ACMA (the Australian Communications and Media Authority) has found its next target, and fined Wesfarmers owned Kmart over $1.3 million, following an investigation which found hundreds of thousands of spam emails were sent to consumers, and the retailer ignored repeated warnings.

The company flooded inboxes with over 200,000 marketing emails, within 11 months from July 2022, despite customers requesting to unsubscribe, and Kmart receiving multiple warnings from the ACMA.

Since, the retailer said the “issues should not have occurred.”

This resulted in a rebuke from ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin, who said individuals had become frustrated with big brands intruding on privacy and not respecting unsubscribing wishes.

She also said the ACMA alerted Kmart on various occasions, noting it may have issues with consumer marketing.

“When a customer decides to opt out of a marketing mailing list, businesses are obliged to fulfill that request. The rules have been in place for nearly 20 years and there is simply no excuse.”

“Kmart’s case is particularly concerning as it went on for such a significant period. Kmart was given more than enough notice it may have a compliance issue, and it should have done more to address its problems before we had to step in and investigate.”

The retailer has agreed to select an independent consultant to review the compliance with spam rules, and to provide improvements where needed. This consultant must also provide the ACMA with regular reports.

A Kmart spokeswoman said: “We regret that any customers received emails from Kmart when they had opted out. These issues should not have occurred, and we are actively working to strengthen our systems.”

Businesses require consumer consent to conduct e-marketing, and must adhere to unsubscribe requests, under the anti-spam laws.

This comes as Wesfarmers received criticism for supporting the failed Voice referendum, where over 60% of Aussie’s voted no.

Following this outcome, Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott said the nation must “seize this momentum” of Indigenous issues being highlighted.

Around the same time, the ACMA was quick to fine companies breaching advertising rules.

During the last 18 months, businesses have paid over $12.5 million in spam and telemarketing penalties.

DoorDash was fined over $2 million in August, after it was found the service sent over 1 million non-compliant texts and emails.

Sportsbet received the biggest penalty from ACMA in February last year, which was a $2.5 million fine for spamming customers attempting to unsubscribe.

Sportsbet also paid $1.5 million of refunds to customers after it was found it sent 50,000 marketing text messages and emails to over 37,000 consumers who attempted to unsubscribe, along with over 3,000 marketing texts that had no unsubscribe option.

Elon Musk’s satellite internet provider Starlink was issued an ACMA caution in September for failing to comply with advertising rules.

The company fell onto ACMA’s radar following a consumer complaint it offered a promotion in July 2023 with a limited time offer that had no end date.

“Any business that conducts e-marketing should be actively and regularly reviewing its processes to ensure it is complying with the rules,” continued Ms. O’Loughlin.

Some other companies that breached spam laws include Ticketek and Uber.

ACMA also accepted enforceable undertakings recently from Webull and The Wine Collective after admission to contravening spam laws.