Hey Telemarketers, If You Hadn’t Already Noticed, Australia Hates Your Guts

So this is the statistical proof that telemarketing companies should give up now: two-thirds of Australian households with a landline are on the Do Not Call Register, and the numbers continue to rise. According to the Australian Communications and Marketing Authority (ACMA), almost nine million numbers are now listed on the register, with one million of those signing up within the last 12 months.

Picture: Getty Images

Of the numbers listed, five million are for landlines, and around 3.85 million for mobile phones. Earlier this year, the registration period was extended to eight years.

Do Not Call isn’t a perfect solution — it doesn’t eliminate charity calls, politicians, or unscrupulous offshore auto-dialling scumbags who tell ridiculous lies about how they are calling from Microsoft or Telstra because a virus has been detected on your machine. But it sure beats being called up endlessly by people trying to convince you to switch power companies.

We’re very much in favour of being nice to people who work at inbound call centres — it’s generally a stressful and unrewarding job. But outbound calls bite. Companies using them should pursue different marketing strategies.


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