Australian Minister Backs Fight to Keep Sunday Polling

Communications Minister Helen Coonan has asked the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to exempt pollsters from the forthcoming ban on making Sunday calls. The ban, due in force from 31st May, has been strongly opposed by the MR community.

Coonan says the exemption is needed to ensure pollsters can produce accurate political opinion surveys prior to this year's federal election. If her request is granted, market researchers will be allowed to call householders between 9am and 5pm on Sundays – including those households which are currently on the 'Do Not Call' register.

Currently the plan is that all calls to Australian numbers be banned before 9am on any day, after 8pm on weekdays and 5pm on Saturdays, with calls forbidden on Sundays and public holidays. Bans will apply regardless of what country the call originates from, and researchers will be forced to have number identification enabled when making calls.

Coonan has asked the ACMA to consider 'the important public benefit derived from accurate and high-quality research' and the impact prohibiting calls on Sundays would have on the accuracy of polls and surveys. She has asked the authority to allow Sunday calls for researchers, but not for telemarketers.

The Association of Market and Social Research Organisations, which represents around 90 pollsters, opposes the restriction on Sunday calls, explaining that its members are concerned that the ban would make it difficult for them to contact enough householders to achieve statistically robust samples.

The two bodies are online at www.acma.gov.au and www.amro.com.au .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.