4  Repeal of the Fax Marketing Industry Standard 2011\n\n  The Fax Marketing Industry Standard 2011 (F2011L00668) is repealed.\n\n# 5  Definitions\n\nIn this instrument:\n\nACMA means the Australian Communications and Media Authority.\n\nAct means the Telecommunications Act 1997.\n\nAustralian number has the meaning given by section 4 of the Do Not Call Register Act 2006.\n\nconsent has the same meaning as in Schedule 2 to the Do Not Call Register Act 2006.\n\nfax means a marketing fax.\n\nfax advertiser means a participant in a section of the fax marketing industry that authorises the sending of a marketing fax for at least one of the following purposes:\n\n1.       marketing, advertising or promoting goods or services, where the participant is the supplier or prospective supplier of the goods or services;\n2.       advertising or promoting a supplier or prospective supplier of goods or services, where the participant is the supplier or prospective supplier of the goods or services;\n3.       marketing, advertising, or promoting land or interests in land, where the participant is the supplier or prospective supplier of the land or interests in land;\n4.       advertising or promoting a supplier or prospective supplier of land or interests in land, where the participant is the supplier or prospective supplier of the land or interests in land;\n5.       marketing, advertising, or promoting business opportunities or investment opportunities, where the participant is the provider, or prospective provider, of the business opportunities or investment opportunities;\n6.        advertising or promoting a provider, or prospective provider, of business opportunities or investment opportunities, where the participant is the provider or prospective provider of the business opportunities or investment opportunities;\n7.       soliciting donations;\n8.       conducting opinion polling; or\n9.        carrying out standard questionnaire-based research.\n\n\nNote  For example, if an entity seeks to promote a new product it has created and authorises another entity to send, or cause to be sent, marketing faxes promoting its new product, the first entity will be the fax advertiser.  If an entity seeks to promote a new product it has created and sends a marketing fax promoting its own new product, the entity will be taken to be both the sender and the fax advertiser for the relevant marketing fax.\n\nfax recipient means a person who receives a fax from a sender, whether or not the fax recipient is a relevant account holder.\n\nforeign company has the meaning given by section 9 of the Corporations Act 2001.\n\nnominee has the meaning given by section 39 of the Do Not Call Register Act 2006.\n\nnumber means an Australian number.\n\nopt-out address means:\n\n1.            a fax number to which an opt-out message may be sent; and\n2.            at least one of the following:\n  1.        a local or toll-free phone number through which the fax recipient may leave an opt-out message;\n  2.      an email address to which an opt-out message may be sent; or\n  3.    a website address at which the fax recipient can convey an opt-out message.\n\n\nopt-out message means a message to the effect that the fax recipient does not want to receive any faxes from the fax advertiser.\n\nrelevant account holder has the meaning given by section 4 of the Do Not Call Register Act 2006.\n\nsend has the meaning given by section 4 of the Do Not Call Register Act 2006.\n\nsender means a participant in a section of the fax marketing industry that sends or proposes to send a marketing fax.\n\nNote   Other words and phrases applicable to this standard are defined in the Act, including:\n\n- fax marketing industry\n- marketing fax\n- participants in a section of the fax marketing industry\n- section of the fax marketing industry\n- standard questionnaire-based research.\n\n\n# 6  References to other instruments\n\n  In this instrument, unless the contrary intention appears:\n\n(a) a reference to any other legislative instrument is a reference to that other legislative instrument as in force from time to time; and\n\n(b) a reference to any other kind of instrument or writing is a reference to that other instrument or writing as in force or existing from time to time.\n\nNote 1: For references to Commonwealth Acts, see section 10 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901; and see also subsection 13(1) of the Legislation Act 2003 for the application of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 to legislative instruments.\n\nNote 2: All Commonwealth Acts and legislative instruments are registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.\n\nNote 3: See also section 589 of the Act.\n\n# 7  Persons to whom this industry standard applies\n\nFor the purposes of section 125B of the Act, this industry standard applies to participants in each section of the fax marketing industry.\n\n# 8  Prohibited times for the sending of faxes\n\n1.            Subject to subsection (3), a sender must not send a fax on:\n\n\n1.       a weekday before 9am; or\n2.       a weekday after 8pm; or\n3.       a Saturday before 9am; or\n4.       a Saturday after 5pm; or\n5.       a Sunday.\n\n\n1.            In addition to the limitations imposed by subsection (1), and subject to subsection (3), a sender must not send a fax at any time on:\n\n\n1.       New Year’s Day;\n2.       Australia Day;\n3.       Good Friday;\n4.       Easter Monday;\n5.       Anzac Day;\n6.        Christmas Day;\n7.       Boxing Day;\n8.       a holiday on a weekday given in lieu of a public holiday mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (g).\n\n\nExample\n\nIf Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, the sending of faxes would be prohibited on the whole of Christmas Day.  Faxes would also be prohibited on any other day that is a public holiday in lieu of Christmas Day.\n\nException where consent has been given in advance\n\n1.            Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to the sending of a fax if:\n\n\n1.       either:\n  1.        the relevant account holder; or\n  2.      a nominee of the relevant account holder;\n\n\nhas consented in advance to receiving a fax on a day or at a time referred to in those subsections; and\n\n1.       the sender sends the fax on the day, or at the time to which the consent applies; and\n2.       if required by the ACMA, the sender demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the ACMA, the existence of all the matters mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b).\n\n\n1.            In this section a reference to a time of day, or a day, is to the time of day, or day, at the place that is the usual address of the relevant account holder.\n\n\n# 9  Provision of information within a fax\n\nInformation to be provided\n\n1.            A sender must not send a fax which does not contain the following information:\n\n\n1.       the name of the fax advertiser;\n2.       the Australian Business Number (ABN) of the fax advertiser, or equivalent business number identification if the fax advertiser is a foreign company;\n3.       the contact details of the fax advertiser;\n4.       the destination number that the fax is intended to be sent to;\n5.       the details of how the fax recipient can communicate an opt-out message, including:\n  1.    a statement to the effect that the fax recipient may opt-out of receiving any future faxes from the fax advertiser by conveying an opt-out message to an opt-out address; and\n  2.    an opt-out address to which fax recipients can communicate an opt-out message.\n\n\n1.            The information to be provided under subsection (1) must be:\n\n\n1.        displayed in a clear, legible and conspicuous manner;\n2.        included on the first page of the fax at a minimum;\n3.        be displayed using a minimum 10 point font size.\n\n\nContact details  \n\n1.            For subsection (1), contact details includes a telephone or fax number suitable for receiving telephone calls or faxes during normal business hours at the location of the fax advertiser, and at least one of the following:\n\n\n1.       street address;\n2.       postal or business address, other than a street address;\n3.       email address.\n\n\n# 10  Providing fax recipients with facility to opt out from receiving further faxes\n\n1.            For the purpose of subsection (2), a fax recipient will be taken to have opted out of receiving fax messages if the person has sent to, left at, or otherwise communicated an opt-out message to the opt-out address.\n2.            A sender must have in place processes to ensure that:\n\n\n1.       the opt-out address provided in the fax is reasonably likely to be capable of receiving opt-out messages at all times;\n2.       as soon as possible, and no later than 7 days, after a fax recipient has opted-out of receiving fax messages, the fax recipient’s number is removed from any list of Australian numbers used by the sender to arrange for the sending of faxes on behalf of the fax advertiser.\n\n\n# 11  Limit on number of faxes to be sent to a recipient in a period\n\nA sender must make reasonable efforts to ensure it does not send more than 10 faxes, which are authorised to be sent by the same fax advertiser, to a particular Australian number in any single 24 hour period.\n\n# 12  Operation of State and Territory laws\n\nThis industry standard is not intended to exclude the operation of a law of a State or Territory to the extent that the law is capable of operating concurrently with this industry standard.\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original narrow scope. It is a direct replacement of the 2011 Fax Marketing Industry Standard with substantively similar provisions covering the same regulated activities (timing restrictions, identification requirements, opt-out mechanisms, and volume limits). The 2021 version appears to be a routine re-enactment rather than an expansion of regulatory reach."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument: 12 sections total, approximately 2,500 words","Minimal cross-referencing: Only references to the Telecommunications Act 1997, Do Not Call Register Act 2006, and Corporations Act 2001 for defined terms","Straightforward conditional logic: Single-level exceptions only (consent overrides time restrictions in section 8)","Moderate defined terms: 14 defined terms in section 5, plus incorporated definitions from other Acts","Clear structure: Linear progression from definitions to specific operational rules (timing, content, opt-out, volume limits)","No nested exceptions or complex formulae","Simple temporal calculations: 24-hour period for volume limits, 7-day maximum for opt-out processing"],"plain_english_summary":"This rulebook, replacing the 2011 version, sets when and how businesses may send unsolicited marketing faxes to Australian numbers: banned at antisocial times and public holidays, must show sender ID and contact details, include a clear opt‑out processed within 7 days, and limit senders to 10 faxes per day to the same number. It covers advertisers, fax service providers, and recipients.\n\nACMA enforces the standard and can penalise breaches; pre‑agreed consent to receive faxes at restricted times is an exception."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument applies to participants in each section of the fax marketing industry under section 125B of the Telecommunications Act (s7). It repeals the 2011 standard (s4) but the instrument itself does not state any expansion or contraction of the categories of persons to whom it applies; it continues regulation of fax marketing under the same statutory authority (s3)."},"complexity_factors":["Defined-term network and cross-references to other Acts (Do Not Call Register Act, Corporations Act) that affect meanings of key terms (see s5 and s6).","Time-based prohibitions with holiday exceptions and an ACMA evidence requirement for prior consent (see s8, especially exception requiring ACMA satisfaction).","Specific content and formatting requirements for each fax (name, ABN or foreign equivalent, contact details, destination number, opt-out statement and address; first page minimum; 10-point font) (see s9).","Opt-out mechanics and operational duties: an opt-out address must be maintained as likely to receive messages, and numbers must be removed ‘as soon as possible, and no later than 7 days’ after opt-out (see s10).","Quantitative frequency limit framed as a 'reasonable efforts' obligation (no more than 10 faxes authorised by the same advertiser to a number in any 24‑hour period) (see s11).","Applicability clause that targets ‘‘participants in each section of the fax marketing industry’’, which is a legal category whose boundaries rely on definitions in the Act (see s7 and note in s5).","Replacement of an earlier instrument (repeal of 2011 standard) while preserving the statutory basis under s125B of the Telecommunications Act (see ss3–4).","Enforcement and proof asymmetry: ACMA may require demonstration of consent and can assess compliance, creating administrative discretion (see s8 exception and s3)."],"plain_english_summary":"This industry standard sets rules for anyone who sends marketing faxes in Australia: it limits when faxes can be sent, requires clear sender identification and an opt-out address on the first page, obliges senders to process opt-outs quickly, and caps how often a recipient may be faxed. It applies to participants in the fax marketing industry under the Telecommunications Act and imposes concrete compliance tasks enforced by the ACMA, replacing the 2011 fax marketing standard."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/telecommunications-fax-marketing-industry-standard-2021","history":"/api/acts/telecommunications-fax-marketing-industry-standard-2021/history","analysis":"/api/acts/telecommunications-fax-marketing-industry-standard-2021/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/telecommunications-fax-marketing-industry-standard-2021/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/telecommunications-fax-marketing-industry-standard-2021/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/telecommunications-fax-marketing-industry-standard-2021/documents"}}