Australia's Commonwealth Securities has been fined $55,000 by the country's media watchdog and agreed to review its e-mail systems after customers complained about being sent spam.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) commenced an investigation following complaints from consumers alleging that CommSec continued to send them commercial e-mail messages, despite the fact that they had previously withdrawn their consent.
The Acma also identified that email campaigns conducted by CommSec in January, February and March 2009, did not provide an option to unsubscribe, in breach of the Spam Act.
Chris Chapman, Acma chairman, says: "CommSec has undertaken to initiate stringent reviews of its systems and processes as a result of this investigation, and has demonstrated a commitment to making the internal changes necessary for ongoing compliance with the Spam Act."
An implementation plan has been agreed with the Acma which includes the appointment of an independent consultant to assess CommSec's system reviews, quarterly audits on its e-mail campaigns for 12 months and the introduction of an annual training program.