ACMA is urging organisations that use branded identifiers in their SMS messages to register their sender IDs with their telco provider ahead of the launch of the SMS Sender ID Register in July.
The register will safeguard consumers and brands from scam messages impersonating legitimate organisations and help restore confidence in branded SMS communication.
Organisations using text messaging to communicate with their customers must register all their sender IDs by 1 July 2026.
Unregistered sender IDs will be replaced with the word ‘Unverified’ and grouped together in a single message thread on recipients’ phones, alerting recipients that the text is a potential scam.
ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin urged all organisations, including banks, medical and dental surgeries, retailers, utilities and not-for-profits, to contact their telco provider as soon as possible.
“Anyone using sender IDs must act now to prepare for these changes and get their sender ID registered to take advantage of the new protections,” she said.
“If a legitimate organisation does not register their sender ID, their messages could be mistaken for a scam, disrupting customer communications and affecting brand reputation.”
The register is being implemented as part of the government’s Fighting Scams initiative to address scams and online fraud and protect Australians from financial harm.
The rules also require participating telco and other providers to educate consumers about what to expect when the register goes live and inform customers about registration requirements.