Email Signature and Disclaimer

• Approved Signature Content
• Setting up a signature and disclaimer
• What is the CRICOS number
• Confidentiality/legal professional privilege

• Complying with the SPAM Act 2003

Approved Signature Content

Staff should include a signature on all email messages which includes;

• the staff member's current contact details (recommended for all emails, and essential for emails about goods and services to comply with the Spam Act 2003),
• the University's CRICOS Provider Number (necessary to comply with the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 when emailing overseas students for marketing and recruitment), and
• a confidentiality notice (recommended for all emails and essential when the email contains any sensitive or confidentail information).

The University's preferred signature is:

Name
Position
School/Department, Faculty/Branch/Division
The University of Adelaide
Street Address
Phone and fax
Email Address

CRICOS Provider Number 00123M
-----------------------------------------------------------
IMPORTANT: This message may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you think it was sent to you by mistake, please delete all copies and advise the sender. For the purposes of the SPAM Act 2003, this email is authorised by The University of Adelaide.

Think green: read on the screen.

Setting up a signature and disclaimer

For help with setting up or changing your email signature in Outlook contact the Technology Service Desk

For instructions on setting up your signature and disclaimer for Web Mail see the Web Mail Users Guide.

What is the CRICOS number

It is a requirement of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations' Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) legislation that all written and electronic material that is used for marketing and recruitment of overseas students lists the registered provider's legal entity and CRICOS code. While obviously not every email will need to include the CRICOS code, it has been agreed to err on the side of caution and include it in all communications, rather than risking the possibility that it will be omitted when required.

Confidentiality/Legal professional privilege

Email disclaimers of this type can be traced back to disclaimers featured in fax messages from lawyers, brokers, major corporations and government agencies. The confidentiality notice is an attempt to say that the content of the email is confidential and that it should not be read by anyone other than the intended recipient.  In practice a disclaimer may have value by demonstrating that the recipient - intended or otherwise - was alerted that the content of the message was copyright and might be of confidential nature.

SPAM Act 2003

The notice in the footer to the effect that the University authorises the message brings the message within certain exemptions from the SPAM Act. Without that statement, some of the university's email messages would fall under that Act and would breach various of its obligations. As with the CRICOS issue, while not every email needs to include this statement by including it in all communications we avoid the risk omitting it when it is needed.