Do I need permission to text or email my customers offers in Australia?
Published · Updated
Yes. Under the Spam Act 2003 you need a customer's consent before you text or email them offers, every message must say who it's from, and each needs an unsubscribe you act on within 5 working days. The safest consent is a box they tick themselves, with a record of when. This is general information, not legal advice.
The three rules for every offer you send
Australia's regulator, ACMA, sums up the Spam Act 2003 in three rules for marketing emails and texts (ACMA: Avoid sending spam):
- Consent. You need the person's permission before you send marketing. It's up to you to prove you have it, so keep a record of who agreed, when and how.
- Say who you are. Each message must name your business accurately (your legal business name, or your name and ABN) and include your contact details. They must stay correct for at least 30 days after you send.
- An unsubscribe that works. Clear instructions, honoured within 5 working days, free to use, working for at least 30 days after the message, and with no log-in or new account needed to use it. For texts, ACMA's examples include "Reply STOP".
One practical catch from ACMA's own tips: if your texts come from a name instead of a number (an alphanumeric sender ID), people usually can't reply to them, so "Reply STOP" won't work. Give another way out.
What counts as an offer?
ACMA's rules cover commercial messages: anything that offers, advertises or promotes what you sell. In its January to March 2026 report, ACMA says that if a message contains any promotional or sales content, it's commercial, even when most of it is factual, and that a link to promotional material can make it commercial too (ACMA report).
For a loyalty program, that means:
- "You've got 7 of 10 stamps." Factual, about their own card.
- "You've got 7 of 10 stamps. Double stamps this Friday!" Commercial: the promotion makes the whole message an offer.
The simplest way to stay on the right side is to keep card updates and offers in separate messages.
Express or inferred consent?
ACMA describes two kinds:
- Express consent: the person knowingly agrees to get your marketing, for example by filling in a form, ticking a box on a website, over the phone or face to face. ACMA calls this best practice.
- Inferred consent: in some cases, when someone has an ongoing relationship with your business (a membership or an account) and the offer is directly related to it. ACMA says it doesn't cover messages sent after someone has just bought something from you, and that it's less reliable than express consent.
ACMA also says you can't send a message to ask for consent (the asking is itself marketing), and you can't use a list made with address-harvesting software. A bought list doesn't bring consent with it either: you're still responsible for having it.
What happens if you get it wrong?
ACMA acts on it, and names businesses. In its January to March 2026 report, ACMA says Lululemon Athletica Australia paid an infringement penalty of A$702,900 for sending more than 370,000 marketing emails with no way to unsubscribe. The rules are the same for a corner café as for a national chain.
And privacy?
That's a different law, the Privacy Act 1988, with a different threshold. The OAIC (the privacy regulator) says most small businesses, meaning an annual turnover of A$3 million or less, aren't covered by the Privacy Act, but some are regardless of turnover, including health service providers and businesses that trade in personal information (OAIC: Small business). The OAIC has a checklist on the same page to work out where you stand.
Covered or not, the same good habits apply: collect only what you need (a first name and a mobile run a whole loyalty program), tell customers plainly who receives their details, and keep the list safe.
A checklist before you send any offer
- Send only to people who agreed to get offers from you, and keep the record of when and how they agreed.
- Put your business name (or your name and ABN) and contact details in the message.
- Include an unsubscribe that works without a log-in, and act on it within 5 working days.
- Keep card updates and promotions in separate messages.
- Never text or email numbers from receipts, bookings or paper sign-up sheets with offers unless those people agreed to offers.
How this works on Rewardtree
- Each shop's page has its own box for offers ("your shop can text me offers"). It starts unticked, only the customer can tick it, and it covers that one shop only.
- Customers can see or delete their details, and switch offers off, at rewardtr.ee/manage, after confirming their mobile with a code we text them. That doesn't replace the unsubscribe each of your own messages needs under the rules above.
- Before you send an offer any other way, like your own texts or emails, make sure each person agreed to get offers from you. If you're not sure someone did, ask them in person first.
If you send an offer yourself, you're the sender, so the rules above are yours to follow. This page is general information, not legal advice; if you're unsure, ACMA's and the OAIC's pages linked above are the place to check.
More questions, answered#
Can I text customers who gave me their number for a booking or an order?#
Not with offers, unless they agreed. ACMA says consent can sometimes be inferred from an ongoing relationship, such as a membership, but not from someone having just bought something from you. The safe route is to ask them, in person or on a form, to tick a box for offers.
Is a "your reward is ready" message marketing?#
A message that only tells a customer about their own card is factual. Add a promotion, like "double stamps this Friday", and ACMA treats the whole message as commercial, even if most of it is factual, so the consent and unsubscribe rules apply.
Can I text customers to ask if they want offers?#
No. ACMA says you can't send an electronic message to ask for consent, because that message is itself marketing. Ask in person, at the counter, or with a tick box on your join form.
Does the Spam Act apply to small businesses?#
Yes. ACMA's rules apply to anyone who sends marketing emails or texts; there's no small-business exemption. The Privacy Act is different: most businesses with an annual turnover of A$3 million or less aren't covered by it, though some are.
Do I need a privacy policy for my loyalty program?#
It depends on whether the Privacy Act covers your business. The OAIC has a short checklist for small businesses on its website. Either way, tell customers plainly who receives their details, collect only what you need, and keep it safe.
