Australia's Do Not Call Register and calling hours for business calls

Business numbers cannot be placed on Australia’s Do Not Call Register, so for Australia do not call register business calls, a call to a business line needs no register check. Numbers used mainly for private purposes can be registered, even when they are also used for work. And every telemarketing call, B2B included, must follow the ACMA’s industry standard on calling hours, identification and caller ID.

Which numbers the Do Not Call Register covers

The Do Not Call Register Act 2006 bars telemarketing calls to registered numbers (section 11). Under section 14, a number can be registered if it is:

• used or maintained primarily for private or domestic purposes;
• used only for faxes;
• used only by a government body; or
• an emergency service number.

The register’s consumer FAQ says business telephone numbers are not eligible. A number used for both business and personal calls can be registered if it is used mostly for private or domestic purposes. A registration lasts until the person removes it.

For a B2B list, that splits numbers into groups like these:

Number on your list	Can it be on the register?	What to do
Company switchboard or office line	No: business numbers are not eligible	No wash needed; the industry standard still applies
Mobile used mainly for personal calls, also for work	Yes	Wash it before calling
Mobile on a business plan, in a business name, or on a company website	Less likely, per the register’s eligibility guidance	Wash it anyway: you cannot see the plan or the account name
Sole trader’s or home-office number	Yes, if used mainly for private purposes	Wash it before calling

Some callers may call registered numbers: Schedule 1 of the Act exempts calls authorized by government bodies, registered charities and registered political parties, among others. Sales teams are not in that list.

Washing your list and consent

A wash checks your list against the register. The Act protects a caller whose list was washed in the 30 days before the call, if the result did not show the number as registered (section 11(3)). The register also tells consumers that telemarketers have 30 days from registration to stop calling.

From the register’s industry FAQ:

• you need a washing services account, and results usually take under a minute;
• a business that washes up to 500 numbers a year on an ad hoc basis can use subscription type A without paying a fee;
• if you outsource calls, both you and the caller must comply, and your contract must require compliance with the Act.

A registered number can still be called with consent (Schedule 2). Consent is express, or reasonably inferred from the person’s conduct and business relationships. Two details matter for B2B teams:

• A published number is not consent. Consent may not be inferred from the mere fact that a number has been published, so a mobile on a website or a profile does not count.
• Express consent expires. If it does not state a period, it lapses after 3 months.

The industry standard covers every sales call

The Telecommunications (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2017 sets the conduct rules. The ACMA says it applies to anyone who makes or arranges telemarketing calls to Australian numbers, even numbers not on the register. Calls to business lines are covered.

Calling hours (section 8), as of October 2026:

Day	Telemarketing calls
Monday to Friday	9:00 AM–8:00 PM
Saturday	9:00 AM–5:00 PM
Sunday	No calls
National public holidays	No calls

The national public holidays are New Year’s Day, Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, plus any weekday holiday given in lieu. Times are at the account-holder’s usual residential address, and state and territory laws can add limits (section 15). A person can consent in advance to a call at another time. Research calls have different hours. For other countries, see legal calling hours by country.

Identification (section 9). As soon as the call starts, give your given name, your employer’s company or registered business name, the name of anyone you are calling for, and the purpose of the call. On request, give contact details for your employer and for complaints, including an Australian number that takes calls in business hours.

Recorded or synthetic voices (section 12). Calls that use them must offer a way to request the same information, so AI voice calls are covered. In the US, AI voices also need prior consent; see AI voice agent consent rules.

Ending the call (section 13). End it at once if the person asks or shows they do not want to continue, or if you learn they are somewhere it is outside the calling hours, unless they ask to continue.

Caller ID (section 14). Calling line identification must be on. The number shown must lead, within a reasonable time, to who called and why, and must be able to take return calls for at least 30 days.

The standard was registered on 28 Mar 2017. The Federal Register of Legislation lists it for repeal on 1 Apr 2027 under the Legislation Act’s sunsetting rules, so check for a replacement before then.

A checklist for calling into Australia

1. Tag each number as a business line, mobile, sole trader or unknown.
2. Wash every number that is not a business line within 30 days before the call.
3. Record express consent with its date and period, and treat consent with no period as ending after 3 months.
4. Schedule calls inside the hours above in the contact’s local time. A mobile number may not show which state the person is in, so use the address in your CRM.
5. Open with your name, company and purpose, and end the call the moment the person asks.
6. Show a number that people can call back for at least 30 days.
7. Put the Act’s requirements into any contract with an outsourced caller.

How DialSavvy handles this

DialSavvy checks calling hours in the contact’s time zone and your do-not-call list before every call, using rule packs by country. Public-holiday calendars and checks against Australia’s DNCR are coming, so wash lists before you load them and leave national public holidays out of your call blocks. See DialSavvy compliance and country coverage.

Before your next Australian campaign, open a washing account and run your mobile and sole-trader numbers through it.