The direct marketing and contact call centre industry have expressed concern at Federal Government's plan to extend the Do Not Call register to cover business numbers.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy plans to introduce new legislation into Parliament later this year, following a period of community consultation. He said that the legislation will contain a "flexible mechanism" to allow "everyday phone calls that are a legitimate part of the business process".
The Australian Direct Marketing Association (ADMA) said that the proposed changes would cost jobs in the industry and have a major impact on small businesses. Britain has a similar scheme to the one proposed for Australia and businesses are required to pay to access the register.
ADMA CEO, Rob Edwards, said the Government’s announcement that it will widen the scope of the Do Not Call Register (DNCR) to allow all business and fax numbers to be registered will have a devastating impact on Australia’s contact centre industry and will hamper economic activity in general.
Mr Edwards said that contact centres had generated $45 billion in revenue in 2008. Australia has an estimated 3,821 in-house or outsourced contact centres operating 191,000 ‘seats’ on behalf of 1,806 organisations. These centres are often located in regional areas and are major employers.
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