Anti-spam laws in New Zealand
Legislative issues for email marketers active in or sending to New Zealand.
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Summary
Legislation regulating commercial email finally passed through the New Zealand Parliament at the end of February 2007 in the form of the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act. The original Bill was introduced in mid-2005 and got its first reading in December of the same year. It was then refered to the Commerce Select Committee who reported back at the end of August 2006 with suggested amendments and enhancements.
Key documents
Unsolicited Electronic Messages Bill
The bill's page at Parliament's website includes the full-text of the legislation, plus details of its progress and related documents. The latter include the proposals made by the Commerce Committee and a transcript of the debates held during the bill's various readings.
Speech Notes: Anti-Spam Bill
Speech given by David Cunliffe as he introduced the bill for its first parliamentary reading in December 2005. He explains why the bill was considered necessary, what it hopes to achieve and some of the specific regulations within it.
DIA anti-spam site
The Department of Internal Affairs dedicated site with background on the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act and its enforcement. Includes a section with information for businesses.
Other links
Pitfalls of the new act
Takes a closer look at the changes the law brings, with particular reference to the need for consent.
Spam law explained
Describes the compliance issues involved in the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act, including a solid overview of exactly what counts as consent in various contexts.
Mobilize Mail Opinion
This blog from a New Zealand-based email marketing service contains numerous posts, opinions and references on the legislation and its interpretation.
Review of the legislation
An extensive article written by a commercial law firm, reviewing the proposed legislation and describing its scope, purpose, contents and some outstanding issues. Note this article refers to the original bill as first presented to Parliament in July, 2005.
Legislating against spam
The anti-spam page at the Ministry of Economic Development, with many of the background documents and public submissions that led to the development of the new bill.
Standards for Email Marketing
The New Zealand Marketing Association has its own code of practice for email marketers, based on six key guiding principles.
New ways to cost you money are coming
A view from Microsoft on New Zealand's legislation.