The rule, in one line
Under the Spam Act 2003 (Cth), a commercial message needs consent, has to say who sent it, and has to offer a way to unsubscribe. The penalties land on the business that sent it.
Which Kairo messages are which
| Message | What it counts as | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Booking confirmation | Transactional — it finishes something the client asked for | No marketing consent needed; still name the business |
| Appointment reminder | Transactional | As above |
| Reschedule or cancellation | Transactional | As above |
| Payment receipt | Transactional | As above |
| Review request | Arguably commercial | Treat it as needing consent and an unsubscribe |
| Win-back / “we miss you” | Marketing | Consent and unsubscribe required |
The middle row is the one to watch. A reminder is plainly transactional. “We haven't seen you in a while, here's 20% off” is plainly marketing. A review request sits between the two and reasonable people disagree — so treat it as marketing. That's the safe reading and it's the one this policy takes.
What you need to do
- Get consent before sending marketing. Ask at booking or in the chair, and record that you asked.
- Leave the business name and contact details in every message. Kairo puts them there automatically from your settings — don't strip them out.
- Honour unsubscribes, and never message someone who's opted out.
- Only message numbers and addresses a client gave you for that purpose. Never import a purchased list.
What Kairo does
- Keeps each message type separate, so you can switch marketing off and leave confirmations and reminders on.
- Only offers channels a client can actually receive.
- Logs every message, its channel and its delivery status, so you can show exactly what was sent and when.
- Never messages your clients on our own behalf.