The acquisitions manager at a small energy retailer in Brisbane wanted an AI agent to ring households across south-east Queensland about a new solar feed-in plan, working through a list of contacts that had been collected over several years from comparison sites, events and old campaigns. Before the first call, the list had to be checked against the Do Not Call Register, and most of the remaining questions were about which of those contacts had actually agreed to be called.
The businesses in this article are illustrative examples, not named StartAutomate clients.
Key takeaways
- Telemarketing calls to numbers on Australia's Do Not Call Register are not allowed unless the person has consented, and that applies whether a person or an AI makes the call.
- The telemarketing industry standard sets calling hours, requires the caller to identify the business, and requires caller ID to be shown.
- AI outbound calling fits best with people who asked to be contacted and with service calls to existing customers.
The Do Not Call Register
The Do Not Call Register Act 2006 lets people register their numbers to opt out of most telemarketing calls, and it applies to calls offering or promoting goods and services. A business making telemarketing calls must wash its list against the Register, through the Register operator, before calling, unless it holds consent from the person to be called.
The Act does not treat AI callers differently from people. A call from an AI agent promoting an energy plan is a telemarketing call in exactly the same way as one from a call centre.
Calling hours and the industry standard
The Telecommunications (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard sets the hours for telemarketing calls, which are 9am to 8pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays, with no calls on Sundays or national public holidays, all in the recipient's local time.
The caller must identify the business early in the call, give contact details if asked, and show a number the recipient can call back. It must also end the call when the person asks, which an AI agent can be relied on to do every single time.
Consent and existing customers
Consent can be express, such as a tick box on the business's own website agreeing to calls, or in some cases inferred from an existing relationship, and ACMA expects businesses to be able to prove it. Consent collected by a third party, such as a comparison site, is the kind ACMA looks at closely.
Service calls to existing customers about their own account, such as a meter read, a bill, or a reminder about a scheduled installation, are not telemarketing, and they are the most natural place for AI calling.
ACMA enforcement
The Australian Communications and Media Authority enforces the Register and the industry standard, and it has issued substantial penalties to companies that called registered numbers without consent or called outside permitted hours, including energy and telecommunications providers.
This article is a practical summary rather than legal advice. A business planning any outbound campaign should have its consent records and scripts reviewed first, and the Brisbane retailer's older contacts are exactly the sort of list that review is for.
Common questions
Does the Do Not Call Register apply to AI calls?
Yes. Telemarketing calls to registered numbers are prohibited without consent regardless of whether a person or an AI agent makes the call.
What hours can telemarketing calls be made in Australia?
Under the industry standard, 9am to 8pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays in the recipient's local time, with no calls on Sundays or national public holidays.
Can AI call existing customers?
Service calls to existing customers about their own account are not telemarketing and are a good fit for AI calling. Promotional calls still need to follow the Register and the standard.