Melbourne's Service Stream group will build the national Do Not Call Register aimed at thwarting rogue telemarketers after it won a AU$12.1 million tender over four years.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) awarded Service Stream the contract to build and operate the Register, as well as handle complaints and promote it to the community.

Individuals will be able to list Australian fixed and mobile phone numbers on the Register to opt out of receiving telemarketer calls. The Register is slated to come into effect before the end of May.

Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan, said the appointment of a Register operator concluded several months of planning by ACMA.

"Based on overseas experience, we expect there will be a high level of demand for the Register," she said in a statement issued today.

"As many as one million numbers could be registered in the first week alone. It is therefore imperative that a robust Register is developed."

Telemarketers will have to check their call lists against the Register as stipulated by legislation passed last year.

ACMA is devising rules for telemarketers on accessing the Register, as well as a telemarketing industry standard.

The government has committed AU$33.1 million in funding over four years towards the Register.