The rules for marketers

Marketing is regulated in Australia, mainly by the Australian Consumer Law (enforced by the ACCC), the Spam Act (enforced by ACMA) and the Privacy Act (overseen by the OAIC). These guides explain the essentials for small businesses in plain language. They're not legal advice.

Guides in this section

• Advertising law basics Accuracy, fine print, comparisons and evidence.
• Online reviews: the rules Asking, incentives, fake and edited reviews.
• Privacy and direct marketing Who the Privacy Act covers and APP 7.
• Influencer and sponsored posts Disclosing commercial relationships.

Claims must be true

The ACCC says any claim a business makes about its products or services must be accurate, truthful and based on reasonable grounds. Fine print must not conflict with the overall message, comparisons must be accurate and fair, and you should be prepared to prove what you say.

Reviews must be genuine

The ACCC says it's illegal to create fake or misleading reviews or arrange for others to do so. business.gov.au says asking for reviews is fine, but incentives must apply to positive and negative reviews and be disclosed, and you shouldn't edit or remove genuine reviews.

Consent for emails and texts

ACMA says you need consent before sending marketing emails or texts, and every message must identify you, include contact details and offer an easy unsubscribe, actioned within 5 working days.

Privacy

The OAIC says organisations with turnover over $3 million, and some smaller businesses such as those that buy or sell personal information, are covered by the Privacy Act. APP 7 requires a simple opt-out from direct marketing.

Disclose paid partnerships

If you pay or reward people to promote your business, the commercial relationship should be clearly disclosed. The ACCC has said it will consider the role of brands as well as influencers.

When to get advice

For big campaigns, health or environmental claims, competitions or anything you're unsure about, get legal advice before you publish.

Five things worth knowing

1. Start with your customers, not your channels.
2. Set goals you can measure, and review results regularly.
3. Every claim must be accurate and provable, online and offline.
4. Get consent before marketing emails and texts, and make unsubscribing easy.
5. Never fake or manipulate reviews, and disclose paid partnerships.

A simple marketing routine

Marketing works best as a steady habit rather than an occasional burst. A simple routine might look like this. Each week, reply to enquiries and reviews, post or send something useful, and note where new customers came from. Each month, check your key measures against your goals, update your business listings if anything has changed, and plan the next month's content. Each quarter, review your marketing plan: what worked, what didn't, what customers are saying and whether your goals still make sense. Each year, look again at your target market, your offer and your budget, and check that your website, privacy policy and marketing practices still reflect how you work.

Common mistakes to avoid

Some mistakes come up again and again. Trying to be on every channel at once spreads limited time too thin. Measuring followers and likes rather than enquiries and sales hides what's really working. Making claims you can't back up, or burying important conditions in fine print, risks breaching the Australian Consumer Law. Emailing people who never agreed to hear from you risks breaching the Spam Act and annoys potential customers. Buying or faking reviews is illegal and can badly damage trust. And stopping too soon, before an activity has had time to work, wastes the effort already spent.

Getting help

If you want help with your marketing, business.gov.au lists government support and advisory services for small businesses, and many state governments offer small business advice, workshops and mentoring. If you hire a marketing agency or freelancer, agree clearly on what they'll do, how results will be measured and who owns your accounts, website and customer data. Remember that you remain responsible for what is published or sent in your business's name, even when someone else does the work.

About these guides

Marketers is an independent information site about marketing a small business in Australia. We aren't a marketing agency, consultancy, regulator or law firm, and we don't rank or recommend agencies, software or platforms. Our guides are general information written in our own words, with official sources listed on every page. They're not legal advice.

How we keep these guides current

We review each guide against its sources and show the date it was last checked. Regulators update their guidance and platforms change their features often. If you notice something out of date, please tell us through our contact page, and we'll check and correct it.

Questions we hear often

Small business owners often ask whether they need a marketing plan, how to get found on Google, whether they can buy an email list, and whether they can offer discounts for reviews. In short: a simple plan helps; helpful content and accurate local listings matter most for search; you need consent from each person you email, so bought lists are risky; and review incentives must apply to positive and negative reviews alike and be disclosed. Our guides explain each answer, with links to the official sources.

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