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Reference: 090622

24 August 2009

Community Attitudes to Unsolicited Communications

Research Report

Prepared for

Table of Contents

Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................3

Background & Objectives...............................................................................................................8Background...................................................................................................................8Research objectives......................................................................................................9

Research Methodology..................................................................................................................10Target population........................................................................................................10Sample design............................................................................................................10Questionnaire design..................................................................................................10Interviewers and training.............................................................................................11Newspoll’s Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing System (CATI).....................11Weighting....................................................................................................................11Sampling error.............................................................................................................11Guidelines for reading this report................................................................................13

SECTION 1: EMAIL & MOBILE PHONE USAGE...........................................................................14

Email and Mobile Phone Usage....................................................................................................15Email and mobile phone use.......................................................................................15Types of messages.....................................................................................................17

SECTION 2: THE DO NOT CALL REGISTER................................................................................19

Awareness of the Do Not Call Register........................................................................................20

Do Not Call Register Registration................................................................................................22Incidence of registration..............................................................................................22Barriers to registering..................................................................................................24Interest in registering...................................................................................................25

The Registration Process..............................................................................................................27When registered on Do Not Call Register...................................................................27Method of registration.................................................................................................28Ease of registration process........................................................................................29

Effectiveness of Do Not Call Register..........................................................................................30

Knowledge of the Do Not Call Register and the Industry Standard..........................................32Knowledge of call exemptions.....................................................................................32Knowledge of the registration process........................................................................33Knowledge of the industry standard............................................................................35

SECTION 3: SPAM..........................................................................................................................37

Types of Email Addresses............................................................................................................38

Awareness and Understanding of Spam.....................................................................................41Awareness of spam.....................................................................................................41Understanding of spam...............................................................................................42

Awareness of Spam Laws.............................................................................................................45Awareness of laws against spam................................................................................45Understanding of spam laws.......................................................................................46

ACMA Report: Community Attitudes to Unsolicited Communications1

Use of Spam Filters........................................................................................................................48

Personal Experiences with Spam.................................................................................................51Amount of email spam................................................................................................51Time spent on email spam..........................................................................................53How email spam is dealt with......................................................................................54Amount of SMS/MMS spam........................................................................................55Time spent on SMS/MMS spam..................................................................................56How SMS/MMS spam is dealt with.............................................................................57

SECTION 4: COMPLAINTS............................................................................................................58

Complaints Process.......................................................................................................................59Unsolicited telemarketing call complaints....................................................................59Unsolicited email or mobile phone spam complaints..................................................60Considered making a telemarketing or spam complaint.............................................62

Appendix 1: Sample Profile & Response Summary...................................................................63

Appendix 2: Questionnaire...............................................................................................................65


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) commissioned Newspoll to conduct research to explore community attitudes to unsolicited telemarketing calls and electronic communications, and the awareness and effectiveness of the regimes that regulate these communications.

The survey was conducted using a Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) methodology. Fieldwork was conducted 5-9 June 2009 and 1,625 interviews were completed amongst people aged 18 years and over throughout Australia.

The design was a random sample stratified by geographic region and a Random Digit Dialling (RDD) sample frame was used for the survey. The data was post-weighted to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data on age, highest level of schooling completed, sex and area, to ensure it reflected the distribution of the Australian population.

Section 1: Email and Mobile Usage

The majority of Australian adults (85 per cent) have a mobile phone for personal use, and around three in four (74 per cent) have an email address they use for personal purposes. Seven in ten (70 per cent) have both a mobile and an email address for their personal use.

Among those with a personal mobile phone, the majority (85 per cent) send or receive some form of message. The most commonly used message is SMS, with 84 per cent of mobile phone users sending or receiving these. One in three (33 per cent) send or receive MMS, and nearly one in five mobile users (18 per cent) send or receive emails.

Section 2: Do Not Call Register

Overview: Around one in three Australian adults (32 per cent) have registered a number on the Do Not Call Register (the Register), although some did not personally register the number. While all of these people have their home number on the Register, only six per cent of all adults have registered their mobile phone numbers.

The Register appears to have been very effective, particularly for those who have their home phone number registered.

Awareness is not the barrier to registration. In fact, awareness of the Register is high, as is the level of interest in registering amongst those not currently on the Register. The key barriers are that people have either not got around to it, or they do not experience problems with telemarketing calls.

Awareness and knowledge of aspects of the Do Not Call Register Act and the registration process itself are generally low.

Three in four Australians (75 per cent) have heard of the Register. The main source of awareness is friends and family, or word of mouth, as mentioned by seven in ten who are aware of the Register (69 per cent). Nearly half of those aware of the Register


(48 per cent) heard of it on television, while just over a third know of it from the radio (37 per cent) or newspapers (35 per cent).

Around one in three Australian adults (32 per cent) have a number on the Register. Thirty two per cent of households have their home phone number on the Register, with 26 per cent registering their home phone number only, and six per cent registering both their home and mobile numbers.

Of those who have their home number on the Register, 78 per cent registered it themselves and 22 per cent had someone else register it for them.

The main barrier to registering on the Register is simply that they have not got around to it (25 per cent of those not on the Register), or couldn’t be bothered (20 per cent). A further 16 per cent mention they don’t know how to register or know enough about it. In total, nearly three in five (57 per cent) mention these type of barriers.

For others, it is more that they do not experience problems in this area, as mentioned overall by two in five (40 per cent). Fifteen per cent are not on the Register because they don’t receive many unsolicited or telemarketing calls, 14 per cent say unsolicited or telemarketing calls don’t bother them, whilst 12 per cent just tell the caller they are not interested or hang up.

When asked their level of interest in registering on the Register, interest levels are high amongst those not already on the Register. Nearly three in four people not currently on the Register (73 per cent) are interested in registering - and these people are fairly equally divided between those who are ‘very interested’ (38 per cent) and those who are ‘somewhat interested’ (35 per cent). Around a quarter of those not currently on the Register (26 per cent) are not interested in registering.

In terms of the length of time on the Register, one in ten people who have registered a number on the Register (10 per cent) did so within the last three months (one per cent in the last 30 days and nine per cent one to three months ago). So the vast majority (90 per cent) have been on the Register for at least three months.

The vast majority who registered a number on the Register (95 per cent) claim the registration process was easy; with seven in ten (71 per cent) saying it was ‘very easy’.

The most common method of registration is online, as mentioned by three in five (60 per cent) of those who have personally registered a number on the Register. People were twice as likely to register online, than over the telephone (30 per cent registered via the telephone). A small proportion (six per cent) registered by mail.

Around four in five with their home phone number registered (79 per cent) report fewer telemarketing calls since registering. However, 16 per cent report no change in the number of telemarketing calls to their home phone number, and three per cent claim to have experienced an increase in these calls.

Nearly two-thirds of those whose mobile numbers are on the Register (65 per cent) say they have received fewer telemarketing calls. Three in ten (30 per cent), however, report there has been no change in the number of telemarketing calls they receive.


In terms of registrants’ knowledge of the types of calls which are exempt from the Register, they are most likely to be aware that calls from charities are allowed on the Register, as mentioned by seven in ten (70 per cent). Overall, knowledge about the other call types being exempt from the Register is fairly low; registrants are equally divided between those who believe market and social research calls are exempt, and those who think they are not exempt (46 per cent each); only three in ten (30 per cent) are aware that political parties can still make calls to people on the Register; and even fewer (26 per cent) know that calls from educational or religious organisations are allowed on the Register.

When asked about their knowledge of aspects of the registration process, three in five on the Register (60 per cent) are aware that you may still get calls from telemarketers within the first 30 days of registration, only one in four (25 per cent) know that registration is valid for three years, and even fewer (15 per cent) are aware they can re-register any time before the three year registration expires.

The majority of Australians are not aware of the legal restrictions pertaining to telemarketing calls. Around two thirds (68 per cent) feel they do not know anything about the restrictions on the times and days when telemarketers can call. However one in three (32 per cent) claim they know at least a little about these.

Awareness of the restrictions governing call times is low, with nearly nine in ten saying they know nothing about this aspect: just over one in ten (13 per cent) know a little about the fact that the times and days telemarketers can call are somewhat different to when a market researcher can call; even fewer are aware that calls from telemarketers and market researchers may be made outside of the restricted times if the person agrees to this, with 11 per cent knowing ‘a little or a lot’ about this.

Section 3: Spam

Overview: Awareness and understanding of spam is generally high, as is use of spam filters. However, despite these filters, on average, email users are receiving 23 spam emails a week, with most users deleting them without opening them. SMS or MMS spam is less prevalent, with personal mobile phone users receiving an average of two spam messages per month. Awareness of Australia’s anti spam laws is low.

In terms of the types of email addresses people use to send and receive their personal emails, email addresses provided by internet service providers (ISPs) (63 per cent of this sub-group use this type, and it is the main email address for 48 per cent). The next most commonly used are web-based email accounts such as yahoo or G-Mail (used by 54 per cent of email users, and the main address for 37 per cent). Just under half (47 per cent) have an email address provided by their workplace or place of education which they use for personal emails, and for 13 per cent of email users, this is the one they use most often.

Nearly four in five adults (78 per cent) have heard of the term ‘spam’. Overall there is a fairly high level of understanding of what spam is amongst those who have heard of the term. It is described as unsolicited or unwanted email messages (25 per cent); junk mail (21 per cent); unsolicited or unwanted advertising or trying to sell something people do not want (20 per cent);and advertising or marketing


(nine per cent). In terms of overall themes, spam is typically described in a negative way.

Nearly three in ten people (28 per cent) claim to be aware that Australia has laws against spam. However, every second Australian (50 per cent), although aware of spam, did not know there are laws against it.

Among those who say they are aware there are laws against spam, people are most likely to know the laws cover spam sent to an email address, as mentioned by 62 per cent. Forty four per cent of those aware of spam laws believe they cover SMS or MMS spam, and around one in three (32 per cent) believe spam sent to instant messaging accounts is covered by the laws. Only 29 per cent say that spam sent to someone’s profile on a social network webpage is covered by the legislation.

When asked about the types of spam filters used to filter out spam before it reaches people’s email inbox, most of those who have a personal email address (86 per cent) claim to use some sort of spam filter on their email account. The type of spam filters used closely reflects the type of email accounts that people have. The most popular filter (although by only a small margin) is that provided by web-based email account (used by 42 per cent of personal email users). The remainder are fairly equally divided between those who use a filter provided by their place of work/education (37 per cent), their ISP (35 per cent) or one they have bought or downloaded themselves (33 per cent).

On average, email users claim to receive approximately 23 spam emails per week (around three per day) in their personal inbox. One in three email users (33 per cent) report they do not receive any email spam, and 14 per cent receive just one to two spam emails per week, and the same proportion receive three to five spam emails over this period. At the other end of the scale, seven per cent of email users claim they receive over 50 spam emails a week.

The overall time spent dealing with email spam is relatively short, averaging just five minutes per week among all personal emailers. However for a small group, the inconvenience seems to be somewhat greater, with seven per cent claiming to spend more than 15 minutes per week dealing with this, and around half of this group are spending more than half an hour per week managing their spam.

By far the most popular course of action undertaken by those receiving email spam is to delete the spam without opening it, as mentioned by 85 per cent of this sub-group. A further seven per cent say they do nothing and simply ignore their email spam, and a similar proportion (six per cent) deletes their spam after opening them. Relatively few (two per cent) say they use the ‘unsubscribe’ link in these spam emails.

On average, mobile phone users claim to receive just two SMS/MMS spam messages per month. Around three in four personal mobile phone users (76 per cent) do not receive any SMS/MMS spam messages on their mobiles. Thirteen per cent of mobile phone users receive one to two spam messages on their mobiles per month, and a very small minority (one per cent), claim to receive more than 10 per month.

Given the majority of mobile phone users do not receive SMS/MMS spam messages, it is not surprising that the average time spent dealing with these


messages is just one minute per month. One in five (19 per cent) mobile phone users spend less than five minutes per month on mobile spam messages, and four per cent report they spend five to ten minutes dealing with these messages.

Every second person who receives SMS/MMS spam on their mobile phone deletes them without opening them. However, unlike email spam, some SMS/MMS spam receivers are inclined to open them before deleting them, with two in five (41 per cent) reporting this is what happens.

Section 4: Complaints

Overview: Generally people are unsure who they would complain to about unsolicited telemarketing calls. Complaining about unsolicited spam messages, however, is a little clearer, with many opting to contact the telephone or internet service provider. Supporting this, nearly one in four have considered making a complaint, but have not gone through with it (mainly because they didn’t know how to).

Nearly every second Australian (47 per cent) say they do not know who they would contact if they were going to make an official complaint about an unsolicited telemarketing call to their home phone. The most commonly mentioned place is their telephone service provider (26 per cent). Other organisations which were mentioned include the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) (12 per cent) and the organisation that made the call (10 per cent). Seven per cent specifically mentioned the Register, and six per cent say they would contact the ACMA.

Two in five people with a personal mobile phone or email address (39 per cent) say they do not know who they would contact if they were going to make an official complaint about unsolicited email / mobile phone spam. Just over one in three mobile phone/email users (36 per cent) would contact their telephone or ISP. Around one in ten (11 per cent) would contact the organisation that sent the spam, and six per cent each mentioned the ACMA or the ACCC as a place they would go to.

Nearly one in four Australians (24 per cent) say they had thought about making an official complaint about either telemarketing or spam, but decided not to go through with the complaint. The most common reason for not going through with a complaint is being unsure how to go about making the complaint (68 per cent of this sub-group). Others mention they thought it would be too complicated (45 per cent), or their complaint would not be taken seriously (43 per cent) or they didn’t have time (43 per cent).


BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES

Background

The Australian and Communications Authority (the ACMA) is an independent statutory authority responsible for the regulation of broadcasting, the internet, radiocommunications and telecommunications in Australia.

Two areas of the ACMA’s responsibility relevant to this research are:

1. Establishing and overseeing the operation of the Do Not Call Register (the Register), under the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 (the DNCR Act). The Register provides Australians with the opportunity to opt out of receiving certain types of unsolicited telemarketing calls.

The ACMA is also responsible for enforcing the Telecommunications (Do Not Call Register) (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2007 (the Standard). The standard directs when and how telemarketers can contact individuals. Specifically, it governs:

the times at which telemarketing and research calls cannot be made; information that must be provided by the caller including their name and

business; the termination of telemarketing and research calls; and the use of calling line identification.

2. Under the Spam Act 2003, it is illegal to send, or cause to be sent, unsolicited commercial electronic messages. The Act covers email, instant messaging, SMS and MMS of a commercial nature. It does not cover faxes, internet pop-ups or voice telemarketing. The ACMA is responsible for enforcing the Spam Act and actively works to fight spam in Australia. The ACMA undertakes investigations into major breaches of the Spam Act. The ACMA also responds to complaints and enquiries about unsolicited electronic messages, and provides information/advice to consumers and businesses on reporting and reducing spam.

The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy is required to review the operations of the DNCR Act in 2010. In preparation for this review, the ACMA commissioned Newspoll to conduct research to explore community attitudes to unsolicited telemarketing calls and electronic communications, and the awareness and effectiveness of the regimes that regulate these communications.

In addition to benchmarking awareness levels of the Register, the research will assist the ACMA by informing their future consumer education and communication activities, as well as setting directions for any potential changes to the legislation in the future.


Research objectives

The research objectives for this study were to measure:

the level of awareness and understanding of the Do Not Call Register (the Register);

registrations on the Register and perceptions of the registration process;

effectiveness of the Register in reducing the amount of telemarketing calls received to the consumer’s telephone number;

awareness of the DNCR Act, for example, prohibited calling times, exempt organisations, requirement to re-register after three years etc;

the level of awareness and understanding of spam and the Spam Act;

personal experiences with spam; and

awareness of the complaints process for the Register and for unsolicited electronic messages.


RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The survey was conducted using a Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) methodology. Fieldwork started on 5 June 2009 and finished on 9 June 2009 and 1,625 interviews were completed. A detailed description of the methodology used to undertake the research is included in this section.

Target population

The target population was all people aged 18 years and over in Australia. One person per household was selected based on a last birthday screening method.

Sample design

The design was a random sample of 1,625 persons aged 18 years and over stratified by geographic region (see table below). Quotas were set for groups of statistical divisions or subdivisions.

The sample frame was the new Random Digit Dialing (RDD)-based frame developed by the Association of Market and Social Research Organisations (AMSRO) exclusively for AMSRO members.

The following table shows the achieved final sample numbers, which were exactly the same as the planned sample design.

Sample Achieved for Unsolicited Communications Survey

Sample achieved Five main capital cities

Rest of state

Total

New South Wales (incl ACT) 260 200 460

Victoria 260 134 394

Queensland 134 134 268

South Australia 134 70 204

Western Australia 134 70 204

Tasmania - 70 70

Northern Territory - 25 25

TOTAL 922 703 1,625

A full sample profile and response rate information is appended to this report (Appendix 1).

Questionnaire design

A draft questionnaire was developed by Newspoll, with input and approval from the ACMA.

This draft questionnaire was pre-tested, using a cognitive interview methodology, to ensure the questions and response categories made sense, were not ambiguous, flowed well, and so on. This stage involved six face-to-face depth interviews with randomly recruited respondents, and they were conducted at Newspoll’s offices in Sydney by the


Project Directors responsible for the study. The findings from this stage were provided to the ACMA in a report, which included recommendations for changes to the survey script.

Newspoll then prepared a final questionnaire based on the ACMA’s feedback to the pre-test report. A copy of the questionnaire is appended to this report (Appendix 2).

Interviewers and training

All interviewers used for the Unsolicited Communications Survey were trained on how to administer the questionnaire by the CATI supervisor. Written instructions were also supplied to all interviewers.

Interviewer training covered the following issues:

Survey overview;

Nature and purpose of the survey;

Questionnaire content;

Contact procedures/administration;

Quality control procedures, and

Practice interviews.

All interviewers were continuously supervised during and after the initial training session to ensure that the procedures were followed correctly throughout the duration of interviewing, and to allow the prompt resolution of respondent queries.

Newspoll’s Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing System (CATI)

Newspoll maintains a CATI telephone system in Sydney.

CATI allows automatic sequencing of survey respondents to ensure accurate survey completion. In-built range and logic checks are applied to the program where appropriate to further ensure data validity.

CATI can automatically program call back and appointment times, thereby maximising respondents’ satisfaction through continually adhering to interview arrangements. The CATI system also allows the option of rotating prompted survey responses to minimise any ordering effect.

Supervisors observe the interviewing process via another computer screen and provide feedback to interviewers and resolve queries.

The overall result is a very closely monitored and controlled survey process resulting in high quality data.

Weighting

The data was post-weighted to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data on age, highest level of schooling completed, sex and area, to ensure it reflected the distribution of the Australian population.

Sampling error

Significance levels for this survey are defined as twice the relative standard error, which corresponds to a 95 per cent confidence interval for the results. That is, if the survey were to be repeated there is a 95 per cent chance that the new results obtained would be within the interval reported, plus or minus its significance level.


Set out below are the estimates of significance for a particular estimate (proportion / percentage) from the survey.

Significance Levels (95 per cent confidence level)

Sample size (n)

Proportion of sample (%)

1,625 800 600 500 300 200 100

90% or 10% 2% 2% 2% 3% 3% 4% 6%

80% or 20% 2% 3% 3% 4% 5% 6% 8%

70% or 30% 2% 3% 4% 4% 5% 6% 9%

60% or 40% 2% 3% 4% 4% 6% 7% 10%

50% 2% 4% 4% 4% 6% 7% 10%

We have used the Simple Random Sample (SRS) formulas for the calculation of variances, ie. pq/n. Note that the significance limits relate to the sample size on which an estimated proportion is based.

For example, from the survey we know that the proportion of males aged 18 years and over who have registered a number on the Do Not Call Register is 31 per cent and this was based on a sample of 812 males. The closest proportion in the above table to 31 per cent is 30 per cent and the closest sample size is 800. Where 30 per cent and 800 intersect gives a significance limit of three per cent. That is, we can be 95 per cent confident that the population value is (31 per cent +/- three per cent) or between 28 per cent and 34 per cent.

When comparing a result between sub-groups (eg comparing those aged 18–34 and 65 years and over), the margin of error depends on the base size of the sub-groups and the percentages being compared.

As a rule of thumb, for example, when comparing results between:

those aged 18–34 years (n=206) and 65 years and over (n=440) then you would need a difference of at least six percentage points for proportions around 10 per cent or 90 per cent, or at least nine percentage points for proportions closer to 50 per cent. If differences are of this magnitude then it is likely that a statistically significant difference exists between the two sub-groups.

people residing in capital cities (n=922) and outside of capital cities (n=703) then you would need a difference of at least four percentage points for proportions around 10 per cent or 90 per cent, or at least six percentage points for proportions closer to 50 per cent.

Note that the descriptive commentary in this report only refers to differences that are statistically significant.


Guidelines for reading this report

Readers should note:

Columns in tables or bars in graphs may not sum exactly to 100 per cent due to rounding;

Some of the questions invite a multiple response and so the total responses sum to more than 100 per cent;

While some of the questions are unprompted (ie they are asked in an open manner, without reading possible answers), the majority are prompted where a list of possible answers are read, or respondents are prompted on issues and asked if they agree or disagree; and

Some questions are filtered depending on the respondent’s previous response (eg asked only of those who send or receive personal emails). This is always shown as the ‘base’ on a graph or in a table. Care needs to be taken when interpreting the results, so that the data is analysed in the correct context.


SECTION 1: EMAIL & MOBILE PHONE USAGE


EMAIL AND MOBILE PHONE USAGE

This section examines whether people have an email address and/or mobile phone for personal use, and the types of messages they send or receive on their mobile phone.

Email and mobile phone use

People were asked if they have an email address and/or a mobile phone they use for personal purposes.

Use of email / mobile phones for personal purposes

Both mobile phone & email

address

70%

Mobile phone only

15%

Email address only

4%

Neither / don’t know

10%

TOTAL MOBILE PHONE

85%

TOTAL EMAIL ADDRESS

74%

Q1. “Which of the following do you have?...

1)An email address that you use for personal emails? 2) A mobile which you use for personal purposes?”

BASE: ADULTS AGED 18+ NATIONALLY (n=1625)

The majority of Australian adults (85 per cent) have a mobile phone for personal use, and around three in four (74 per cent) have an email address they use for personal purposes.

Seven in ten (70 per cent) have both a mobile and an email address for their personal use.


The following table shows some of the key demographic differences (and percentages are read across the row).

Use of email / mobile phones for personal purposes

%

Total have email

address

Total have mobile phone

Have both

Age 18–34

35–49

50–64

65+

92

83

70

41

96

88

85

66

89

76

64

37

Area 5 Cap city

X-City

79

67

88

81

75

61

State NSW / ACT

VIC

QLD

SA / NT

WA

TAS

75

74

77

67

79

64

86

86

85

84

84

83

70

68

72

61

72

59

Education

Primary / secondary school

College / apprenticeship

University degree

59

76

92

80

87

91

56

70

86

Personal use of a mobile phone and an email address are both higher amongst:

those aged 18–34 years (92 per cent of this age group has an email address and 96 per cent has a mobile phone they use for personal purposes);

people residing in the five main capital cities (79 per cent of these capital city residents have an email address, compared with 67 per cent of those residing outside of capital city areas; 88 per cent of those in capital cities have a mobile phone for personal use);

those with a higher level of education;

people living in Queensland, NSW/ACT and Western Australia (especially compared with those in Tasmania and South Australia/Northern Territory).


Types of messages

Those with a mobile phone used for personal purposes were then asked about the types of messages they send or receive.

Types of messages sent / received on mobile phone

Q2. Which of the following, if any, do you either send or receive on this personal mobile phone?”

15

18

33

84

0 20 40 60 80 100

SMS

MMS

Emails

None / don't know

%

BASE: All have personal mobile phone

BASE: (n=1343)

Among those with a personal mobile phone, the majority (85 per cent) send or receive some form of message. The most commonly used message is SMS, with 84 per cent of mobile phone users sending or receiving these. One in three (33 per cent) send or receive MMS, and nearly one in five mobile users (18 per cent) send or receive emails.


Types of messages sent / received on mobile phone – by age

Q2. Which of the following, if any, do you either send or receive on this personal mobile phone?”

BASE: All have personal mobile phone

910

18

26

8

18

38

4944

81

9297

0

20

40

60

80

100

18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+

%

BASE: EACH SUB-GROUP WITH PERSONAL MOBILE PHONE

EMAIL

MMS

SMS

Usage of all message types is highest for the 18–34 years olds, and then declines across the older age groups. The proportion of mobile phone users sending or receiving SMS drops dramatically for the 65 years and over age group, even compared to those aged 50–64 years.


SECTION 2: THE DO NOT CALL REGISTER


AWARENESS OF THE DO NOT CALL REGISTER

This section examines the level of awareness and the source of awareness of the Do Not Call Register (the Register).

People were told that 'in May 2007, the Australian government introduced the Do Not Call Register, where people can list their home fixed-line and mobile phone numbers so they don’t receive certain telemarketing calls’. They were then asked if they had heard of the Do Not Call Register.

Awareness of the Do Not Call Register

Yes

75%

No

25%

Q4. “In which of the following places have you heard about the Do Not Call Register?”

%

Friends / family / word of mouth 69

Television 48

Radio 37

Newspapers 35

The internet 12

Somewhere else 8

BASE: AWARE OF DO NOT CALL REGISTER (n=1287)


Q3. “Had you heard of the Do Not Call Register before today?”

Three in four Australians (75 per cent) have heard of the Register.

The main source of awareness is friends and family, or word of mouth, as mentioned by seven in ten who are aware of the Register (69 per cent). Nearly half of those aware of the Register (48 per cent) heard of it on television, while just over a third know of it from the radio (37 per cent) or newspapers (35 per cent).


The following table shows some of the key demographic differences (percentages are read across the row).

Awareness of the Do Not Call Register

%

Yes / heard of

Age 18–34

35–49

50–64

65+

65

78

84

78

Income Less than $40K

$40 – $79K

$80K+

68

75

80

State NSW / ACT

VIC

QLD

SA / NT

WA

TAS

70

79

78

78

75

82

Awareness is higher amongst those aged 50–64 years, and lower amongst those aged 18–34 years (84 per cent versus 65 per cent respectively);

Those with a higher household income ($80K+) are more likely than those with a lower income (less than $40K) to be aware of the Register (80 per cent versus 68 per cent respectively);

Awareness is broadly similar by state, with two outliers being Tasmania (higher than average at 82 per cent) and NSW/ACT (lower than average at 70 per cent).


DO NOT CALL REGISTER REGISTRATION

This section examines the incidence of registration, barriers to registration, and the level of interest in registering on the Register.

Incidence of registration

Those who were aware of the Register were asked if they had personally registered any phone numbers on it, and if so, whether they had registered their home fixed-line phone number and/or their mobile phone number. If they did not state they had personally registered their home phone number, they were also asked if anyone else had registered it for them.

The following graph shows the results for all of these questions (and the incidence of being on the Register has been recalculated on the total sample, so it is based on all people aged 18 years and over).

Registered any number on Do Not Call Register - summary

Home phone number only

26%

Not registered /

not aware of DNCR 68%

Q5. “Have you personally registered any phone numbers yourself on the Do Not Call Register?”

Q10. “Has anyone else registered your home fixed-line phone number on the Do Not Call Register?”

Both mobile & home phone6%

Who registered home phone number?

Someone else

22%

Self

78%


BASE: REGISTERED HOME PHONE NUMBER ON DNCR (n=580)

32% in total on DNCR

Around one in three Australian adults (32 per cent) have a number on the Register.

Thirty two per cent of households have their home phone number on the Register, with 26 per cent registering their home phone number only and six per cent registering both their home and mobile numbers.1

1 Less than 0.5% had registered only their mobile phone number (which is rounded to zero and therefore not shown in the graph).


Of those who have their home number on the Register, 78 per cent registered it themselves and 22 per cent had someone else register it for them.

Total registered home number

Total registered mobile phone

number

Age 18–34

35–49

50–64

65+

21

37

37

35

4

10

9

4

State NSW / ACT

VIC

QLD

SA / NT

WA

TAS

27

36

38

27

27

52

7

6

8

5

4

7

Education



University degree

29

32

35

5

7

8

People aged 35 years and over are more likely to have their home phone number on the Register, than those aged 18–34 years, and those aged 35–64 years are more likely to have registered their mobile phone number, than those aged 18–34 or 65 years and over;

Households in Tasmania are more likely to be on the Register compared with all other states and territories, and those in Victoria and Queensland are also more likely to be on the Register (though to a lesser extent than Tasmania) compared with others;

People with a university degree are also more likely to be on the Register.

Analysing the registration figures based just on those who are aware of the Register:

43 per cent of those aware of the Register have their home phone number on it;

Nine per cent of those aware of the Register have their mobile phone number on it; and

54 per cent of those aware of the Register have not registered any numbers on it, and a further three per cent don’t know.


Barriers to registering

Those who are aware of the Register, but have not registered a number on it (either personally or via someone else), were asked why they have not registered.

Main reasons not registered

Those aware of Register, but not

registered

(n=701)%

Total mentions not bothered / not got around to / forgot / don’t know enough

57

Haven’t got around to it / too busy / not enough time 25

Couldn’t be bothered / too lazy 20

Don’t know how to / forgotten the number / haven’t heard enough about it

16

Forgot to register / never thought about it / don’t think about it 6

Total mentions not a significant problem 40

Don’t receive many unsolicited / telemarketing calls 15

Doesn’t bother me / no need / like telemarketing calls 14

Just say ‘not interested’ / hang up 12

Never at home / never use home phone 5

Don’t pick up calls from unknown numbers / let it go to answering machine

2

Already have a silent / private number 2

Heard that it doesn’t work / doesn’t apply to some calls 5

The main barrier to registering on the Register amongst this sub-group is simply that people have not got around to it (25 per cent), or couldn’t be bothered (20 per cent). A further 16 per cent mention they don’t know how to register or enough about it. In total, nearly three in five (57 per cent) mention these type of barriers.

For others, it is more that they do not experience problems in this area, as mentioned overall by two in five (40 per cent). Fifteen per cent are not on the Register because they don’t receive many unsolicited or telemarketing calls, 14 per cent say unsolicited or telemarketing calls don’t bother them, whilst 12 per cent just tell the caller they are not interested or hang up.


Interest in registering

Those who have not registered on the Register (regardless of whether they have heard of it before) were asked their level of interest in registering.

38

26

35

73

40

20

0

20

40

60

80

100%

Interest in registering on Do Not Call Register

Q12. “How interested would you be in registering on the Do Not Call Register?”

BASE: Aware DNCR but not registered any numbers or not aware DNCR

BASE: n=1039

Very interested

Somewhat interested

Not interested

Interest levels are high amongst this group. Nearly three in four people not currently on the Register (73 per cent) are interested in registering. These people are fairly equally divided between those who are ‘very interested’ (38 per cent) and those who are ‘somewhat interested’ (35 per cent).

Around a quarter of those not currently on the Register (26 per cent) are not interested in registering.


The following graph shows the results by whether they had previously heard of the Register or not.

3641

71

25 27

30

38

74

40

20

0

20

40

60

80

100%

Q12. “How interested would you be in registering on the Do Not Call Register?”

BASE: Not registered any numbers

BASE: n=701 and 338

Very interested

Somewhat interested

Not interested

Aware of Register but not registered

Not aware of Register

Interest in registering on Do Not Call Register

Overall, interest does not differ significantly between those who had previously heard of the Register and those who had not, with 74 per cent and 71 per cent respectively, interested in registering.

In terms of other demographic differences, the level of interest in registering on the Register is higher amongst those aged 50–64 years (47 per cent aware of the Register but not registered on it in this age group are very interested in registering), and lower amongst those aged 65 years and over (36 per cent of this age group not already on the Register are not interested in registering).


THE REGISTRATION PROCESS

This section examines how long ago people registered on the Register, the method of registration they used, and how easy the registration process was. This section is asked amongst those who have personally registered a number on the Register.

When registered on Do Not Call Register

When registered on Do Not Call Register

BASE: All personally registered number on the Register

Q7. “How long ago did you register on the Do Not Call Register?”

1-3 months ago

More than 3 months ago

90%

Last 30 days1%

BASE: n=476

9%

One in ten people who have registered a number on the Register (10 per cent) did so within the last three months (one per cent in the last 30 days and nine per cent one to three months ago). So the vast majority (90 per cent) have been on the Register for at least three months.


Method of registration

How registered number(s) on Do Not Call Register

46

30

60

0

20

40

60

80

100

Online Telephone Mail Don't know

%

BASE: All personally registered number on the Register

Q8. “Did you register online, by telephone or by mail?”

Age %18-49 7650-64 5765+ 27

Age %18-49 1850-64 3665+ 52

Age %18-49 450-64 365+ 14

BASE: n=476

Online registrations have been the most common, as mentioned by three in five (60 per cent) of those who have personally registered a number on the Register2. This method was particularly popular amongst those aged 50 years and under.

People were twice as likely to register online, than over the telephone (30 per cent registered via the telephone, although this was the preferred method for those aged 65 and over). A small proportion (six per cent) registered by mail, and they were most likely to be aged 65 years and over.

2 This survey data may differ to the ACMA’s internal data for a number of reasons, such as the survey relies on recall, is based on the proportion of people (not numbers they registered), and 22 per cent of those on the Register did not register the number themselves.


Ease of registration process

How easy it was to register

BASE: All with personally registered number on the Register

Q9. “How easy was it to register?”

Somewhat easy

24%

Very easy

71%

Don’t know

Not very easy1%

4%

Online Phone Mail*% % %

Very easy 72 69 81

BASE: n=476

BASE: n=273, 158, 26* (low base)

The vast majority (95 per cent) claim the registration process was easy; with seven in ten (71 per cent) saying it was ‘very easy’. Females are more likely than males to rate it ‘very easy’ (77 per cent versus 63 per cent respectively).

For a small minority (one per cent) the registration process was ‘not very easy’.

The ratings did not significantly differ by registration method (note small base sizes).


EFFECTIVENESS OF DO NOT CALL REGISTER

This section examines whether being on the Register has resulted in fewer telemarketing calls to people’s home phone or mobile numbers.

Those on the Register were told that telemarketing calls are voice calls made to a phone number to offer, sell or advertise goods or services. Telemarketing calls do not include calls from market researchers, political parties, charities and businesses with whom they have an ongoing relationship, for example, their bank.

People who have their home phone number on the Register were asked whether they are receiving more, fewer or the same number of telemarketing calls on their home phone, since joining the Register. Those with their mobile phone numbers registered were asked the same question in relation to telemarketing calls on their mobile.

Number of telemarketing calls received since joining the Do Not Call Register

Q14. “Would you say since joining the Do Not Call Register you are currently receiving more, fewer, or the samenumber of telemarketing calls to your (fixed-line home / mobile) phone number?”

65

79

3 1

20

0

20

40

60

80

100%

FEWER

MORE

SAME 16 30

BASE: Registered number on the Register

BASE: n=580 and n=117

MOBILE PHONE

HOME PHONE

The Register appears to have been very effective, particularly for those who have their home phone number registered. Around four in five with their home phone number registered (79 per cent) report fewer telemarketing calls since registering. However, 16 per cent report no change in the number of telemarketing calls to their home phone number, and three per cent claim to have experienced an increase in these calls.


Those aged 35 years and over are more likely than those aged under 35 to report a decline in telemarketing calls to their home phone number (81 per cent versus 65 per cent respectively).

There appears to be no significant differences by length of time people have been on the Register (although the base sizes are extremely small).

Nearly two-thirds of those whose mobile numbers are on the Register (65 per cent) say they have received fewer telemarketing calls. Three in ten (30 per cent) report there has been no change in the number of telemarketing calls they receive.

The base sizes are too small for mobile phones for any demographic differences to be detected.


KNOWLEDGE OF THE DO NOT CALL REGISTER AND THE INDUSTRY STANDARD

This section examines people’s knowledge of whether certain call types are exempt from the Register, their awareness of aspects of the registration process, and also their knowledge of the industry standards, such as the times and days that telemarketers can call.

Knowledge of call exemptions

Those who have a number registered on the Register were asked whether or not they know if certain types of calls are exempt from the Register. They were read a list of call types and asked if each was allowed or not allowed to be made to people on the Register.

23

46

58

54

70

46

30

26

80 60 40 20 0 20 40 60 80

CHARITIES

MARKET AND SOCIALRESEARCH COMPANIES

POLITICAL PARTIES

EDUCATIONAL OR RELIGIOUSORGANISATIONS

%

NOT ALLOWED ALLOWED

Knowledge of the Do Not Call Register

Q13. “Can you please tell me if, before today, you thought the following organisations are allowed or not allowed to make calls to people on the Register?”

BASE: Registered any number on the Register

BASE: n=586

7

DON’T KNOW

8

12

20

Those on the Register are most likely to be aware that calls from charities are allowed on the Register, as mentioned by seven in ten (70 per cent).

Awareness that charity calls are allowed is somewhat higher amongst:

Females than males (74 per cent versus 65 per cent respectively);

Those who personally registered the home phone number (72 per cent versus 61 per cent amongst those who had someone else register the number).


Overall, knowledge about the other call types being exempt from the Register is fairly low, and differs by call types. Amongst those on the Register:

People are equally divided between those who believe market and social research calls are exempt, and those who think they are not exempt (46 per cent each);

Only three in ten (30 per cent) are aware that political parties can still make calls to people on the Register, with the majority believing otherwise (58 per cent say they are not allowed and 12 per cent don’t know);

Even fewer (26 per cent) know that calls to registrants from educational or religious organisations are allowed under the Act.

Knowledge of the registration process

Those who have a number registered on the Register were also asked about some aspects of the registration process.

40

75

85

60

25

15

100 80 60 40 20 0 20 40 60 80

YOU MAY STILL GET CALLSFROM TELEMARKETERS

WITHIN THE FIRST 30 DAYSOF REGISTRATION

REGISTRATION IS VALID FOR3 YEARS

YOU CAN RE-REGISTERBEFORE THE 3 YEAR

REGISTRATION EXPIRES

%

NOT AWARE / DON’T KNOW AWARE

Knowledge of the Do Not Call Register

Q15. “For each of the following please tell me if you are aware or not aware they apply to the Do Not Call Register. Firstly... ?”

BASE: Registered any number on the Register

BASE: n=586


Three in five on the Register (60 per cent) are aware that you may still get calls from telemarketers within the first 30 days of registration. Awareness of this aspect of the Register is higher amongst the following Register registrants:

those aged 35–49 years (67 per cent), compared with those aged 65 years and over (51 per cent);

those with higher education levels (eg 66 per cent for university educated people versus 55 per cent for those who have completed secondary school as their highest education); and

those who personally registered their number (68 per cent) rather than someone else registering it (32 per cent).

Only one in four (25 per cent) know that registration is valid for three years, and this knowledge is higher amongst the following registrants:

those aged under 65 years (29 per cent) compared with those aged 65 years and over (12 per cent); and

those who had personally registered their number (29 per cent) rather than someone else having registering it (10 per cent).

Even fewer (15 per cent) are aware they can re-register any time before the three year registration expires. Awareness is higher amongst those on the Register who:

are aged 35–64 years (19 per cent) compared with those aged 65 years and over (nine per cent); and

personally registered their number (18 per cent) rather than someone else registering it (five per cent).


Knowledge of the industry standard

All respondents were informed there are rules which direct when a telemarketing or research call can be made to them. They were read the following aspects of the industry standard and asked whether they know nothing, a little or a lot about these:

There are restrictions on the times and days telemarketers can call

The times and days that telemarketers can call are somewhat different to when a market researcher can call

Calls from telemarketers and market researchers may be made outside of the restricted times if you agree to this.

Knowledge of Industry Standards

Q16(a)/(b)/(c). “There are rules which direct when a telemarketing or research call can be made to you… How much would you say you know about these restrictions? ”

BASE: n=1625

31

13

10

68

87

88

32

13

11

100 80 60 40 20 0 20 40 60 80 100

THERE ARE RESTRICTIONSON TIME & DAY WHEN THEY

CAN CALL

TIMES & DAYS CAN CALL AREDIFFERENT FOR

TELEMARKETERS &RESEARCHERS

CALLS MAY BE MADEOUTSIDE RESTRICTED TIMES

IF YOU AGREE

%

KNOW A LITTLE

KNOW A LOT

KNOW NOTHING / DON’T KNOW TOTAL KNOW A LOT / A LITTLE

Registered any number

Yes No

40 29

19 10

15 9

The majority of Australians are not aware of any industry standard around telemarketing calls.

Around two thirds (68 per cent) feel they don’t know anything about the restrictions on the times and days when telemarketers can call, however one in three (32 per cent) claim they know at least a little about these.


Knowledge of these restrictions tends to be higher (in terms of knowing ‘a little or a lot’) among those:

living in South Australia/Northern Territory (36 per cent), New South Wales/ACT (34 per cent), Victoria or Western Australia (each 32 per cent), compared with those living in Tasmania (20 per cent), despite Tasmanians being more likely to be on the Register;

who have heard of the Register (38 per cent versus 16 per cent for those who have not heard of the Register);

who are on the Register (40 per cent versus 29 per cent for those not on the Register); and

who have been on the Register for more than three months (43 per cent versus 26 per cent for those who have been on it for a shorter period).

Awareness of other aspects of the industry standard asked about is low, with nearly nine in ten saying they know nothing about these aspects.

Just over one in ten (13 per cent) know a little about the fact that the times and days telemarketers can call are somewhat different to when a market researcher can call. Knowledge of these restrictions tends to be somewhat higher (in terms of knowing ‘a little or a lot’) amongst those:

aged 50–64 years (17 per cent) compared with those aged under 35 (10 per cent);

living in South Australia/Northern Territory (19 per cent), compared with those living in Tasmania (six per cent) or Victoria (10 per cent);

who have heard of the Register (15 per cent versus seven per cent for those who have not heard of the Register); and

who are on the Register (19 per cent versus 10 per cent for those not on the Register).

Even fewer are aware that calls from telemarketers and market researchers may be made outside of the restricted times if the person agrees to this, with 11 per cent knowing ‘a little or a lot’ about this. Knowledge of these restrictions tends to be higher (in terms of knowing ‘a little or a lot’) amongst those:

living in South Australia/Northern Territory (17 per cent), particularly compared with those living in Tasmania (three per cent) or to a lesser extent Victoria (10 per cent);

who have heard of the Register (13 per cent versus six per cent for those who have not heard of the Register); and

who are on the Register (15 per cent versus nine per cent for those not on the Register).


SECTION 3: SPAM


TYPES OF EMAIL ADDRESSES

This section examines the types of email addresses people use to send and receive their personal emails.

BASE: n=1157

Ways send and receive personal emails

63

54

4513

37

48 15

17

32

0 20 40 60 80 100

EMAIL ADDRESS PROVIDED BY ISP

WEB-BASED EMAIL ADDRESS

EMAIL ADDRESS PROVIDED BY WORK / PLACE

OF EDUCATION

%

USE MOST OFTEN

ALSO USE

BASE: All have personal email address

Q17(a). “In which of the following ways, if any, do you send and receive personal emails nowadays?”

Q17(b) And which one do you use most often…?

Among those that have an email address that they use for personal emails (74 per cent of all adults);

ISP-provided email addresses are the most common, with 63 per cent of this sub-group using an address provided by their ISP. This is the main email address for 48 per cent of those with personal email addresses.

The next most commonly used are web-based email accounts such as yahoo or G-Mail, which 54 per cent of email users have. This is the main account used by 37 per cent of email users.

Just under half (47 per cent) have an email address provided by their workplace or place of education which they use for personal emails, and for 13 per cent of email users, this is the one they use most often.


The following three graphs show the demographic breakdown of each email type.


27

57 57

41

59

46

56

4243

76 7578

58

73

62

69

60

72

0

20

40

60

80

100

18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ 5 CAP CITY X-CITY PRIMARY /SECONDARY

SCHOOL

COLLEGE /APPRENTICESHIP

UNIVERSITYDEGREE

%

USE MOST OFTEN ALSO USE

AGE AREA EDUCATION

Use email address provided by ISP



BASE: EACH SUB-GROUP WITH PERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESSES



58

2623

17

42

27

39

31

40

77

46

39

29

60

44

53

47

60

0

20

40

60

80

100


SCHOOL


UNIVERSITYDEGREE

%


AGE AREA EDUCATION

Use web-based email address







14 15 15 1511 12

8

17

5552

37

6

48

3936

32

61

30

20

40

60

80

100


SCHOOL


UNIVERSITYDEGREE

%


AGE AREA EDUCATION

Use email address provided by work / place of education

Q17(a). “Thinking now just about email. In which of the following ways, if any, do you send and receive personal emails nowadays?”




ISP email accounts are more popular amongst:

people aged 35 years and over (particularly those aged 65 years and over);

those living outside of capital cities; and

those whose highest education is college/apprenticeships.

Web-based email accounts (such as hotmail, yahoo or G-mail) are more likely to be used by:

people aged under 35 years;

those living in capital cities; and

university-educated people.

Email accounts provided by people’s work or place of education are more likely than average to be popular amongst:

people aged under 65 years (particularly those aged under 50 years);

those living in capital cities; and

university-educated people.


AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF SPAM

This section examines people’s awareness of spam, as well as their understanding of what spam is.

Awareness of spam

People were asked if they have ever heard of the term ‘spam’ in relation to emails and mobile phone messages.


Awareness of the term ‘spam’

Q18. “Thinking again about emails and mobile phone messages. Have you heard of the term spam in relation to these?”

Yes

78%

No

22%

Nearly four in five adults (78 per cent) have heard of the term ‘spam’.


The following table shows the key demographic differences:

Awareness of the term ‘spam’% Yes / heard of spam

Have personal email address Yes

No

91

41

Have personal mobile phone Yes

No

83

50

Age 18–34

35–49

50–64

65+

88

86

77

55

Education Primary / secondary school


University degree

65

79

94

Awareness of spam:

is significantly higher amongst people who have personal email addresses and mobile phones;

is significantly higher amongst people aged under 65 years (particularly those aged under 50 years); and

is higher amongst those with higher education and income levels.

Understanding of spam

Those who had heard of spam were then asked an open-ended question about how they would describe spam to someone who had never heard of it before, and what would they say about it.

The purpose of this question was to gain insight into people’s understanding of spam. The key results are summarised in the following table.


Descriptions of spam Aware of spam

(n=1,264)

%

Total mentions unwanted/annoying etc 68

Unsolicited / unwanted emails / messages 25

Unsolicited/ unwanted advertising / trying to sell something I don’t want 20

Unwanted / unsolicited / don’t want to receive 5

Annoying / nuisance / time consuming / offensive 25

(A load of) rubbish / bad / useless 19

Offensive / inappropriate 3

Total mentions of what spam is 32

Junk mail 21

Pop up messages / ads 2

Similar to telemarketing / nuisance calls / unwanted phone calls 2

Advertising / marketing 9

From unknown source / address 9

Randomly / automatically generated / done on mass / sent repeatedly 7

Total mentions negative impact 32

Can contain viruses / trojans / links to fake sites 10

Intrusive / invades privacy / email account 2

Asks for personal information / phishing 3

Scams / cons / hoax / illegal 5

Dangerous / need to be careful 3

Can harm computer / phone 3

Delete them / don’t open them 8

Clogs / fills up inbox / takes up space on computer 4

Receive a lot / too many 3

Hard to stop / block / get rid of 2

Can / should use anti-spam software / filter 2

Mentions of specific types of spam – commonwealth bank, penis enlargement, Viagra, porn, you’ve won, etc

5

Overall there is a fairly high level of understanding of what spam is amongst those who have heard of the term:

unsolicited or unwanted email messages (25 per cent);


junk mail (21 per cent);

unsolicited or unwanted advertising or trying to sell something people don’t want (20 per cent); and

advertising or marketing (nine per cent)

In terms of overall themes, spam is typically described in a negative way. Amongst those who have heard of the term ‘spam’:

Two thirds (68 per cent) describe it using phrases such as “unwanted”, “annoying”, “rubbish” and, in extreme cases, “offensive”.

One in three (32 per cent) also mention negative effects / connotations associated with spam such as viruses, phishing, being a hoax, illegal, damaging to a computer clogging up inboxes etc.

The same proportion (32 per cent) also describe what it is, using terms such as “junk mail”, “pop-up messages”, or using more generic terms such as “marketing / advertising (with similarities to telemarketing)”.


AWARENESS OF SPAM LAWS

This section examines people’s awareness of whether Australia has laws against spam, and their awareness of what is covered by these laws.

Awareness of laws against spam

Those who had heard of the term ‘spam’ were asked if they were aware that Australia has laws against spam. The results are shown in the following graph, and have been re-calculated to be based on all adults (ie the graph includes the proportion who had not heard of the term ‘spam’).



Q20. “Before today, were you aware or not aware that Australia has laws against spam?”

No

50%

Yes

28%

Never heard of spam

22%

Nearly three in ten people (28 per cent) claim to be aware that Australia has laws against spam. However, every second Australian (50 per cent), although aware of spam, did not know there are laws against it.


The following table shows the key demographic differences.


%Yes / aware of laws

Have personal email address Yes

No

34

12

Have personal mobile phone Yes

No

30

17

Gender Male

Female

32

25

Age 18–34

35–49

50–64

65+

30

34

29

18

Education Primary / secondary school


University degree

20

25

42

Awareness of spam laws is highest amongst those:

with email addresses and also those with mobile phones;

males;

aged under 65 years; and

with a university degree.

Understanding of spam laws

Those aware that Australia has laws against spam were then read the following and asked if they thought each was covered by the spam laws:

Spam sent to an email address;

Spam sent to a mobile phone as SMS or MMS messages;

Spam sent to an instant messaging account, such as Windows Live Messenger; and

Spam sent to someone’s profile on a social networking webpage, such as Facebook or MySpace.


The results are summarised in the following graph:

Knowledge of what’s covered by spam laws

11

18

16

22

62

44

32

29

40 20 0 20 40 60 80

SPAM SENT TO AN EMAILADDRESS

SPAM SENT TO A MOBILEPHONE AS SMS OR MMS

MESSAGES

SPAM SENT TO AN INSTANTMESSAGING ACCOUNT

SPAM SENT TO SOMEONE'SPROFILE ON A SOCIAL

NETWORKING SITE

%

Q21. “Please tell me whether each of the following is covered or not covered by Australian spam laws?”

NOT COVERED COVERED

27

DON’T KNOW

38

52

49

BASE: All aware of spam laws

BASE: n=480

Among those who say they are aware there are laws against spam, people are most likely to know they cover spam sent to an email address, as mentioned by 62 per cent of these people. Only one in ten (11 per cent) felt the laws did not cover this type of spam.

People are also more than twice as likely to believe SMS or MMS spam is covered, than not covered by the spam laws (44 per cent versus 18 per cent respectively).

Around one in three (32 per cent) believe spam sent to instant messaging accounts is covered by the laws, and half this proportion believe it is not covered (16 per cent). The majority (52 per cent) admit they are unsure.

Similarly, nearly every second person aware of spam laws (49 per cent) is unsure if spam sent to someone’s profile on a social network webpage is covered or not by the legislation. Those with an opinion on this are, on balance, more likely to say it is covered, than it is not covered (29 per cent versus 22 per cent respectively).


USE OF SPAM FILTERS

This section examines the spam filters used by people who send or receive personal emails.

Following the spam awareness questions, people were read the following definition of spam:

Just to confirm, in Australia spam is described as “unsolicited electronic messages which are advertising goods and services. It is typically email or mobile phone text messages that are sent without your consent by companies that you do not have an existing relationship with.”

Those who send or receive personal emails were then asked to think about spam filters which allow people to filter out spam before it reaches their personal email inbox. They were read a list of filter types and asked which, if any, they use.

Use of spam filters

Q22b. “To the best of your knowledge which of these types of spam filters, if any, do you use?”

14

333537

42

0

20

40

60

80

100

Filter automaticallyprovided by web-based

email accounts

Filter provided by place ofwork / education

Filter provided by ISP Filter you bought /downloaded yourself

None / don't know

%


% Among users of each email type

75 80 55

BASE: n=1127 – Nb excludes those who don’t know who have email address with

Among those who have an email address to send and receive personal emails, most (86 per cent of this sub-group) claim to use some sort of spam filter on their email account.

Personal email users are fairly evenly divided in terms of the spam filter they use. The most popular filter (although by only a small margin) is that provided by web-based email accounts, as used by 42 per cent of personal email users.


The remainder are fairly equally divided between those who use a filter provided by their place of work/education (37 per cent), their ISP (35 per cent) or one they have bought or downloaded themselves (33 per cent).

As expected, usage of web-based email spam filters and work/education provided filters is very high amongst users of these types of email accounts (75 per cent and 80 per cent respectively). However, only 55 per cent of ISP email address users use a filter provided by their ISP.

The following graph shows an analysis of spam filter usage by age:

Use of spam filters

Q22b. “To the best of your knowledge which of these types of spam filters, if any do you use?”

29

1713

10

3033

40

27

444542

23

5

31

4045

15

26

32

65

0

20

40

60

80

100

18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+

%

BASE: All have personal email address within age groups

Filter automatically provided by web-based

email accounts

Filter provided by place of work or education

Filter provided by ISP Filter you bought / downloaded yourself

None / don’t know

BASE: 18-34 yrs n=181, 35-49 yrs n=412, 50-64 yrs n=347, 65+ yrs n=187

Overall, the pattern of spam filter use mirrors the pattern of email account used by these sub-groups;

Email users aged 18–34 years are significantly more likely than others to use a spam filter automatically provided by their web-based email account, with 65 per cent of this age group doing so. Overall, use of this type of filter declines with age, with only 15 per cent of those aged 65 years and over reporting they use this type of spam filter;

Use of a spam filter provided by work or place of education also tends to decline with age, with a dramatic decline for those aged 65 years and over (as may be expected);

ISP spam filters are more likely to be used by those aged 35 years and over;ACMA Report: Community Attitudes to Unsolicited Communications

49

Those aged 65 years and over are more likely than average to not use a spam filter or be unsure of the type of spam filter they use (29 per cent).

The following graph shows an analysis of spam filter usage by geographic location.

Use of spam filters

Q22b. “To the best of your knowledge which of these types of spam filters, if any do you use?”

29

1612

3940

3328

41

30

48

0

20

40

60

80

100

5 CAP CITY X-CITY 5 CAP CITY X-CITY 5 CAP CITY X-CITY 5 CAP CITY X-CITY 5 CAP CITY X-CITY

%

BASE: All have personal email address within each area sub-group

Filter automatically provided by web-based

email accounts

Filter provided by place of work or education

Filter provided by ISP Filter you bought / downloaded yourself

None / don’t know

BASE: 5 Cap City n=682, X-City n=445

Email users residing in capital cities are significantly more likely to use spam filters provided by web-based email accounts, than those living outside of the five major capital cities (48 per cent versus 30 per cent respectively). The same is true for filters provided by their place of work or study (41 per cent in capital cities use these versus 28 per cent outside of the capital cities); and

ISP-provided spam filters and those bought or downloaded by the user, however, are more likely to be used by those residing in areas outside of the capital cities, than within these areas (ISP: 40 per cent versus 33 per cent respectively; self-purchased or downloaded: 39 per cent versus 29 per cent respectively).


PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH SPAM

This section examines people’s personal experiences with email and SMS/MMS spam in terms of how many they receive, how much time they spend dealing with them and what they do with the spam they receive.

Amount of email spam

Personal email users were asked how many unsolicited spam emails they receive each week in their personal inbox of the email account they use most often; that is, how many emails they receive from companies they do not have an existing relationship with that are not picked up by any spam or junk mail filter.

Number of spam emails receive in personal inbox each week

Q23a. How many unwanted spam emails do you receive in your personal email inbox each week, that is, emails from companies you don’t have an existing relationship with that are not picked up by any spam or junk mail filter?”


33

14

14

9

12

8

4

3

0 20 40 60

Over 100 per week

51 - 100

26 - 50

11 - 25

6 - 10

3 - 5

1 - 2 per week

None

%

Average

number:

23 per week


On average, email users claim to receive approximately 23 spam emails per week (around three per day) in their personal inbox.

One in three email users (33 per cent) report they do not receive any email spam, and they are more likely than average to be aged 65 and over (48 per cent) and mainly use a work/education email account (40 per cent) or an ISP-provided email account (37 per cent). Web-based email account users are less likely to report no spam, at 24 per cent.


Fourteen per cent of email users receive just one to two spam emails per week, and the same proportion receive three to five spam emails over this period. At the other end of the scale, seven per cent of email users claim they receive over 50 spam emails a week.

Number of spam emails receive in personal inbox each week %

Average per week

Gender MaleFemale

2817

Age 18–3435–4950–6465+

27222013

Education Primary / secondary schoolCollege / apprenticeshipUniversity degree

141931

Email account used most oftenWeb-based email accountISP-provided email accountWork/education-provided email

301628

There are marked variations between the average number of spam emails received weekly by different demographic groups. The email users who tend to receive more spam emails are:

male3;

aged under 65 years (especially those aged 18–34 years);

university educated;

people who most often use a web-based email or a work / education provided email address.

An analysis of those who receive a large number of spam shows there are no significant difference in terms of the spam filters they use.

3 This may be due to males having a greater presence on the internet generally (as has been found in other research), particularly in terms of the types of activities which may attract spam, such as online commerce and downloading.


Time spent on email spam

People who receive email spam were then asked how much time they spend per week dealing with these spam emails (they were read a list of time periods). The results are shown in the following graph, and have been re-calculated to be based on all email users (ie the graph includes those who don’t spend any time on email spam).

Time spent dealing with spam emails each week

Q23b. “How much time per week would you say you spend dealing with these spam emails that are not picked up by any spam or junk mail filter?”


33

43

12

4

4

3

0 20 40 60

More than 30 mins perweek

16 - 30 mins

11 - 15 mins

5 - 10 mins

Less than 5 mins

None

%

Average time:

5 minutes per week


The overall time spent dealing with email spam is relatively short, averaging at just five minutes per week among all personal emailers.

However, for a small group, the inconvenience seems to be somewhat greater, with seven per cent claiming to spend more than 15 minutes per week dealing with this, and around half of this group are spending more than half an hour per week managing their spam.


How email spam is dealt with

People who receive email spam were then asked what they typically do with the email spam they receive from companies they don’t have a relationship with.

What typically do with email spam

Q24. “Which of the following, if any, do you typically do with the email spam you receive from companies you don’t have an existing relationship with?”

12267

85

0

20

40

60

80

100

Delete them withoutopening them

Do nothing and ignorethem

Delete them afteropening them

Use the ‘unsubscribe’link

Something else Don't know

%

BASE: All receive email Spam in personal inbox

BASE: n=743

By far the most popular course of action undertaken by those receiving email spam is to delete the spam without opening it, as mentioned by 85 per cent of this sub-group.

A further seven per cent say they do nothing and simply ignore their email spam, and a similar proportion (six per cent) delete their spam after opening them.

Relatively few (two per cent) say they use the ‘unsubscribe’ link in these spam emails.


Amount of SMS/MMS spam

Personal mobile phone users were asked how many unsolicited spam SMS or MMS messages they receive each month on their personal mobile phone from companies with which they do not have an existing relationship.

Number of spam SMS & MMS receive on personal mobile each month

Q25a. How many unwanted spam SMS text or MMS messages from companies you don’t have an existing relationship with, do you receive on your personal mobile phone each month?”

BASE: All have personal mobile

76

13

5

3

1

0 20 40 60 80

Over 10 per month

6 - 10

3 - 5

1 - 2 per month

None

%

Average

number:

2 per month

BASE: (n=1343)

On average, mobile phone users claim to receive just two SMS/MMS spam messages per month.

Around three in four personal mobile phone users (76 per cent) do not receive any SMS/MMS spam messages on their mobiles.

Thirteen per cent of mobile phone users receive one to two spam messages on their mobiles per month. A very small minority (one per cent) claim to receive more than 10 per month.


Time spent on SMS/MMS spam

People who receive SMS/MMS spam were then asked how much time they spend per month dealing with these spam messages (they were read a list of time periods). The results are shown in the following graph, and have been re-calculated to be based on all mobile phone users.4

Time spent dealing with spam SMS & MMS each month

Q25b. “How much time per month would you say you spend dealing with these spam SMS text or MMS messages ?”

76

19

4

0 20 40 60 80

5 - 10 mins

Less than 5 mins

None

%

Average time:

1 minute per month

BASE: All have personal mobile

BASE: (n=1343)

Given the majority of mobile phone users do not receive SMS/MMS spam messages, it is not surprising that the average time spent dealing with these messages is just one minute per month.

One in five (19 per cent) mobile phone users spend less than five minutes per month on mobile spam messages, and four per cent report they spend five to ten minutes dealing with these messages.

4 That is, the graph includes those who do not receive any SMS/MMS spamACMA Report: Community Attitudes to Unsolicited Communications

56

How SMS/MMS spam is dealt with

People who receive SMS/MMS spam were asked what they typically do with the SMS/MMS spam they receive from companies they don’t have a relationship with.

What typically do with SMS & MMS spam?

Q26. “Which of the following, if any, do you typically do with the SMS text or MMS spam you receive from companies you don’t have an existing relationship with?”

18

9

41

49

0

20

40

60

80

100

Delete them withoutopening them

Delete them after openingthem

Do nothing and ignorethem

Reply with a ‘stop’message

Don't know

%

BASE: n=335

BASE: All receive MMS / SMS Spam on personal mobile phone

Every second person who receives SMS/MMS spam on their mobile phone deletes them without opening them. However, unlike email spam, some SMS/MMS spam receivers are inclined to open them before deleting them, with two in five (41 per cent) reporting this is what happens.


SECTION 4: COMPLAINTS


COMPLAINTS PROCESS

This section examines who people would contact to make an official complaint about unsolicited telemarketing calls to their home phones, or email or mobile phone spam messages. It also examines whether people have considered making such a complaint, but not gone through with it, and if so, the reasons why.

Unsolicited telemarketing call complaints

Respondents were asked if they were going to make an official complaint about an unsolicited telemarketing call to their home phone, who would they make this complaint to.5

Who would you make an official complaint to about unwanted telemarketing calls

Q27. “If you were going to make an official complaint about an unwanted telemarketing call on your home phone who would you make this complaint to?”

47

12

671012

26

0

20

40

60

80

100

Telephoneservice provider

Tele-communications

Industry Ombudsman

The organisationthat made

the call

Do Not CallRegister

ACMA Other Don't know

%


Nearly every second Australian (47 per cent) say they do not know who they would contact if they were going to make an official complaint of this nature.

The most commonly mentioned place, as specified by 26 per cent of respondents, is their telephone service provider. Other organisations which were mentioned include the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) (12 per cent) and the organisation that made the call (10 per cent), with females relatively more likely to mention the latter.

Seven per cent specifically mentioned the Do Not Call Register (with a slight skew towards those with a university education). Six per cent say they would contact the ACMA.

5 This was asked in an unprompted manner; that is, respondents were not prompted with a list of possibilities.


Who would you make an official complaint to about unsolicited telemarketing calls? %

Telephone service

provider

Telecommun-ications Industry

Ombudsman

Organis-ation that made the

call

Do Not Call

RegisterACMA

Gender

Male

Female

24

27

14

11

6

13

7

8

7

4

Age

18–34

35–49

50–64

65+

25

22

28

29

8

16

15

11

11

13

7

5

8

9

6

4

6

8

5

4

Education



University degree

26

30

22

10

12

15

8

12

10

6

4

11

4

6

8

Unsolicited email or mobile phone spam complaints

People who have a personal mobile phone or email address were also asked who they would officially complain to about unsolicited email or mobile phone spam6.

6 This was asked without any prompting of possibilities.ACMA Report: Community Attitudes to Unsolicited Communications

60

Who would you make an official complaint to about unwanted email or mobile phone spam

Q28. “And if you were going to make an official complaint about unwanted email or mobile phone spam who would you make this complaint to?”

39

19

56

11

36

0

20

40

60

80

100

Telephone / internetservice provider

The organisation thatsent it

ACMA ACCC Other Don't know

%

BASE: All have personal email address / mobile phone

Any mention

Ombudsman / TIO approx 7%

BASE: n=1437

Two in five people with a personal mobile phone or email address (39 per cent) say they do not know who they would contact if they were going to make an official complaint about unsolicited email / mobile phone spam.

Just over one in three mobile phone/email users (36 per cent) would contact their telephone or ISP, and this is the most commonly mentioned place for complaining about email or mobile spam. Females and those with lower education levels are more likely to mention this.

Around one in ten (11 per cent) would contact the organisation that sent the spam. Females and those respondents aged under 35 years are more likely to provide this response. Overall, six per cent each mentioned the ACMA or the ACCC as an organisation they would turn to if they had a complaint about spam.


Who would you make an official complaint to about unsolicited email or mobile phone spam? %

Telephone / internet service provider

Organis-ation that

sent itACMA ACCC

Gender

Male

Female

33

39

9

14

7

6

5

5

Age

18–34

35–49

50–64

65+

32

35

43

38

17

11

7

5

6

8

5

6

5

5

4

6

Education



University degree

41

39

28

9

14

11

5

5

9

5

5

6


Considered making a telemarketing or spam complaint

Respondents were asked if they have ever seriously considered making a complaint about telemarketing or spam, but then decided not to go through with it. Those who said they had were then asked why they decided not to make a complaint from a list of possible reasons that were read out to them.

Considered making a complaint and then changed mind

Q29. “Have you ever seriously considered making a complaint about telemarketing or spam, but then decided

not to go through with it?”

Yes

24%

No

76%

Q30. “Why did you decide not to make a complaint?”

%

Not sure how to 68

Thought it would be too complicated 45

Didn’t think complaint would be taken seriously 43

Didn’t have time 43

Wasn’t that important 32

Some other reason 27

Education %

Primary / secondary school 21

College / apprenticeship 24

University degree 28

BASE: CONSIDERED MAKING COMPLAINT BUT DDECIDED NOT TO GO THROUGH WITH IT (n=390)


Nearly one in four respondents (24 per cent) say they had thought about making an official complaint about either telemarketing or spam, but decided not to go through with the complaint . People with a university degree are more likely to have done this, than those with a lower education level.

People who considered complaining but not gone through with it, have done so for a variety of reasons. Being unsure of how to go about making the complaint is the most frequently mentioned answer (68 per cent of this sub-group).

Others mention they thought it would be too complicated (45 per cent, and this is relatively higher among women), their complaint would not be taken seriously (43 per cent) or they didn’t have time (43 per cent and this is relatively higher among those aged under 65 years and those who work).

Around a third who did not follow through on making a complaint (32 per cent) said it was because the complaint was not that important to them.


APPENDIX 1: SAMPLE PROFILE & RESPONSE SUMMARY

Sample Profile

The following table shows the unweighted and weighted sample distribution:

Sample profile Unweighted Weighted

n= %

(000’s)

n= %

Gender

Male

Female

812

813

50

50

8,140

8,384

49

51

Age

18–34

35–49

50–64

65+

206

493

486

440

13

30

30

27

4,984

4,803

3,251

3,486

30

29

20

21

Area

5 Capital City

X-City

922

703

57

43

10,086

6,438

61

39

State

NSW/ACT

Victoria

Queensland

South Australia / NT

Western Australia

Tasmania

460

394

268

229

204

70

28

24

16

14

13

4

5,658

4,126

3,274

1,416

1,667

383

34

25

20

9

10

2

Education



University degree

568

461

542

35

28

33

5,778

4,829

5,411

35

29

33

Total 1,625 100 16,524 100


Response Summary

The following table provides a response status summary for the survey:

n= %

Total numbers used 25,289

Contacts made (known outcome)

Completed interviews

Refusal/terminations

Other (eg language, not suitable)

8,259

1,625

6,003

631

100

20

73

7

Appointments / Quota full 1,621

No Contact

Bad number (eg dead, business/fax etc)

No answer

15,409

11,166

4,243


APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE

NEWSPOLLUnsolicited Communications

NEWSPOLL JOB NO. 090622To be fielded no later thanThursday 11th June 2009

INTRODUCTIONGood morning \ afternoon \ evening. My name is .... (NAME) from Newspoll Social Research in Sydney. We are conducting an important survey on behalf of the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the Commonwealth Government agency responsible for regulating broadcasting, the internet and telecommunications. We would like to include the opinions of as many different types of people as possible, as this survey will assist the government in relation to unwanted telemarketing calls and unwanted messages sent to computers or mobile phones.

Just to let you know this call may be monitored for quality and coaching purposes and we are not selling anything. Your responses are strictly confidential and your answers will be used for research purposes only.

The survey should take approximately 15 minutes depending on your answers.

May I please speak to the (male) / (female) in your household aged 18 years and over who had the most recent birthday? (RE-INTRODUCE IF NECESSARY)

If you’re willing to participate in this survey, could I please start with your first name? INTERVIEWER PLEASE RECORD IN FIRST QUESTION

IF THEY INDICATE CLEARLY THAT DO NOT WISH THE CALL TO CONTINUE, PLEASE TERMINATE IMMEDIATELY.

IF THEY STATE THAT THEY ARE ON THE DO NOT CALL REGISTER, READ:

The Do Not Call Register is a Government initiative that allows people to opt out of receiving certain telemarketing calls. Under the Do Not Call Register Act, market research organisations can still make calls to numbers on the Register as we are not trying to sell you anything. This survey is aimed, in part, at assessing how effectively the register is working. Participation in the survey is of course voluntary.

INTERVIEWER RECORD RESPONDENT NAME FROM INTRODUCTION

Q1 Firstly, which of the following do you have? READ OUT

PROG NOTE:- MULTI RESPONSES ALLOWED- IF CODES 1-2 SELECTED THEN CANNOT SELECT CODE 3

1 An email address that you use for personal emails 2 A mobile phone which you use for personal purposes3 DO NOT READ Neither \ don’t know

PROG NOTE: ASK IF HAVE MOBILE PHONE FOR PERSONAL USE IE CODE 2 IN Q1. OTHERS GO TO Q3

Q2 Which of the following, if any, do you either send or receive on this personal mobile phone? READ OUT

PROG NOTE:- MULTI RESPONSES ALLOWED- RANDOMISE 1-3, THEN 4 LAST- IF CODES 1-3 SELECTED THEN CANNOT SELECT CODE 4

1 SMS text messages2 MMS, that is, multimedia messages containing photos or

videos3 Emails4 DO NOT READ None \ don’t know


PROG NOTE: ASK ALL RESPONDENTS

Q3 In May 2007, the Australian government introduced the Do Not Call Register, where people can list their home fixed-line and mobile phone numbers so they don’t receive certain telemarketing calls. Had you heard of the Do Not Call Register before today? DO NOT READ

PROG NOTE: - SINGLE RESPONSE

1 Yes \ heard2 No \ don’t know

PROG NOTE: ASK IF HEARD OF REGISTER IE CODE 1 IN Q3. CODE 2 GO TO Q12

Q4 In which of the following places have you heard about the Do Not Call Register? READ OUT

PROG NOTE:- MULTI RESPONSES ALLOWED- RANDOMISE 1-5 THEN 6-7 LAST- IF CODES 1-6 SELECTED THEN CANNOT SELECT CODE 7

1 Television2 Radio3 Newspapers4 The internet5 Friends and family, or word of mouth6 Somewhere else (SPECIFY)7 DO NOT READ Don’t know

Q5 Have you personally registered any phone numbers yourself on the Do Not Call Register? DO NOT READ


1 Yes \ have2 No3 Don’t know

PROG NOTE: ASK IF REGISTERED IE CODE 1 IN Q5. CODE 2-3 GO TO Q10

Q6 Which of these numbers have you personally registered? READ OUT

PROG NOTE: - MULTI RESPONSES ALLOWED- RANDOMISE 1-2 THEN 3 LAST- IF CODES 1-2 SELECTED THEN CANNOT SELECT CODE 3

1 Your home fixed-line phone number2 PROG NOTE: ONLY SHOW IF CODE 2 IN Q1 Your mobile phone number3 DO NOT READ Don’t know

Q7 How long ago did you register on the Do Not Call Register? READ OUT


1 Within the last 30 days2 1 to 3 months ago, that is, between March and early May this year3 Or, more than 3 months ago, that is, before March this year4 DO NOT READ Don’t know


Q8 Did you register online, by telephone or by mail? DO NOT READ


1 Online2 Telephone3 Mail 4 Don’t know

Q9 How easy was it to register? Would you say it was…? READ OUT


1 Very easy2 Somewhat easy3 Not very easy4 Or, not at all easy5 DO NOT READ Don’t know

PROG NOTE: ASK IF AWARE BUT NOT REGISTERED HOME PHONE NUMBER IE CODE 1 IN Q3 AND NOT CODE 1 IN Q6. OTHERS GO TO Q13

Q10 Has anyone else registered your home fixed-line phone number on the Do Not Call Register? DO NOT READ


1 Yes 2 No3 Don’t know

PROG NOTE: ASK IF AWARE REGISTER AND NOT PERSONALLY REGISTERED ANY NUMBER IE CODE 1 IN Q3 AND (CODE 2-3 IN Q5 AND Q10). OTHERS GO TO Q13

Q11 What are all the reasons why you have not registered on the Do Not Call Register? What else? PROBE FULLY

PROG NOTE:- OPEN TEXT FIELD

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PROG NOTE: ASK ALL AWARE REGISTER BUT NOT REGISTERED ANY NUMBER OR NOT AWARE REGISTER IE (CODE 1 IN Q3 AND CODE 2-3 IN Q5 AND Q10) OR CODE 2 IN Q3. OTHERS GO TO Q16(a)

Q12 (PROG NOTE: IF CODE 2 IN Q3 INSERT “Now that you know about the Register, how” ELSE INSERT “How”) interested would you be in registering on the Do Not Call Register? Would you say you are…? READ OUT


1 Very interested2 Somewhat interested3 Or, not interested4 DO NOT READ Don’t know


PROG NOTE: ASK IF REGISTERED ANY NUMBER IE CODE 1 IN Q5 OR Q10. OTHERS GO TO Q16(a)

Q13 Some types of calls are exempt from the Do Not Call Register, meaning they can still be made to people even if they are on the Register. Can you please tell me if, before today, you thought the following organisations are allowed or not allowed to make calls to people on the Register? READ SCALE AS NECESSARY

PROG NOTE:- SINGLE RESPONSE REQUIRED PER ROW- RANDOMISE A-D

Allowed Not allowed DO NOT READ Don’t know

A Charities 1 2 3B Educational or religious organisations 1 2 3C Political parties 1 2 3D Market and social research companies 1 2 3

Q14(a) The next few questions are about telemarketing calls. By telemarketing calls we mean voice calls made to a phone number to offer, sell or advertise goods or services. Telemarketing calls do not include calls from market researchers, political parties, charities and businesses with whom you have an ongoing relationship, for example, your bank.

PROG NOTE: ASK IF REGISTERED HOME PHONE NUMBER IE CODE 1 IN Q6 OR Q10. OTHERS GO TO Q14(c)

Q14(b) Would you say since joining the Do Not Call Register you are currently receiving more, fewer, or the same number of telemarketing calls to your fixed-line home phone number? DO NOT READ


1 More2 Fewer3 Same number4 Don’t know

PROG NOTE: ASK IF REGISTERED MOBILE PHONE NUMBER IE CODE 2 IN Q6. OTHERS GO TO Q15

Q14(c) Would you say since joining the Do Not Call Register you are currently receiving more, fewer, or the same number of telemarketing calls to your mobile phone number? DO NOT READ


1 More2 Fewer3 Same number4 Don’t know

PROG NOTE: ASK ALL REGISTERED ANY NUMBER IE CODE 1 IN Q5 OR Q10

Q15 For each of the following please tell me if you are aware or not aware they apply to the Do Not Call Register. Firstly...?

DO NOT READ

PROG NOTE:- SINGLE RESPONSE REQUIRED PER ROW

Aware Not aware \ don’t know

A Registration is valid for three years 1 2

B(PROG NOTE: ONLY SHOW IF CODE 1 IN Q15A) You can re-register your number anytime before the three-year registration expires

1 2

C You may still get calls from telemarketers within the first 30 days of registration 1 2



Q16(a) There are rules which direct when a telemarketing or research call can be made to you. I’d like to ask you about some of these. Firstly, there are restrictions on the times and days when telemarketers are allowed to call. How much would you say you know about these restrictions? Would you say…? READ OUT


1 You know nothing about this2 You know a little about this3 Or, you know a lot about this4 DO NOT READ Don’t know

PROG NOTE: ASK IF KNOW A LITTLE \ A LOT IE CODE 2-3 IN Q16(a). CODE 1,4 GO TO Q17(a)

Q16(b) Secondly, the times and days that telemarketers can call you are somewhat different to when a market researcher can call you. How much would you say you know about this? Would you say…? READ OUT



Q16(c) Thirdly, calls from telemarketers and market researchers may be made outside of the restricted times if you agree to this. How much would you say you know about this? Would you say…? READ OUT



PROG NOTE: ASK IF HAVE PERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESS IE CODE 1 IN Q1. OTHERS GO TO Q18

Q17(a) Thinking now just about email. In which of the following ways, if any, do you send and receive personal emails nowadays? Firstly using.... READ OUT

PROG NOTE: - MULTI RESPONSES ALLOWED- RANDOMISE 1-3 THEN 4 LAST- IF CODES 1-3 SELECTED THEN CANNOT SELECT CODE 4

1 A web-based email account, such as hotmail, yahoo or G-mail2 An email address provided by your internet service provider, such as Telstra or Optus3 An email address provided by your work or place of education4 DO NOT READ None \ don’t know


PROG NOTE: ASK IF MENTION TWO OR MORE WAYS IE TWO OR MORE CODE 1-3 IN Q17(a). IF ONLY ONE CODE 1-3 OR CODE 4 AUTOFILL APPROPRIATE CODE IN Q17(b) AND GO TO Q18

Q17(b) And which one do you use most often to send and receive personal emails? READ OUTPROG NOTE: - SINGLE RESPONSE- ONLY LIST CODES 1-3 SELECTED IN Q17(a), THEN 4 LAST- MAINTAIN ORDER OF 1-4 AS PER Q17(a)

1 A web-based email account, such as hotmail, yahoo or G-mail2 An email address provided by your internet service provider, such as Telstra or Optus3 An email address provided by your work or place of education4 DO NOT READ None \ don’t know


Q18 Thinking again about emails and mobile phone messages. Have you heard of the term spam in relation to these? DO NOT READ


1 Yes \ heard2 No \ don’t know

PROG NOTE: ASK IF HEARD OF SPAM IE CODE 1 IN Q18. CODE 2 GO TO Q22(a)

Q19 Imagine you had to explain what email or mobile phone spam is to someone who had never heard of spam before. How would you describe spam to them? What else would you say about it? PROBE FULLY

PROG NOTE:- OPEN TEXT FIELD

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Q20 Before today, were you aware or not aware that Australia has laws against spam? DO NOT READ


1 Yes \ aware2 No \ don’t know

PROG NOTE: ASK IF AWARE SPAM LAWS IE CODE 1 IN Q20. CODE 2 GO TO Q22(a)

Q21 Please tell me whether each of the following is covered or not covered by Australian spam laws?READ SCALE AS NECESSARY

PROG NOTE:- SINGLE RESPONSE REQUIRED PER ROW- RANDOMISE A-D

Covered Not covered DO NOT READ Don’t know

A Spam sent to an email address 1 2 3B Spam sent to a mobile phone as SMS or MMS messages 1 2 3

CSpam sent to an instant messaging account, such as Windows Live Messenger

1 2 3

DSpam sent to someone’s profile on a social networking webpage, such as Facebook or MySpace

1 2 3


PROG NOTE: ASK IF HAVE PERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESS \ MOBILE PHONE IE CODE 1-2 IN Q1. OTHERS GO TO Q27

Q22(a) Just to confirm, in Australia spam is described as ”unsolicited electronic messages which are advertising goods and services. It is typically email or mobile phone text messages that are sent without your consent by companies that you do not have an existing relationship with.”

PROG NOTE: ASK IF SEND \ RECEIVE PERSONAL EMAILS IE CODE 1-3 IN Q17(a). OTHERS GO TO Q25(a)

Q22(b) Thinking now about spam filters, which allow you to filter out spam before it reaches your personal email inbox. To the best of your knowledge which of these types of spam filters, if any do you use? READ OUT

PROG NOTE: - MULTI RESPONSES ALLOWED- IF CODES 1-4 SELECTED THEN CANNOT SELECT CODE 5-6

1(PROG NOTE: ONLY SHOW IF CODE 1 IN Q17(a))

A spam filter automatically provided by web-based email accounts, such as hotmail, yahoo or G-mail

2PROG NOTE: ONLY SHOW IF CODE 2 IN Q17(a))

A spam filter provided by your internet service provider, such as Telstra or Optus

3PROG NOTE: ONLY SHOW IF CODE 3 IN Q17(a))

A spam filter provided by your place of work or education

4 A spam filter you bought or downloaded yourself

5 DO NOT READ None of these

6 DO NOT READ Don’t know

Q23(a) Thinking again about the email account you use most often to send or receive personal emails. How many

unwanted spam emails do you receive in your personal email inbox each week, that is, emails from companies you don’t have an existing relationship with that are not picked up by any spam or junk mail filter?

PROBE FOR BEST ESTIMATE

IF 998 OR MORE RECORD AS 998. DON’T KNOW RECORD AS 999, NONE RECORD AS 000

PROG NOTE: - ALLOW FOR A THREE DIGIT RESPONSE (0-999)

__ __ __ per week

PROG NOTE: ASK IF RECEIVE ONE OR MORE PER WEEK IE CODE 001-999 IN Q23(a). CODE 000 GO TO Q25(a)

Q23(b) How much time per week would you say you spend dealing with these spam emails that are not picked up by any spam or junk mail filter? Would it be...? READ OUT


1 Less than 5 minutes per week2 5 to 10 minutes3 11 to 15 minutes4 16 to 30 minutes 5 Or, more than 30 minutes per week6 DO NOT READ Don’t know


Q24 Which of the following, if any, do you typically do with the email spam you receive from companies you don’t have an existing relationship with? Do you typically…? READ OUT

PROG NOTE: - SINGLE RESPONSE FOR CODES 1-2, 5-6- MULTI RESPONSE FOR CODES 3-4- CAN ONLY SELECT CODE 4 IF CODE 3 ALSO SELECTED

1 Do nothing and ignore them2 Delete them without opening them3 Delete them after opening them4 ONLY READ IF CODE 3 SELECTED Use the ‘unsubscribe’ link5 Or something else (SPECIFY)6 DO NOT READ Don’t know

PROG NOTE: ASK IF HAVE PERSONAL MOBILE IE CODE 2 IN Q1. OTHERS GO TO Q27

Q25(a) Thinking again about your personal mobile phone. How many unwanted spam SMS text or MMS messages from companies you don’t have an existing relationship with, do you receive on your personal mobile phone each month?

PROBE FOR BEST ESTIMATE

IF 998 OR MORE RECORD AS 998. DON’T KNOW RECORD AS 999, NONE RECORD AS 000

PROG NOTE: - ALLOW FOR A THREE DIGIT RESPONSE (0-999)

__ __ __ per month

PROG NOTE: ASK IF RECEIVE ONE OR MORE PER MONTH IE CODE 001-999 IN Q25(a). CODE 000 GO TO Q27

Q25(b) How much time per month would you say you spend dealing with these spam SMS text or MMS messages? Would it be...? READ OUT


1 Less than 5 minutes per month2 5 to 10 minutes3 11 to 15 minutes4 16 to 30 minutes 5 Or, more than 30 minutes per month6 DO NOT READ Don’t know

Q26 Which of the following, if any, do you typically do with the SMS text or MMS spam you receive from companies you don’t have an existing relationship with? Do you typically…? READ OUT

PROG NOTE: - SINGLE RESPONSE FOR CODES 1-2, 5-6- MULTI RESPONSE FOR CODES 3-4- CAN ONLY SELECT CODE 4 IF CODE 3 ALSO SELECTED

1 Do nothing and ignore them2 Delete them without opening them3 Delete them after opening them4 ONLY READ IF CODE 3 SELECTED Reply with a ‘stop’ message 5 Or something else (SPECIFY)6 DO NOT READ Don’t know



Q27 Now some questions about making complaints. If you were going to make an official complaint about an unwanted telemarketing call on your home phone who would you make this complaint to? DO NOT READPROBE FULLYPROG NOTE: - MULTI RESPONSES ALLOWED- IF CODES 1-6 SELECTED THEN CANNOT SELECT CODE 7

1 Australian Communications and Media Authority \ ACMA2 Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman \ TIO3 Do Not Call Register4 Telephone service provider, (e.g. Telstra, Optus, etc)5 The organisation that made the call6 Other (SPECIFY)7 Don’t know

PROG NOTE: ASK IF HAVE PERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESS \ MOBILE PHONE IE CODE 1-2 IN Q1. OTHERS GO TO Q29

Q28 And if you were going to make an official complaint about unwanted email or mobile phone spam who would you make this complaint to? DO NOT READPROBE FULLYPROG NOTE: - MULTI RESPONSES ALLOWED- IF CODES 1-5 SELECTED THEN CANNOT SELECT CODE 6

1 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission \ ACCC2 Australian Communications and Media Authority \ ACMA

3Telephone or internet service provider, (e.g. Telstra Bigpond, Optus, etc)

4 The organisation that sent it5 Other (SPECIFY)6 Don’t know


Q29 Have you ever seriously considered making a complaint about telemarketing or spam, but then decided not to go through with it? DO NOT READPROG NOTE: - SINGLE RESPONSE

1 Yes \ have2 No3 Don’t know

PROG NOTE: ASK IF DECIDED NOT TO GO THROUGH WITH COMPLAINT IE CODE 1 IN Q29. CODE 2-3 GO TO SECT ZQ30 Why did you decide not to make a complaint? Was it because...? READ OUT

PROG NOTE: - MULTI RESPONSES ALLOWED- RANDOMISE 1-5 THEN 6-7 LAST- IF CODES 1-6 SELECTED THEN CANNOT SELECT CODE 7

1 You weren’t sure about how to do it2 You didn’t think your complaint would be taken seriously3 It wasn’t that important to you4 You didn’t have time5 You thought it would be too complicated6 Some other reason (SPECIFY)7 DO NOT READ None \ don’t know


SECTION Z - (CLASSIFICATION) PROG NOTE: ASK ALL RESPONDENTS

Z1 To make sure we’re speaking to a cross-section of people, please tell me if you are aged...?READ OUT PROG NOTE:- SINGLE RESPONSE

1 18-192 20-243 25-294 30-345 35-396 40-447 45-498 50-549 55-59

10 60-6411 65+12 DO NOT READ Refused

Z2 RECORD SEX

PROG NOTE:- SINGLE RESPONSE

1 Male2 Female

Z3 How many people aged 18 years or over live in your household, including yourself? DO NOT READ


1 12 23 34 45 56 6+7 Don't know \ refused

Z4 Could you please tell me the highest level of primary or secondary school you personally have completed? Was it ...? READ OUT


1 Year 9 or below2 Year 103 Or, year 11 or 124 DO NOT READ Don't know \ refused5 DO NOT READ Other (SPECIFY)


Z5 What is the highest educational qualification you have completed?

ONLY READ OUT IF RESPONDENT QUERIES HOW MUCH DETAIL IS NEEDED


1 University degree or higher (including postgraduate diploma)2 Undergraduate diploma or associate diploma3 Certificate, trade qualification or apprenticeship4 Highest level of secondary school5 Did not complete highest level of school6 Never went to school7 Still at secondary school8 Other (SPECIFY)9 DO NOT READ Refused

Z6 Are you in paid employment full time, part time or not at all? DO NOT READ

IF UNSURE \ CASUAL \ SELF EMPLOYED Is that closer to full time or part time hours?


1 Full time2 Part time3 Not at all4 Don't know \ refused

Z7 Is your household’s combined annual income from all sources, before tax...READ OUT


INTERVIEWER INFORMATION:UNDER $40,000 PA IS UNDER $770 PER WEEK$40,000-$79,999 PA IS $770-$1,538 PER WEEKOVER $80,000 PA IS OVER $1,538 PER WEEK

1 Under 40 thousand dollars2 40 to 793 Or, 80 thousand dollars or more4 DO NOT READ Refused5 DO NOT READ Don’t know


Z8 May I please have your postcode? IF DON’T KNOW \ REFUSED CODE AS “9999”

PROG NOTE: - ALLOW FOR A FOUR DIGIT RESPONSE

__ __ __ __

ASK SUBURB \ NEAREST TOWN IF DON’T KNOW POSTCODE. IF REFUSED POSTCODE RECORD AS “REFUSED”

PROG NOTE:- OPTIONAL OPEN TEXT FIELD

_________________


Z9 Can I please check that the number I rang was (PROG NOTE: INSERT PHONE NUMBER)? DO NOT READ


1 Yes - correct2 No - incorrect (PLEASE TYPE IN CORRECT NUMBER)

Z10 If my supervisor finds any errors with my work, we may need to call you back for correction. If we need to, may we contact you for other quality control purposes? DO NOT READ


1 Yes2 No

CLOSEJust to remind you my name is ... (NAME) from Newspoll. This research was conducted on behalf of the Australian Communications and Media Authority and was carried out in compliance with the Market and Social Research Privacy Principles. If you would like details about privacy or phone numbers to check about Newspoll, I can give you those now. Would you like them? IF “YES”, CLARIFY IF PRIVACY OR PHONE NUMBERS AND READ APPROPRIATE SCRIPT BELOW.

PRIVACY Your phone number was randomly generated from a computer. Your personal details will be removed from your responses in about two weeks. Within this time, however, you may request that your personal details be deleted.

PHONE NUMBERS If you have a pen and paper handy, the numbers are:

Newspoll toll free: 1800 646 526Market Research Society: 1300 364 830Newspoll website: www.newspoll.com.au

ACMA: 1300 792 958

Thank you...(RESPONDENT NAME) for your time.

DID THE RESPONDENT WISH TO HAVE THEIR DETAILS REMOVED IMMEDIATELY?


1 Yes2 No

I certify that this is a true, accurate and complete interview, conducted in accordance with industry standards and the AMSRS Code of Professional Behaviour (ICC\ESOMAR). I will not disclose to any other person the content of this questionnaire or any other information relating to this project.


1 Accept2 Not accept


http://www.newspoll.com.au/

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