Sydney 28 May 2013. Cellarmaster Wines Pty Limited has paid a $110,000 infringement notice following an Australian Communications and Media Authority investigation that found Cellarmaster Wines sent marketing messages that did not comply with the Spam Act.

Some of the messages, which promoted Cellarmaster Wines' online website, were sent without an opt-out facility, while others were sent to customers who had previously chosen to opt out of its email promotions.

The Spam Act requires that all marketing emails are sent only with the consent of the recipient and provide an opportunity for recipients to opt out of receiving further marketing messages.

'This is simply a case where a business has failed to take sufficient care in managing its Spam Act responsibilities,' said ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman.

'As a result, Cellarmaster Wines has found itself in hot water, not only with the ACMA but with its customers,' he added.

The ACMA's most recent e-marketing blog looks at the importance of respecting opt out requests. Showing your customers that you are listening to them is a great way to enhance your reputation and can often turn a negative into a big positive for your business or, at least, not compound the negative.

Backgrounder

The Spam Act 2003 regulates commercial electronic messaging in Australia. Commercial electronic messages can be emails, SMS messages, MMS messages, instant messaging messages, or any other similar messages.

The Act sets outs that a commercial electronic message must have the following features:

Consent – it must be sent with the recipient's consent. A recipient may give express consent, or consent may be inferred from their conduct and existing business or other relationships

Identify – it must contain accurate information about the person or organisation that authorised the sending of the message

Unsubscribe – it must contain a functional "unsubscribe" facility to allow the recipient to opt out from receiving messages from that source in the future.

Businesses must action unsubscribe requests within 5 business days. The unsubscribe facility must be clear and obvious to the recipient, and must be included in ALL commercial electronic messages.

The e-marketing blog is a key part of the ACMA's campaign –'Successful e-marketing…it's about reputation'– which highlights that e-marketing to recipients who do not want to receive your messages is not a successful business strategy. To sign up for the blog and to get further information about 'Successful e-marketing…it's about reputation,' go to www.spam.acma.gov.au.

If you receive a marketing email that you think may not comply with the Spam Act, you can report it to the ACMA's Spam Intelligence Database by forwarding the message to report@submit.spam.acma.gov.au. You can forward SMS spam to the Spam SMS service on 0429 999 888.