Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

SPAM ACT 2003 - SECT 20

             (1)  A person (the supplier ) must not supply or offer to supply:

                     (a)  address‑harvesting software; or

                     (b)  a right to use address‑harvesting software; or

                     (c)  a harvested‑address list; or

                     (d)  a right to use a harvested‑address list;

to another person (the customer ) if:

                     (e)  the supplier is:

                              (i)  an individual who is physically present in Australia at the time of the supply or offer; or

                             (ii)  a body corporate or partnership that carries on business or activities in Australia at the time of the supply or offer; or

                      (f)  the customer is:

                              (i)  an individual who is physically present in Australia at the time of the supply or offer; or

                             (ii)  a body corporate or partnership that carries on business or activities in Australia at the time of the supply or offer.

Note:          For treatment of partnerships, see section 585 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 .

             (2)  Subsection (1) does not apply if the supplier had no reason to suspect that the customer, or another person, intended to use the address‑harvesting software or the harvested‑address list, as the case may be, in connection with sending commercial electronic messages in contravention of section 16.

             (3)  Subsection (1) does not apply if the supplier:

                     (a)  did not know; and

                     (b)  could not, with reasonable diligence, have ascertained;

that the customer was:

                     (c)  an individual who was physically present in Australia at the time of the supply or offer; or

                     (d)  a body corporate or partnership that carried on business or activities in Australia at the time of the supply or offer.

             (4)  A person who wishes to rely on subsection (3) bears an evidential burden in relation to that matter.

Ancillary contraventions

             (5)  A person must not:

                     (a)  aid, abet, counsel or procure a contravention of subsection (1); or

                     (b)  induce, whether by threats or promises or otherwise, a contravention of subsection (1); or

                     (c)  be in any way, directly or indirectly, knowingly concerned in, or party to, a contravention of subsection (1); or

                     (d)  conspire with others to effect a contravention of subsection (1).

Civil penalty provisions

             (6)  Subsections (1) and (5) are civil penalty provisions .

Note:          Part 4 provides for pecuniary penalties for breaches of civil penalty provisions.