Consumer advocacy group Choice has urged the Federal Department of Communication to make the right decision and change the Australian Do Not Call Register to an opt-in system, which it believes will protect vulnerable consumers and weed out scammers.
The register, established in 2007 and managed by ACMA, allows people to opt-out of receiving certain unsolicited telemarketing calls and faxes by listing their number on the register.
More than nine million numbers have been added to the register since its establishment - including 3.85 million mobile numbers - and although the register continues to grow by about one million numbers per year, a standardised period for registration has yet to be established.
Numbers on the register started with an expiration period of three years in 2007, a period that has been extended a further three times to eight years.
This means that as of May 2015, numbers registered in 2007 will start to fall off the list, leaving them open to unwanted marketing calls.
Choice campaigns manager Erin Turner said there was an element of "set and forget" to the list and the DoC needed to make a firm decision on the future of the register prior to the May deadline.
In December, the department released a discussion paper for public comment, and despite receiving more than 1400 submissions by the end of the public comment period, a department spokesman said no decision had been made on the register's future.
Choice has urged the DoC to adopt an opt-in system where numbers are automatically listed on the register, with users needing to contact the register if they wished to starting receiving telemarketing calls.
Ms Turner said any change should bring telephone marketing in line with online marketing, which she said had superseded telemarketing to an extent.
"The idea that consumers would have to re-register for the Do Not Call Register is absurd," she said.
"We need to get out of this holding pattern where we've just had extension after extension and there hasn't been a firm decision.
"Not many people think about the list once they're on it...It's a very convenient option but it's not top of mind.
"The opt-in system... reflects what we do with email marketing, you have to opt-in, you have to tick the box to receive the emails. For us it makes sense that no-one can call you unless you've specifically opted in to those communications, it mirrors how we deal with other forms of marketing.
"I think the Do Not Call register really needs to catch up to the regulations around email and social media marketing which makes much more sense, the opt-in system."
She also believes an opt-in system would protect vulnerable communities and guard against scams.
Consumer Protection WA have confirmed that in the past fortnight, three Perth homes had been contacted by someone purporting to be from the Do Not Call register, demanding $69 dollars to "re-register" their number.
Ms Turner said this scam had been running for a number of years and would easily be countered with an opt-in system.
"If there was an opt-in option, you're much more likely to know that if you're getting a call trying to sell you something, it could be a scam. It weeds out those dodgy providers," she said.
A DoC spokesperson said four options were currently being considered for the register: reducing the registration period to three years, retaining the current eight-year registration period, extending the registration period to an indefinite (permanent) period and removing the need to register.
A decision on which one to go with will be made prior to the May 2015 deadline
But Ms Turner said implementing any option that was not permanent would be a mistake.
"If they decide to let registrations fall off the list a lot of problems will arise." she said.
"We would expect they'd have to start communicating with people on that list and that's a very expensive, lengthy exercise.
"It's money they could avoid spending by just making a permanent registration. When people put their numbers on this list, they're not thinking about it constantly, so it would need a very public and direct marketing push from the ACMA."
