Register your phone numbers

Regulators are concerned at the high proportion of mobile phone numbers yet to be re-registered ahead of the looming date, May 1, for them to fall off the Do Not Call Register that bars unsolicited telemarketing calls.

As of last week, three out of four mobile phone numbers that were listed by the owners at the start-up of the register three years ago hadn't yet been re-registered, according to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which manages the register for the federal government.

Once entered, private mobile, landline and VOIP (internet) phone numbers remain on the register for three years. More than 373,000 mobile phone numbers were registered in the first month after the May 1, 2007, launch.

"There are still 280,667 mobile numbers to be re-registered before May, so if yours is one you need to act now or your number will automatically be removed from the register," the chairman of ACMA, Chris Chapman says.

Under the Do Not Call Register Act 2006, telemarketers aren't allowed to call numbers listed on the register.

Businesses that have an existing relationship with you, such as your bank, can still call. However, if you don't want those calls you just need to notify the business directly and then any further calls from that business would breach the law.

Certain public interest organisations, such as charities, religious bodies and political parties, are also exempt from the prohibition on unsolicited calls. Businesses seeking to comply with the Do Not Call law hand over their databases so listed numbers can be "washed" out of their marketing roll.

Those who breach the law can be fined $2200 for each call to a registered number. In August last year Telstra paid $100,000 for breaking the rules after one of its external call centres contacted listed numbers.

Last month, ACMA filed legal proceedings against telco gotalk Communications Pty Ltd, alleging two offshore call centres it engaged had made more than 40,000 telemarketing calls to numbers on the register.

The regulator also had to warn insulation providers in the ill-fated government home insulation program to desist from making unsolicited marketing calls after they accounted for more than 40 per cent of complaints in the first half of February.

As for landline phones, ACMA says NSW has the highest proportion of numbers yet to be re-registered - at last count 149,381 numbers could reopen to annoying marketing calls if their listing isn't renewed by May 1. Victoria follows with 139,367 numbers needing to be re-registered.ACMA said last year that the register had resulted in a

60 per cent reduction in complaints received about the telemarketing industry.

The regulator says if you do receive an unsolicited telemarketing call more than 30 days after entering a number on the register - the time buffer allows your number to filter through to marketers' databases - you should take down as much information as you can about the call and make a complaint.

People can register, re-register or make a complaint at www.donotcall .gov.au or phone 1300 792 958. Registration is free, you can list up to 10 numbers and you can re-register any time ahead of a listing expiring.

Key points

The national telecommunications consumer group ACCAN wants the law changed so listings on the Do Not Call Register are permanent, rather than people having to re-register their phone numbers every three years.

As of last year, similar registers in the US, Britain, Spain and India allowed permanent listing of numbers. In Canada, registrations expire every five years, compared with Australia's three-year listing.

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network says a Senate committee report into a proposed extension of the Do Not Call Register Act saw merit in the proposal but unfortunately stopped short of recommending it become part of the amendment bill now before Parliament.

The group also wants to get rid of the exemptions for "public interest" organisations but the Senate committee didn't endorse this submission.

The federal government plans to extend the Do Not Call register to include business and fax numbers, not just private numbers, but faces opposition.

It has also included in its bill the concept of "registered consent", where people on the register can specify that they're happy to receive telemarketing calls from certain industries.

Consumers urge permanent dont call status

The national telecommunications consumer group ACCAN wants the law changed so listings on the Do Not Call Register are permanent, rather than people having to re-register their phone numbers every three years.

As of last year, similar registers in the US, Britain, Spain and India allowed permanent listing of numbers. In Canada, registrations expire every five years, compared with Australia's three-year listing.

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network says a Senate committee report into a proposed extension of the Do Not Call Register Act saw merit in the proposal but unfortunately stopped short of recommending it become part of the amendment bill now before Parliament.

The group also wants to get rid of the exemptions for "public interest" organisations but the Senate committee didn't endorse this submission.

The federal government plans to extend the Do Not Call register to include business and fax numbers, not just private numbers, but faces opposition.

It has also included in its bill the concept of "registered consent", where people on the register can specify that they're happy to receive telemarketing calls from certain industries.