What are the New Zealand laws about permission?
New Zealand laws about unsolicited emails are very clear. Permission for email newsletters and marketing needs to be an opt-in situation rather than an opt-out, which is also in line with our permission guidelines.
Obtaining consent
Consent for emails may be express (direct permission from the person recieving the message), inferred (where the relationship already exsists - such as bought a similar product) or deemed. If you are unsure about your address list, ask us and we'll explain.
The Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007
According to the Department of Internal Affairs:
The Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 came into effect on the 5th of September 2007. The Act defines spam as 'unsolicited commercial electronic messages'.
The purposes of the Act are to:
- Prohibit unsolicited commercial electronic messages (spam) with a New Zealand link (i.e. messages sent to, from or within New Zealand)
- Require commercial electronic messages to include accurate information about the person who authorised the sending of the message and a functional unsubscribe facility to enable the recipient to instruct the sender that no further messages are to be sent to the recipient
- Prohibit address-harvesting software being used to create address lists for sending unsolicited commercial electronic messages
- Deter people from using information and communication technologies inappropriately.
The Act is also intended to encourage good direct marketing practice by:
- Requiring electronic messages to contain a functioning unsubscribe facility
- Ensuring electronic messages are sent only to customers who have consented to receiving it
- Restricting the use of address-harvesting software.
The Act covers email, instant messaging, SMS and MMS (text and image-based mobile phone messaging) of a commercial nature. It does not cover faxes, Internet pop-ups or voice telemarketing.
Still got a question? Please ask us. We'd love to help.