The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Senator Stephen Conroy today announced he would introduce amendments to extend the registration period for the Do Not Call Register.

"Current legislation requires that phone numbers be re-registered every three years," Senator Conroy said.

"That means from the end of May, the phone numbers of those who registered in May 2007 will start to become available to telemarketers, unless they are re-registered."

Senator Conroy said he would introduce an amendment to the Do Not Call Register Amendment Bill 2009 Bill which was currently before the Parliament. The amendment would replace the current registration period with an arrangement that enables the Minister to determine the appropriate registration period.

"Initially, I propose this be set at five years," Senator Conroy said.

"As soon as these amendments come into effect, the numbers of those who registered later in 2007 will not need to be re-registered until 2012."

The Government has had constructive discussions with the Greens on this issue and calls on the Opposition to support these beneficial measures.

To facilitate the quick passage of these amendments, the Government will not proceed with the proposal to extend the Register to include business numbers in the current legislation.

Stakeholders, including the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia, raised concerns that the inclusion of business numbers would impede legitimate business communications.

"The Government is keeping an open mind on this issue and intends to do further research and consultation with stakeholders."

People can re-register their details at any time by visiting the Register website at www.donotcall.gov.au or by calling 1300 792 958. Information on proposed changes to the Do Not Call Register can be found at: http://www.dbcde.gov.au/donotcall.