Cybersecurity Policy Report, Spam Act Violations Lead to Fine for Australian Firm, (Apr 16, 2026)

By Tony Foley

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has fined financial services company Latitude Finance Australia $3.96 million Australian (US$2.84 million) after finding that the company committed multiple violations of the country’s Spam Act.

In a press release announcing the fine, the ACMA said that an investigation revealed that Latitude sent more than 2.3 million marketing messages between March 2024 and April 2025 without accurate contact information, of which nearly 345,000 lacked a working unsubscribe function. The fine marks the second sanction against Latitude, after the ACMA levied a fine of $1.55 million Australian (US$1.11 million) in 2022 for similar violations. The latest breaches were identified through Latitude’s mandatory compliance reporting under a court-enforceable undertaking entered into as part of the prior investigation and sanction.

In its infringement notice, the ACMA found that the messages at issue marketed Latitude’s credit card products and financial services, and while recipients were told that they could reply “STOP” to unsubscribe, many of the messages were not capable of being used in that manner. “Under Australia’s spam laws consumers have the option to unsubscribe from commercial messages, and that process must work,” ACMA member Samantha Yorke said. “They must also provide accurate information within the message about how the sender can be contacted.”

As part of the sanction, the ACMA accepted additional court-enforceable undertakings from Latitude that require the company to appoint an independent consultant to further review its compliance with the spam laws and to undertake regular and comprehensive reporting to the agency. “Given Latitude’s history of non-compliance, we will be very closely monitoring how it meets its obligations,” Ms. Yorke concluded.

News: InternationalLegislation LitigationEnforcement DataPrivacy