Is missed call text back legal in Australia?

By Sachin Kafle, founder of Springy · Updated 29 October 2026

This is a plain-English summary of the ACMA's published guidance, not legal advice. If your texts do more than reply to enquiries, talk to a lawyer.

Which law applies

Texts and emails fall under the Spam Act 2003, which the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) enforces. The Do Not Call Register is a different law about phone calls. It doesn't cover texts.

For any commercial electronic message, the ACMA says you need three things:

1. Consent from the person receiving it, express or inferred.
2. Identification: your name or business name and correct contact details.
3. An unsubscribe that's clear, free, and honoured within 5 working days. For SMS the ACMA's own example is "Reply STOP".

Source: ACMA: Avoid sending spam

Why a missed call reply is different

The Spam Act is about marketing: messages that offer, advertise or promote goods and services. A missed call text back does something else. The caller rang you, and the text answers that call: "Sorry we missed you, what can we help with?" They started the contact, and the reply is about their enquiry.

What tips it over is adding promotion. "Sorry we missed you. 20% off gutter cleans this month!" is now advertising, and the full rules apply. ACMA has taken action against businesses whose "factual" or "service" messages carried marketing.

Where businesses get caught

• Adding callers to a marketing list. One phone call isn't a provable, ongoing relationship. ACMA says inferred consent "does not cover sending messages after someone has just bought something from your business", let alone after a single call.
• Review requests and promos in the same thread. Asking for a Google review or pushing a special is promotion. Get consent first.
• No business name. Every message must identify who sent it.
• Ignoring STOP. Unsubscribes must be honoured within 5 working days, and should be permanent.
• Alphanumeric sender IDs. A text from "PLUMBCO" can't receive a reply, so it can't take a STOP and the customer can't answer your question.

What Springy does

• Texts only people who rang the business, only about their call.
• Opens with the business name in the first message.
• Sends from a real Australian number that takes replies, including STOP, which is honoured permanently.
• Never sends follow-up marketing, review requests or broadcasts.

Questions

Is missed call text back legal in Australia?

Generally yes. Replying to someone who just rang your business, about what they rang about, and naming your business, is not the marketing the Spam Act targets. Add promotion to that text and the full rules apply: consent, identification and an unsubscribe.

Do I need consent to text back a missed call?

For a reply about their enquiry, the caller started the contact, and a message that only deals with what they rang about is not a marketing message. Consent matters once you send promotions: specials, newsletters or offers.

Does a missed call text need an unsubscribe?

Every commercial message under the Spam Act needs one, honoured within 5 working days. Springy includes STOP handling on every thread regardless, and honours it permanently.

Does the Do Not Call Register apply to texts?

No. The Do Not Call Register covers telemarketing calls and faxes. Texts fall under the Spam Act.

Can I add the caller to my SMS marketing list?

Not on the strength of one phone call. ACMA says inferred consent usually needs a provable, ongoing relationship, and it doesn't cover messages after a one-off purchase. Ask for express consent instead.

More on how it works: the missed call text back guide.