Companies are ignoring the national no-call register and inundating Australians with unwanted phone calls, according to reports.

The Herald Sun reported tens of thousands of Australians have accused various telemarketers of breaking the law by calling their households, culminating in about 40,000 complaints in the past two years.

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Under the Do Not Call Register Act 2006, Australian telemarketers must not contact numbers registered on the Do Not Call Register, but thousands are claiming the register was not making any difference to the calls they receive.

In fact, 2016 marked the first year the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) had taken Federal Court action relating to the decade-old law.

Getaway Escapes PTY LTD, a travel company headed up by Queensland businesswoman Joanne Margaret Day is being accused of blocking caller IDs when making telemarketing calls – a practise that is not allowed under the legislation.

It is alleged the company blocked caller IDs for a whopping 144,000 calls made in the year 2014, and that 5300 of those calls were made in contravention of the Do Not Call Register.

The register, which currently holds about 10.5 million Australian phone numbers, exempts charities, educational institutions and political parties from its rules.

Maximum penalties for breaching the industry standard are $50,000 for individuals and $250,000 for companies.