Which tradie messages count as marketing?
The ACMA says spam laws apply to commercial electronic messages, such as SMS and email marketing, and that a message which offers, advertises or promotes a product or service is commercial even if that is only one part of it. Its list of common mistakes includes bills, invoices and other account messages that also carry promotional content, and automated welcome sequences sent to new and prospective customers. For a trade business, a booking confirmation with no promotion is a job message. The same confirmation with a line about a discount on gutter guards becomes a commercial message.
When do you have consent to send a marketing message?
The ACMA describes two types of consent. Express consent is given when a person knowingly agrees to receive marketing, for example by filling in a form, ticking a box, or agreeing over the phone or face to face. Keep a record of who gave it, when and how, because it is up to you to prove consent. Inferred consent may apply where there is a provable, ongoing relationship and the marketing relates directly to it. The ACMA says inferred consent does not cover sending messages after someone has just bought something, and that adding a person to a marketing list because they sent an enquiry may breach the consent rules.
You cannot send a text or email asking for consent, because the ACMA treats that request as a marketing message itself. Ask on the quote acceptance form, during the job or on the phone, and record the answer against the customer.
Are quote follow-ups and review requests marketing?
Look at what the message does. A follow-up on a quote encourages the customer to buy the work you quoted, so the cautious approach is to treat it as commercial: identify your business, include contact details and an opt-out, and stop when the customer says no. A review request that includes any offer, discount or promotion is commercial on the ACMA's test. For a plain request for feedback about a finished job, adding the same identification and opt-out costs little and removes the doubt. The same applies to automated reminders about an annual service, which promote a service to a past customer.
How must you identify your business in a text or email?
The ACMA says each commercial message must accurately identify your name or business name and include correct contact details. Use the correct legal name of your business, or your name and ABN, and keep that information correct for at least 30 days after you send the message. If an SMS platform or marketing agency sends messages for you, the message must still identify your business as the one that authorised it. On a phone, the sender of a text is often shown as a sender ID, a shortened business name, which affects how unsubscribes work.
How must unsubscribes work for SMS and email?
The ACMA's unsubscribe fact sheet lists what a working opt-out needs. The ACMA also warns that asking people to reply to an SMS sender ID does not work, because people generally cannot reply to a sender ID, which means the unsubscribe process breaks the law. Use a number people can reply to, or a short link, and test it. Check that an unsubscribe recorded in your SMS tool also stops messages from your job software and email platform, or messages will keep arriving from another system.
- Clear instructions on how to unsubscribe.
- Actioned within 5 working days.
- No fee, and no more than the usual cost to send, such as a standard text.
- Works for at least 30 days after the message was sent.
- No need to create or log in to an account, or to give extra personal information.
Who is responsible when software or an agency sends the messages?
Your business remains responsible. The ACMA says businesses cannot outsource their spam obligations by using third parties for marketing, and its fact sheet tells businesses not to assume their providers are doing the right thing. For a trade business this can mean checking several systems: the job management software that sends booking and job texts, any SMS or email marketing tool, and any AI answering or follow-up service. Make sure an opt-out recorded in one reaches the others, and that each one sends under an identified business name. Recheck the setup whenever you add a new tool.