Consent and the Spam Act

The Spam Act 2003 regulates commercial electronic messages in Australia, including text messages. In broad terms it requires three things: that the recipient has consented, that messages identify the sender, and that there is a practical way to opt out. ParkShare's SMS notifications are operational messages about a member's own parking rather than commercial marketing, but the same three principles are built into the feature.

No one receives a text by default. A member opts in by ticking the SMS box on their Preferences page after saving a mobile number. Because the tick is a deliberate, recorded action by the person whose mobile is being used, it functions as express consent to receive ParkShare texts.

Organisation-level enablement is not consent. Turning SMS on in Admin, then Settings merely makes the option available; nothing is sent to a member until they personally opt in.

Every message identifies ParkShare as the sender, so the recipient always knows who sent the text and why. Weekly allocation texts and request decision texts both carry the ParkShare sender ID.

A member opts out by unticking the same box on their Preferences page, at any time. No email, phone call or request to an administrator is needed, and the change takes effect immediately for future messages. Opting out stops texts but does not delete the saved mobile number or affect any other notifications.

ParkShare records each member's current consent state — the opt-in tick and saved mobile on their Preferences page — and checks it before every send, so the consent state that applied to a message can be shown. When a message could not be sent, the send path skips it for a stated reason (no opt-in, no mobile number saved, or the monthly SMS allowance used up); these outcomes are shown in the run summary where applicable, and are not kept as a permanent log. To demonstrate what happened on a past date, use the allocation history and notification summaries together with the consent state that was in place.

• Sends nothing to a member who has not ticked the opt-in box.
• Identifies ParkShare as the sender on every message.
• Lets a member opt out instantly by unticking the box.
• Records skip reasons when a message cannot be sent.
• Falls back to email when the monthly SMS allowance is exhausted, so consent-based texts are never silently dropped.

• Only enabling SMS for the organisation when it is wanted.
• Using accurate Australian mobile numbers for members who opt in.
• Handling any member questions about why they received a text, and pointing them to the opt-out.
• Seeking your own legal advice if you are unsure about your obligations.