This Act matters for email, SMS and other electronic marketing. Businesses need to know how each person got onto a list, identify the sender clearly and make unsubscribing easy. A large mailing list is not an asset if the consent trail is weak.
Main laws
New Zealand Act
Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007
The Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 regulates commercial electronic messages, including consent, sender identification and...
In forceNew ZealandPlain-English guide4 practical checks
Plain-English explainers, not legal advice. Use the linked official source for section-level detail, and get advice for your situation.
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Quick read
- This Act matters for email, SMS and other electronic marketing.
- Businesses need to know how each person got onto a list, identify the sender clearly and make unsubscribing easy.
Likely relevant if
- Businesses sending email or SMS marketing
- Ecommerce stores and SaaS businesses
- Agencies managing campaigns for clients
Check first
- Send commercial electronic messages only where the consent basis is clear
- Identify the sender accurately
- Include a functional unsubscribe facility
What this means in practice
Key points
- Consent evidence should live in the CRM or email platform, not in someone's memory.
- Purchased or scraped lists are usually where risk starts.
- Unsubscribe handling should be automatic, fast and reflected across connected tools.
When this law usually matters
Most businesses do not need to memorise the whole law. The useful starting point is to know when it is likely to affect a contract, customer journey, employee process, data flow or company decision.
Key points
- Businesses sending email or SMS marketing
- Ecommerce stores and SaaS businesses
- Agencies managing campaigns for clients
- Sales teams building outbound lists
What to check first
Sense check
- Send commercial electronic messages only where the consent basis is clear
- Identify the sender accurately
- Include a functional unsubscribe facility
- Keep consent and suppression records
Documents and workflows to review
Key points
- Email sign-up forms
- CRM consent fields
- Campaign templates
- Unsubscribe process
- Agency campaign brief