SMS Sender ID Register Australia: What does this mean for businesses?

Topic: SMS

21 October 2025

Here at Esendex, we’ve always committed ourselves to helping Australian businesses communicate effectively and securely with their customers. We know that changes to regulations can sometimes feel overwhelming, and we want to make sure you’re fully prepared for the upcoming Sender ID Register changes that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is implementing. We’re here to help you understand what’s happening, why it’s happening, and what you need to do.

What is the Sender ID Register?

ACMA is introducing a new SMS Sender ID Register to protect Australians from phone and SMS scams. You know that business name that shows up at the top of a text message, like “NAB” or “Telstra”? That’s a sender ID. Many text scams use sender IDs to impersonate legitimate businesses in an effort to trick people into falling for the scam.

To help prevent this, ACMA is establishing an official Sender ID Register. ACMA will maintain a Register containing a list of all approved sender IDs used for business messaging that have been officially registered. If a sender ID isn’t on the list, it will be marked as “Unverified” or even blocked entirely. All messages flagged as “Unverified” will come through in the same message thread rather than separate ones.

Why is the Register being created?

ACMA’s goal is to create a safer, more trusted messaging environment for everyone. By verifying who is sending a message, ACMA is making it much harder for scammers to pretend to be a legitimate business. This is ultimately good news for everyone!

How will the Register affect my business?

If you haven’t registered your sender ID from 1st July 2026 onwards, your SMS messages will be flagged as “Unverified”. This will likely cause the following flow-on effects:

Customer confusion
Reduced trust in your brand
Reduced open and conversion rates

“Unverified” messages will be easier to overlook since they will come through amongst other messages without a registered sender ID. Customers who don’t trust the “Unverified” sender ID may also ignore them altogether. In some cases, your messages could also be blocked entirely.

Ultimately, the end result is the same: a large portion of your customers probably won’t see or trust the messages that you are trying to send.

Key dates you should add to your calendar

There are 2 key dates for you to be aware of. On November 30th, you can start registering your sender IDs, and on 1st July 2026, ACMA will officially enforce the Sender ID Register, meaning they will flag any unregistered SMS messages sent from this date onwards as ‘Unverified’ or may even block them.

How to register your sender ID

You can register your sender ID from 30th November 2025 through your telco provider. If you are an Esendex customer, we will work with you directly to register your sender ID. At this stage, ACMA has not provided more detailed information about the process.

What to consider when choosing your sender ID

You can register as many sender IDs as you need, but you must prove that each ID has a valid use case and directly associates with your business name, company name, trademark, or domain. For example, a retail store called ‘Hello’ may want to send promotional messages from the sender ID ‘Hello Offers’, and customer service messages from a different sender ID, ‘Hello Service’.

While you can register several IDs, we recommend using fewer, more consistent sender IDs. This will make it easier for customers to identify your business and trust your messages.

Furthermore, there’s also a few rules to keep in mind when choosing your sender ID, which we have summarised in the table to the left.

Still have questions?

We know that navigating new regulations can be a headache. That’s why we’re making it simple for our customers. As your trusted messaging partner, Esendex will be actively working with you to ensure a smooth transition that protects your brand.

So keep an eye on your emails and if you haven’t already, follow Esendex Australia on LinkedIn where we are posting updates, helpful information and reminders on this topic. It’s also a space where you can ask us questions, or you can get in touch with us by clicking the button below. Our Australian-based team is always happy to help!