If your outbound calls are made by an AI voice agent, one date belongs in your compliance calendar: 1 April 2027 — the day the register shows Australia’s core telemarketing conduct instrument being automatically repealed unless the ACMA acts first. Here is what the register says, what the Standard requires today, how sunsetting works, and how to prepare.
What the register actually shows
Every claim here was checked against the Federal Register of Legislation (FRL) and its public API on 22 August 2026:
- The Telecommunications (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2017 (F2017L00323) was made by the ACMA on 20 March 2017 under subsection 125A(1) of the Telecommunications Act 1997 and registered on 28 March 2017. Its status is in force.
- The register records a possible future status of “Repealed” from 1 April 2027, attributed to section 50 of the Legislation Act 2003 — the automatic sunsetting provision. The latest version of the instrument is likewise recorded as ending on that date.
- The FRL’s sunsetting pages explain the mechanism: “Some laws have an expiry date and they are automatically repealed after that date if no action is taken. Most legislative instruments will sunset 10 years after commencement under Chapter 3, Part 4 of the Legislation Act 2003.” Sunsetting falls on fixed dates — 1 April or 1 October — and the Standard’s date is the first of those after its tenth anniversary.
To be precise about what this is not: it is not a decision to abolish telemarketing rules. It is the default expiry that applies to most Commonwealth legislative instruments unless the rule-maker intervenes.
What the 2017 Standard requires of callers today
These obligations were verified directly against the instrument text. They apply to telemarketing and research calls to Australian numbers — and, importantly for AI teams, the definitions imported into the Standard note that a voice call “includes, among other things, a call that involves a recorded or synthetic voice”. An AI voice agent is squarely inside this instrument.
Prohibited calling times (section 8)
The Standard sets different windows for telemarketing calls and research calls (opinion polling and questionnaire-based research):
| Day | Telemarketing calls (s 8(1)) | Research calls (s 8(2)) |
|---|---|---|
| Weekdays | 9 am – 8 pm | 9 am – 8.30 pm |
| Saturday | 9 am – 5 pm | 9 am – 5 pm |
| Sunday | Prohibited all day | 9 am – 5 pm |
| Listed national public holidays | Prohibited all day | Prohibited all day |
The public-holiday prohibition (s 8(3)) covers New Year’s Day, Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, plus weekday holidays given in lieu. Two details that trip up automated diallers: the relevant time of day is the time at the usual residential address of the account-holder, not at your call centre (s 8(4)); and the windows can be overridden only by express consent given in advance (s 8(5)).
Identification and information disclosure (sections 9–11)
As soon as a telemarketing call starts, the caller must give the recipient: the given name of the individual making the call — the instrument carves out calls “made solely using a recorded or synthetic voice” from this element — the employer or organisation name, the name of any person causing the call to be made, and the purpose of the call. On request, the caller must immediately provide contact details, including an Australian number suitable for receiving voice calls during business hours, and complaint-handling contacts (ss 9, 11). Research calls carry parallel obligations (s 10).
Recorded and synthetic voice calls (section 12)
Where a call involves a recorded or synthetic voice, the caller must provide a mechanism during the call for the recipient to request the section 9(4) or 10(5) information — the instrument’s example is pressing a button to reach an operator. If you deploy AI voice agents, this section was written for you, back in 2017.
Terminating a call (section 13)
A caller must immediately terminate a call if the recipient “asks for the call to be terminated or otherwise indicates that the call recipient does not want the call to continue”, or if the caller learns the call has landed in a prohibited window at the account-holder’s usual residential address (the time-zone trap above).
Calling line identification (section 14)
CLI must be enabled — not blocked — and the number displayed must, if called back, let the recipient obtain the caller-identity information within a reasonable timeframe. The displayed number must remain reasonably capable of receiving return calls “for a period of at least 30 days from when the call was made”. This dovetails with the caller-ID integrity work covered in our post on STIR/SHAKEN and calling-number authentication for AI voice agents in Australia.
These rules sit alongside — not instead of — the Do Not Call Register regime; see our companion guide to the Do Not Call Register and ACMA enforcement for AI voice agents.
What sunsetting means procedurally
Sunsetting is a managed process, not a cliff nobody sees coming. The Attorney-General’s Department, which administers the Legislation Act 2003, describes two key steps for each instrument due to sunset: “reviewing the instrument to determine whether it is still needed and is fit-for-purpose”, then “deciding whether the instrument should be repealed, remade or be subject to other mechanisms for postponement of its sunsetting date”. Lists of instruments due to sunset within the next 18 months are also tabled in Parliament, so rule-makers get formal notice well in advance. In practice, three outcomes are possible:
| Outcome | What happens | What it would mean for callers |
|---|---|---|
| Remade / replaced | The ACMA consults on and registers a new instrument before 1 April 2027; the 2017 Standard is superseded | Obligations continue, possibly updated — the most common path for rules still in active use |
| Sunset date deferred | The sunset date is moved using one of the postponement mechanisms the Attorney-General’s Department describes — its sunsetting guide includes templates to apply for a thematic review | The 2017 rules continue unchanged for longer |
| Allowed to lapse | No action is taken and the instrument is automatically repealed on 1 April 2027 | The Standard’s specific conduct rules would cease; the Do Not Call Register Act and Spam Act would still apply |
Is there any signal about which path the ACMA will take? The honest answer: as at 22 August 2026, the ACMA’s public consultations page lists no consultation on remaking or replacing the Telemarketing and Research Calls Standard, and we found no ACMA announcement about it. The same page does show how the ACMA handles sunsetting instruments it wants to keep: it is currently consulting on remaking the Broadcasting Services (Technical Planning) Guidelines 2017, stating plainly that those guidelines “are sunsetting” and that it wants to remake them. A telemarketing consultation, if one comes, would likely look similar — but none exists yet, and any claim about a replacement’s content is speculation.
What could plausibly change for AI voice callers
To be explicit: nothing below is announced, proposed or known. It is a reasoned view of the questions a review would naturally confront, given that the current text dates from 2017:
- Synthetic-voice disclosure. The 2017 text exempts fully synthetic-voice calls from stating an individual’s given name, and requires only a request mechanism for further information. A remake drafted in the AI era could revisit whether AI callers must affirmatively disclose that the voice is synthetic — a theme already appearing in overseas rules we track in our AI outreach compliance guide.
- Consent and calling-time mechanics. How express consent is evidenced, and how time-zone location is assessed for mobile-first consumers, are obvious candidates for modernisation.
- CLI integrity. Section 14 predates current work on calling-number authentication; a remake could tighten the link between displayed numbers and verified caller identity.
- Status quo. Equally plausible: the Standard is remade substantially as-is, as often happens when sunsetting rules remain fit for purpose.
Preparation checklist for AI calling teams
- Comply fully with the 2017 Standard now. It is in force until at least 1 April 2027, and the ACMA is actively enforcing calling-hours and identification rules (see the FAQ below).
- Encode the calling windows per account-holder location, including the national public-holiday list and in-lieu days, not just your server’s time zone.
- Script the section 9 disclosures into your agent’s opening, and build the section 12 request mechanism into every synthetic-voice flow.
- Honour termination signals instantly — treat any indication the recipient does not want to continue as a hard stop, not an objection to handle.
- Audit your CLI: displayed numbers must accept return calls for at least 30 days and route to identity information.
- Watch the ACMA consultations page through 2027 — a replacement instrument would almost certainly be preceded by a public consultation, which is your window to prepare and comment.
- Keep evidence of consent for any calling outside standard windows; the exception only operates if you can demonstrate it to the ACMA’s satisfaction.
Zian’s digital team agents are built for rule-bound calling, with SmartReach AI™ orchestrating channel and timing by country so calling-window rules are respected by design.
Sources & ownership
| Figure / claim | Owning organisation | Owner URL |
|---|---|---|
| Standard in force; made 20 March 2017 under s 125A(1) Telecommunications Act 1997; registered 28 March 2017; scheduled repeal 1 April 2027 under s 50 Legislation Act 2003 | Federal Register of Legislation (Australian Government) | legislation.gov.au/F2017L00323 |
| Calling times (s 8), disclosure rules (ss 9–11), synthetic-voice mechanism (s 12), termination (s 13), CLI incl. 30-day return-call rule (s 14); “recorded or synthetic voice” definition note | ACMA (instrument text on the Federal Register of Legislation) | legislation.gov.au/F2017L00323/latest/text |
| Most legislative instruments sunset 10 years after commencement under Ch 3, Pt 4 of the Legislation Act 2003; fixed 1 April / 1 October sunsetting dates | Federal Register of Legislation (Australian Government) | legislation.gov.au/legislative-instruments/sunsetting |
| Sunsetting process: review, then repeal, remake or postponement; 18-month sunsetting lists tabled in Parliament; thematic-review application mechanism | Attorney-General’s Department | ag.gov.au/legal-system/administrative-law/legislation-act-2003 |
| No open ACMA consultation on the Telemarketing Standard as at 22 August 2026; current consultation remaking the sunsetting Broadcasting Services (Technical Planning) Guidelines 2017 | ACMA | acma.gov.au/consultations |
| TAB paid more than $2.7m in penalties (22 July 2026), incl. 82 calls outside permitted hours and nearly 4,000 calls without properly identifying the caller and/or purpose | ACMA | acma.gov.au/articles/2026-07/tab-pays-27m-telemarketing-and-spam-breaches |
FAQ
When is Australia’s Telemarketing Standard due to sunset?
The Federal Register of Legislation records a scheduled repeal of the Telecommunications (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2017 on 1 April 2027 under section 50 of the Legislation Act 2003, the automatic sunsetting provision that repeals most legislative instruments about 10 years after they are made. The Standard remains fully in force until then.
Does the current Standard apply to AI voice agents?
Yes. The definitions used by the Standard note that a voice call includes a call involving a recorded or synthetic voice, and section 12 imposes a specific obligation on recorded or synthetic-voice calls: the caller must provide a mechanism during the call for the recipient to request the caller’s identity and contact information.
Has the ACMA announced a replacement instrument?
No. As at 22 August 2026, the ACMA’s public consultations page lists no consultation on remaking or replacing the Telemarketing and Research Calls Standard, and no replacement instrument has been published. Any description of what a replacement would contain is speculation until the ACMA consults.
Is the ACMA still enforcing the 2017 Standard?
Yes, actively. In July 2026 the ACMA announced that Tabcorp Holdings Limited (TAB) paid more than $2.7 million in penalties for spam and telemarketing breaches, including 82 calls outside permitted hours and nearly 4,000 calls without properly identifying the caller and/or the purpose of the call — precisely the calling-time and identification rules the Standard sets.
What happens if the Standard is allowed to lapse in April 2027?
If no replacement is made, the instrument is automatically repealed and its specific conduct rules — calling windows, disclosure, termination and calling line identification — would cease, though the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 and Spam Act 2003 would continue to apply. Lapse would be unusual for actively enforced consumer-protection rules; the more common path is a remake, but that is the ACMA’s decision.
What should AI calling teams do before April 2027?
Keep complying with the 2017 Standard, encode calling windows by the account-holder’s local time including national public holidays, script the required disclosures into agent openings, honour termination requests immediately, ensure displayed numbers accept return calls for at least 30 days, and monitor the ACMA consultations page so you can respond to any replacement proposal.