MESSAGING IN AUSTRALIA
🇦🇺 WhatsApp messaging rules in Australia.
The rules that matter when you send WhatsApp marketing, sales and service messages to people in Australia, in plain English, checked 28 September 2026.
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Illustrative example. Names and details are made up.
The laws.
- Spam Act 2003 (Cth), enforced by the ACMA
- Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, overseen by the OAIC
- Australian Consumer Law (for your offers and claims)
THE RULES
What they mean for WhatsApp.
| Rule | What it means for WhatsApp |
|---|---|
| What’s covered | WhatsApp messages that offer or promote goods or services are “commercial electronic messages” under the Spam Act when they have an Australian link. |
| Consent | Express consent (a ticked box, a form, a recorded request) or inferred consent from an existing relationship. The ACMA says inferred consent is less reliable. You must be able to prove consent. |
| Identify yourself | Every commercial message must clearly identify your business and include contact details that stay valid for at least 30 days. |
| Unsubscribe | Every commercial message needs a working way to unsubscribe, free of charge, that keeps working for at least 30 days after sending. Honour requests within 5 working days. We recommend immediately. |
| Mixed messages | If a message contains any promotional content, the ACMA treats it as commercial. A shipping update with a discount code needs consent and an unsubscribe. |
| Bought or scraped lists | Using harvested address lists or harvesting software is prohibited. |
| Privacy | If the Privacy Act applies to you (turnover above A$3 million, or an exception such as health services), APP 5 notices, APP 11 security and APP 12 access rights apply. Many small businesses are exempt, but good practice is to follow the APPs anyway. |
RISK
Enforcement.
The ACMA enforces the Spam Act and has issued significant penalties, including A$7.5 million against Commonwealth Bank in 2024 and A$702,900 against Lululemon in 2026 for marketing emails sent as “service” messages without an unsubscribe.
META
Plus Meta’s rules, everywhere.
- Opt-in: people must agree to receive WhatsApp messages from your business, and the opt-in must name your business.
- Templates: messages you start outside a customer’s 24-hour window must use approved templates.
- Opt-outs: respect requests to stop, made on WhatsApp or anywhere else.
- A human: give people a way to reach a person.
- No sensitive data requests: never ask for full card numbers, bank account numbers or ID numbers in the chat.
IN THE PRODUCT
How ConvoHut helps.
HOW CONVOHUT HELPS
- A compliance review for each market before an automation or campaign goes live, covering consent, an unsubscribe option in the template and your sender details.
- Every contact has a consent status, visible in the inbox next to the conversation.
- Opt-outs stop journeys for that contact and exclude them from future marketing messages.
- Quiet hours by market, so messages aren’t sent in the middle of the night.
- A confirmation step before any campaign is sent, with the Meta cost shown first.
ConvoHut’s checks help you follow the rules. They don’t replace your own legal obligations, and you’re responsible for the consent you collect and the messages you send.
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