How does DNCR work?
- Australians register a home, mobile or fax number online or by phone, and the registration does not expire.
- Businesses that call subscribe to the register through ACMA and submit their lists for washing; matches come back flagged.
- Numbers must be washed within 30 days before the call; a washed list older than that has to be resubmitted.
- Calls within an existing relationship, and calls with the person's consent, are exempt, as are charities, political parties and researchers under set conditions.
- The Telemarketing and Research Calls Industry Standard adds calling hours (weekdays 9am to 8pm, Saturdays 9am to 5pm, never Sundays or public holidays) and disclosure rules.
A worked example
A Brisbane pool-servicing company with six technicians wants to phone 1,800 past customers who lapsed more than two years ago to offer a pre-summer check. Because the relationship has gone quiet, the office manager treats them as cold and submits the list to the Do Not Call Register for washing; 730 numbers come back registered and are removed. The remaining calls are scheduled for weekday evenings before 8pm Brisbane time, and the script states the company name, the purpose of the call and how to opt out.
Where does DNCR show up in your tools?
DNCR results come back as a flagged CSV from the ACMA washing portal or a licensed list-washing supplier, which the coordinator imports as a suppression list into the dialer (Aircall, RingCentral, Dialpad) and as a do-not-call tick box in the CRM.
Common mistakes
- Assuming a customer from five years ago is still an existing relationship; when in doubt, wash the number.
- Calling on a public holiday because the calendar was set to the caller's location, not the recipient's state.
- Skipping the wash for a small list, when the cost of washing is minor next to an ACMA infringement notice.
Why does DNCR matter?
ACMA publishes enforcement actions against telemarketers by name, and the reputational cost for a local business is real. Washing a list is a quick step that keeps a campaign lawful and your brand out of the news. This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice.
How does AssistBPO handle DNCR?
AssistBPO callers on Australian campaigns dial only from lists washed against the Do Not Call Register within the previous 30 days, with lawful consent and do-not-call scrubbing logged per campaign, and they keep to the Industry Standard calling hours in the recipient's state. Opt-out requests are written to the client's CRM on the same shift.