Do Not Call Register attracts consumer interest

According to Senator Helen Coonan, as at 10 May online registrations on the Do Not Call Register were over 530,000, just one week after pre-registrations opened on 3 May.

Telephone registrations are scheduled to open on 22 May.

The Do Not Call Register will begin operation on 31 May. From that date, it will generally be unlawful to make telemarketing calls to numbers on the Register.

From 25 May, telemarketers will be able to submit their calling lists to the Register operator for checking against the register before the scheme commences.

Postal applications are downloadable from the Do Not Call Register website (www.donotcall.gov.au) and will be available from Australia Post outlets from 15 May.

The initial online registration problems have been blamed on verification procedures (Australian IT).