Do you have a No Advertising sticker on your letter box? What does this sticker mean? Does it mean that all unsolicited/unaddressed mail/flyers are prohibited? Is it against the law to ignore this sticker and deposit unsolicited/unaddressed mail/flyers into a mailbox displaying this sticker. ITC is here to answer all your questions.
When is it legal to distribute advertising material?
Advertising material can only be distributed in three ways:
- Placed into people’s letterboxes;
- Inserted into newspaper receptacles or
- Under doors to premises.
People cannot place advertising material under a car’s windscreen wipers (or wedged into a car door), on top of property gates or fences, in a public place, in open private places and in other inappropriate areas where it has the potential to become litter.
So when you see someone placing leaflets on cars in tin Lane Cove; that is against the law. Personally, there is nothing more annoying that driving off and then realising there is a leaflet under your windscreen.
What does No Advertising Material mean?
By placing the free No Advertising Material sticker on your letterbox you can reduce the unnecessary waste caused by unwanted advertising materials.
You will also be helping the environment as a huge amount of resources/energy goes into printing and distributing these materials.
Do Not Mail Register
The Do Not Mail Register is a service for consumers who do not want their mail sent to their address, and marketers who want to improve their response rates.
As consumer journeys change and evolve, ADMA continues to work on maintaining and administering a valuable marketing ecosystem that fosters trust and transparency. This register is a service to help consumers opt out of unwanted or unsolicited mail. It also reduces costs for marketers and helps easily identify customers who have opted out of receiving mail.
Do Not Mail For Consumers
To reduce the amount of direct mail arriving at your address, please fill out the form below, and wait at least 45 days for it to be processed.
The Australian Direct Marketing Association (ADMA) administers the Do Not Mail Register to facilitate trusted connections between consumers and businesses, but only ADMA members – and a few non-members who agree to participate – are bound by the register.
The Do Not Mail Register will not stop or reduce the mail from:
- Companies that are not members of ADMA
- New businesses seeking you out as a new lead
- Businesses that want to market themselves to your business
- Unaddressed mail like brochures, letterbox drops, and flyers
To register for the Do Not Mail programme click here.
Distributions Standards Board – Catalogues
The Distribution Standards Board (DSB) is the self-regulatory organisation established by the Australian Catalogue Association (this body represents about 90% of the unaddressed catalogue distributors).
Their voluntary Code of Practice stipulates that members are not to place advertising material in a letterbox where a No Advertising Material sticker is displayed. If you have a No Advertising Material Sticker displayed and you’re still receiving catalogues, you can contact the Distribution Standards Board on 1300 083 241 or via their contact page on their website here.
It is not illegal to put unaddressed mail in a box that displays this sticker. This sticker is only aimed at catalogues and people who distribute them. It’s not aimed at stopping the distribution of Lane Cove Council leaflets/news, newspapers, electoral materials and items from local businesses or registered charities and catalogue distributors who are not members of the DSB.
What Does No Junk Mail Mean?
When a resident displays No Junk Mail they are basically saying to do not place any unsolicited/unaddressed materials in my letterbox. Again
It is not illegal to put unaddressed mail in a box that displays this sticker. If you display this sticker but still receive “junk mail”, you can call the company who produced the materials and suggest they ask their distributor to stop putting material in letterboxes with No Junk Mail stickers. Point out that receiving material in spite of your sticker makes you less likely to use their services/buy their product.
If you really really want to make it clear about your stand on junk mail then you could look at a sticker like this:
When is it Illegal to distribute Junk Mail?
According to the NSW Environmental Protection Agency, the following are examples of illegally distributing unaddressed mail:
Examples include:
- depositing, or asking, requiring, inducing or causing someone to deposit, advertising material in a public place or open private place other than in a mail box or under a door; it is illegal to deposit advertising material on property gates or fences or in other inappropriate areas where it has the potential to become litter
- depositing, or asking, requiring or causing someone to deposit, advertising material on any vehicle, e.g. under car windscreen wipers.
What is Australia Post’s Position on Unsolicited Mail
Australia Post states on its website state:
“Place a ‘No Junk Mail’ or ‘Addressed Mail Only’ sign or sticker on your letterbox if you don’t wish to receive catalogues and other unaddressed mail items. Our postal delivery officers are instructed not to deliver unaddressed mail to letterboxes with this signage.”
Other Strategies
- Redirect mail you receive back to the organisation by writing “Return To Sender” and “No Junk Mail” on the envelope and putting it in a mailbox.
- Phoning, writing, or emailing the organisation that has sent you the unsolicited mail and asking to be removed from their marketing database.
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