SpinTel Pays $653,400 Penalty After ACMA Finds 32,000 Marketing Emails Sent Without Consent

SpinTel Pty Ltd has paid a $653,400 penalty after an Australian Communications and Media Authority investigation found it sent more than 32,000 commercial emails without consent, Mirage News reported. The ACMA found the messages went to former customers, some of whom had left up to 13 years earlier.

Inside the ACMA's SpinTel Investigation

The investigation covered emails sent between July and September 2025. According to the report, SpinTel used the messages to encourage former customers to return and to promote products including its NBN and mobile service plans.

SpinTel argued it could reasonably infer consent because the recipients had previously had a business relationship with the company. The ACMA rejected that position for these recipients. ACMA member Samantha Yorke said a previous business relationship does not automatically provide consent to send marketing messages.

"In this case, the consumers had left SpinTel and it was clear the relationship had ended," Yorke said. "Some people who received the messages had not been SpinTel customers for well over a decade."

Yorke said whether consent can be inferred depends on the circumstances, including the nature of the business relationship, the relevance of the messages to the relationship and the recipient's reasonable expectations. She said the ACMA generally encourages businesses to use express consent, with clear terms and conditions agreed in advance, including how long the consent will be valid.

The investigation also found that SpinTel sent five messages more than five business days after the recipients had unsubscribed from its marketing.

SpinTel's Undertaking and Its Business

Alongside the penalty, the ACMA accepted a 3-year court enforceable undertaking. It commits SpinTel to appoint an independent consultant to review its compliance with spam laws and to undertake regular audits and reporting to the ACMA.

SpinTel is a privately held Australian internet service provider founded in 1996, according to akta.pro company records. It resells NBN broadband, Optus-powered mobile SIM plans, 5G and 4G home wireless, and cloud PBX services to residential customers and small businesses across Australia through a direct-to-consumer digital channel. The same records put its headcount in the 51-100 range and its revenue estimate at $50 million to $100 million.

The ACMA said businesses have paid over $11 million in spam penalties over the last 18 months. The regulator has published information on its website to help businesses comply with the spam rules.

What the Undertaking Requires Next

The undertaking sets out the steps SpinTel has committed to: appointing an independent consultant to review its compliance with spam laws, and completing regular audits and reporting to the ACMA over the 3-year term.