Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Introduction Agents Act 1997 - SECT 11

Exemption for information service providers

11. Exemption for information service providers



(1) In this section-

information provider means a person who operates an information service;

information service means the provision of details of people seeking a
personal or social relationship with one or more other people.

(2) An information provider does not act as an introduction agent in operating
an information service if-

   (a)  a person can obtain details of people seeking a personal or social
        relationship with one or more other people from the information
        service without the need to speak to, or to otherwise communicate
        personally and directly with, the information provider (or any person
        employed by the information provider); and

   (b)  a person who provides information to the information provider (or any
        person employed by the information provider) for the purpose of having
        that information provided to other people is not, by providing the
        information, placed under any obligation-

   (i)  to use the service again; or

   (ii) to pay a fee of more than $50 (or any other amount fixed by the
        regulations for the purposes of this paragraph); and

   (c)  a person to whom the information is provided is not, by using the
        information service, placed under any obligation-

   (i)  to use the service again; or

   (ii) to pay a fee of more than $50 (or any other amount fixed by the
        regulations for the purposes of this paragraph).

(3) If the fees for providing information to, or obtaining information from,
an information service are based on the length of time a person has electronic
or mechanical access to the information service and the length of that time is
automatically recorded by electronic or mechanical means, subsections
(2)(b)(ii) and (c)(ii) do not apply in determining whether an information
provider falls within the exemption provided by subsection (2).