Since 1 July 2026, a text message that arrives on an Australian mobile with a business name at the top, rather than a phone number, has had to come from a sender ID registered with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). If it does not, the carrier replaces the name with the word ‘Unverified’ and files the message in a single thread alongside every other unverified sender, scams included.
For businesses that send appointment reminders, delivery updates or one-time codes under their own name, that is a significant change. For businesses that text customers from an ordinary mobile or landline number, nothing has changed at all. This guide explains which group you are in, how registration works, and how the register fits with the wider anti-scam rules that now shape how Australian businesses call and text their customers.
The short version
If your texts show a name (for example ‘SmithDental’) instead of a number, register that name through your SMS or telco provider. If your texts show a phone number, you do not need to do anything. The ACMA says there is no cut-off date for registration, but every day an unregistered name is in use, your messages arrive marked ‘Unverified’.
1. What the Register Is
A sender ID (also called an alphanumeric sender ID) is the name that appears instead of a number at the top of a text, such as ‘AusPost’, ‘myGov’ or ‘ATO’. Until the register arrived, anyone sending bulk SMS through a messaging platform could type any word into that field. That is why so many scam texts appeared to come from parcel companies, banks and toll road operators, and why they often landed in the same message thread as genuine messages from those brands.
The SMS Sender ID Register, run by the ACMA, changes that. Organisations register the names they send under, and carriers check outgoing branded messages against the register:
- Registered sender ID: the message displays the name as before.
- Unregistered sender ID: the carrier must replace the name with ‘Unverified’, and the message is grouped with other unverified messages in one thread.
The obligations to check and label sit with the telcos, which face court-ordered penalties for breaching the register rules. The practical consequence for a business is simpler: an unregistered name now looks exactly like a scam.
2. Does It Affect Your Business?
| How you send texts | Affected? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| From a staff member’s mobile | No | Nothing; the message shows a number |
| From your business number through your phone system’s SMS feature | No, if it sends from the number | Confirm with your provider that it sends as a number |
| From a booking, practice management or CRM system showing your business name | Yes | Register the name through that system’s SMS provider |
| Bulk SMS or marketing platform with a name as sender | Yes | Register through the platform, if it is an approved provider |
| Two-factor or one-time codes under your app’s name | Yes | Register; unverified codes will confuse and alarm users |
The row that catches small businesses out is the third one. A dental practice, physio, salon or mechanic may never have thought of itself as a bulk SMS sender, but if its booking software sends reminders under the practice name, that name needs registering. Ask the software vendor directly how its sender ID is handled.
3. How Registration Works
You do not register directly with the ACMA. Registration runs through an ACMA-approved telco or messaging provider, and the ACMA publishes a list of participating providers on its website. In outline:
- List every sender ID you use. Check every system that sends texts: booking software, CRM, e-commerce platform, marketing tool, alarm or monitoring systems, and your phone system.
- Check your ABR details. For businesses with an ABN, the ACMA says the authorised contact or service-of-notice email in the Australian Business Register must be up to date. Out-of-date ABR details are an easy way to stall an application.
- Apply through your provider. Each provider has its own process and you will be asked to prove the business is legitimate and entitled to the name.
- Allow processing time. Providers have warned that applications can take time to process, so do not leave a new sender ID until the day before a campaign.
- Repeat for each provider. If you send through more than one platform, confirm each one is covered.
What names you can register
The ACMA’s published criteria include:
- Between 2 and 11 characters, using standard letters, numbers and symbols.
- No leading or trailing space or underscore, and not the word ‘Unverified’.
- Nothing offensive, deceptive or misleading.
- Clearly linked to the organisation: your name, a shortened version, an acronym, or your name plus a word describing the purpose or location (the ACMA’s own example is ‘ACMA Alerts’).
- For Australian organisations, a match to a registered business name, company name, trademark or domain name.
Sender IDs are not case sensitive, and the same ID can be registered by more than one organisation if each has a valid claim. The 11-character limit is the one that bites: ‘NorthsidePhysio’ will not fit, ‘NthsdPhysio’ will.
Tell customers what to expect
Once registered, tell customers which name you text from and that you will never send links asking for passwords or payment details. The ACMA’s own guidance makes the point that a consistent registered sender ID helps customers spot impersonation, but only if they know what the genuine one looks like.
4. The Rules on Scam Calls
The Sender ID Register deals with texts. Voice calls are covered by a separate set of obligations that sit mainly with telcos, but they affect how your business calls are delivered and displayed.
- The Reducing Scam Calls and Scam SMs industry code (registered by the ACMA in 2022) requires telcos to identify, trace and block scam calls and texts, including calls presenting caller ID they are not entitled to use. Telcos have reported blocking very large volumes of scam calls under it.
- Caller ID integrity. Because spoofed numbers are a target for blocking, your outgoing calls need to present a number you actually hold. If your phone system lets staff set an arbitrary outbound caller ID, lock it down to numbers on your account.
- Inbound-only numbers. Industry arrangements exist to stop numbers that never make outgoing calls (such as some government and bank enquiry lines) being spoofed. If a number of yours is inbound only and heavily impersonated, ask your provider about protection.
A practical side effect: legitimate business calls from unfamiliar or recently ported numbers are sometimes flagged or ignored by wary recipients. Presenting a consistent, recognisable business number, and keeping it the same across desk phones, apps and mobiles, helps. Our guide to business numbers on mobiles covers presenting your business caller ID from a personal phone.
5. The Scams Prevention Framework
Above the industry codes sits the Scams Prevention Framework, legislated in 2025, which sets overarching obligations for designated sectors to prevent, detect, report, disrupt and respond to scams. The framework names banks, telecommunications providers and digital platforms as the first sectors to be brought under it, with the ACCC as lead regulator. Designation and the detailed sector codes are being rolled out in stages, so check the current position with the Treasury and the ACCC (which hosts the National Anti-Scam Centre) before relying on any particular obligation.
Most small businesses are not directly regulated by the framework, but you will feel it through your providers: tighter identity checks when you buy numbers or SMS services, more questions when you change caller ID settings, and faster blocking of suspicious traffic.
6. The Rules You Were Already Meant to Follow
Registering a sender ID does not change the long-standing rules on marketing messages and calls:
| Rule | Applies to | Core requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Spam Act 2003 | Commercial emails and texts | Consent, clear identification of the sender, and a working unsubscribe |
| Do Not Call Register Act 2006 | Telemarketing calls and marketing faxes | Do not call numbers on the register without consent, subject to limited exemptions |
| Telemarketing and Research Industry Standard | Telemarketing and research calls | Calling hours, identifying the caller, and presenting a contactable number |
| Privacy Act 1988 | Organisations covered by the Act | How customer phone numbers are collected, used and disclosed |
The ACMA enforces the Spam Act and Do Not Call rules and has issued substantial penalties to well-known Australian brands, mostly for missing consent or broken unsubscribe functions. The same customer list that drives your appointment reminders should not quietly become a marketing list. Our phone system security and compliance guide covers the Privacy Act and call recording side.
7. Protecting Your Business From Impersonation
Registration protects the name at the top of a text; it does not stop scammers impersonating you by other means. A few measures cost little:
- Publish how you contact customers, on your website and invoices: which sender ID you text from, which number you call from, and what you will never ask for.
- Avoid links in texts where you can. If customers learn that genuine messages never contain links, scam links stand out.
- Train staff on vishing. Scammers also call businesses, posing as suppliers, banks or IT support. The Twilio breach and the Cisco incident both started with a text or a phone call to staff.
- Report impersonation to Scamwatch, and report scam texts by forwarding them to 0429 999 888, the ACMA-supported reporting number, as well as to your own provider.
8. Checklist
- List every system that sends texts on your behalf, and the sender name or number each one uses.
- For each one showing a name, confirm whether the name is registered and through which provider.
- Check your ABN details are current on the Australian Business Register.
- Register any unregistered name, within the 11-character limit, through an approved provider.
- Lock outbound caller ID on your phone system to numbers you hold.
- Confirm marketing texts have consent and a working unsubscribe.
- Publish your official sender ID and calling number on your website.
- Brief staff on vishing and on what your business will never ask customers for.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the SMS Sender ID Register?
It is a register run by the ACMA of the business and organisation names that appear instead of a phone number at the top of text messages. From 1 July 2026, carriers must label texts sent under an unregistered name as Unverified and group them in a single thread with other unverified messages.
Do I need to register if I text customers from my mobile number?
No. The register only covers branded sender IDs, where a name appears instead of a number. If your texts display a phone number, whether from a mobile or your business phone system, you do not need to register anything.
How do I register a sender ID in Australia?
Through an ACMA-approved telco or messaging provider, usually the company whose platform sends your texts. You will need to prove your business is legitimate and entitled to the name, and if you have an ABN your contact details on the Australian Business Register must be current. The ACMA publishes the list of participating providers.
Is there a deadline to register a sender ID?
The labelling started on 1 July 2026. The ACMA has said there is no cut-off date for registration, but until a name is registered, messages sent under it are shown as Unverified, so any business still using an unregistered name should register as soon as possible.
How long can a sender ID be?
Between 2 and 11 characters, using standard letters, numbers and symbols. It must be clearly linked to your organisation, such as your name, a shortened version or an acronym, and for Australian organisations it must match a registered business name, company name, trademark or domain name.
Where do I report a scam text in Australia?
Forward it to 0429 999 888 and report it to Scamwatch. If the scam impersonates your business, also tell your SMS provider and warn customers through your website and usual channels.