Australian Capital Territory Consolidated Acts Australian Capital Territory Consolidated Acts(1) A person must not, in trade or commerce, assert a right to payment from another person for unsolicited goods unless he or she has reasonable cause to believe that there is a right to payment.
(2) A person must not, in trade or commerce, assert a right to payment from another person for unsolicited services unless he or she has reasonable cause to believe that there is a right to payment.
(3) A person must not assert a right to payment from another person of a charge for the making in a directory of an entry relating to the other person or to his or her profession, business, trade or occupation unless the firstmentioned person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the other person has authorised the making of the entry.
(4) A person is not liable to make any payment to another person, and is entitled to recover by action in a court of competent jurisdiction against another person any payment made by him or her to that other person, in full or part satisfaction of a charge for the making of an entry in a directory unless the firstmentioned person has authorised the making of the entry.
(5) For this section, a person is taken to assert a right to a payment from a person for unsolicited goods or services, or of a charge for the making of an entry in a directory, if the person—
(a) makes a demand for the payment or asserts a present or prospective right to the payment; or
(b) threatens to bring any legal proceedings with a view to obtaining the payment; or
(c) places or causes to be placed the name of the person on a list of defaulters or debtors, or threatens to do so, with a view to obtaining the payment; or
(d) invokes or causes to be invoked any other collection procedure, or threatens to do so, with a view to obtaining the payment; or
(e) sends any invoice or other document stating the amount of the payment or setting out the price of the goods or services or the charge for the making of the entry and not stating as prominently (or more prominently) that no claim is made to the payment, or to payment of the price or charge.
(6) A person is not taken for this section to have authorised the making of an entry in a directory unless—
(a) a document authorising the making of the entry has been signed by the person or by another person authorised by him or her; and
(b) a copy of the document has been given to the person before the right to payment of a charge for the making of the entry is asserted; and
(c) the document states—
(i) the name of the directory; and
(ii) the name and address of the person publishing the directory; and
(iii) particulars of the entry; and
(iv) the amount of the charge for the making of the entry or the basis on which the charge is, or is to be, calculated.
(7) For this section, an invoice or other document purporting to have been sent by or on behalf of a person is taken to have been sent by that person unless the contrary is established.
(8) In proceedings against a person in relation to a contravention of this section—
(a) for a contravention constituted by asserting a right to payment from another person for unsolicited goods or unsolicited services—the burden lies on the person against whom the proceedings have been brought of proving that he or she had reasonable cause to believe that there was a right to payment; or
(b) for a contravention constituted by asserting a right to payment from a person of a charge for the making of an entry in a directory—the burden lies on the person against whom the proceedings have been brought of proving that he or she knew or had reasonable cause to believe that the person had authorised the making of the entry.
(9) In this section:
"directory" includes any publication of a similar nature to a directory but does not include a newspaper published honestly as a newspaper at regular intervals or a publication published, or to be published, by or under the authority of the Telstra Corporation Limited.
"making", in relation to an entry in a directory, means including, or arranging for the inclusion of, the entry.