From July 1, any branded SMS your business sends without a registered sender ID will be labelled “Unverified” and grouped with scam messages.
What’s happening: From 1 July 2026, any business or organisation that sends SMS using a branded name, such as “MyShop” or “AcmeServices”, instead of a phone number, must have that sender ID registered on the new ACMA SMS Sender ID Register.
Why this matters: Businesses that do not register will have their name replaced with the word “Unverified” on every message they send, and those messages will be grouped alongside texts from unknown and potentially fraudulent senders.
If your business sends text messages that show your business name at the top rather than a phone number, you are using what is known as a branded sender ID. From 1 July 2026, that sender ID must be registered with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) or your messages will look very different to your customers.
The change comes from the ACMA’s new SMS Sender ID Register, introduced as part of the federal government’s Fighting Scams initiative. The register ensures that all sender IDs are verified and traceable, to combat the rise of scam messages that impersonate trusted brands by hijacking sender IDs and making fraudulent messages appear legitimate.
ACMA member Samantha Yorke urged businesses to act immediately. “If you use branded SMS, contact your telco or messaging provider now to register your sender ID,” she said. “Messages labelled ‘Unverified’ may be ignored or deleted by customers who are on high alert for scams. That puts legitimate communications and brand trust at risk.”
Major organisations including Coles, Australia Post, AAMI, StarTrack, EnergyAustralia and the Australian Taxation Office have already registered their sender IDs.
What happens if you don’t register
The consequences of missing the deadline are immediate and visible to your customers. Text messages sent with unregistered sender IDs will have the sender ID replaced with the word “Unverified” and will be grouped together in a single message thread on the recipient’s phone. People will likely treat unverified messages as scams.
Messages sent by non-participating telcos and message providers will be blocked entirely. So the risk is not only reputational. Depending on your provider’s participation status, your messages may not reach customers at all.
Yorke was direct about what is at stake for businesses. “Scammers rely on familiar names to make fake messages look real. Registering your sender ID helps customers recognise genuine messages and strengthens confidence in branded SMS,” she said.
Who needs to act
The rules apply to any organisation that sends SMS or MMS with an alphanumeric sender ID to Australian mobile numbers, including occasional appointment reminders, marketing updates or account alerts. Numeric sender IDs, that is, messages sent from a standard phone number rather than a business name, are not affected.
If your business name appears at the top of the texts you send to customers, you need to register. It does not matter how large or small your business is, how frequently you send, or what type of message it is. The requirement applies across the board.
The requirement to register applies regardless of the content of the message, meaning it is not limited to marketing messages but covers all communications including delivery updates, reminders, and payment notifications.
How to register before July 1
Registration does not happen directly through the ACMA. Instead, businesses with an Australian Business Number can register their sender IDs directly with the ACMA or through an approved participating telecommunications provider. Organisations without an ABN need to work with an approved certified provider to register on their behalf.
The practical steps are straightforward. First, identify every sender ID your business currently uses. If you send texts that show a business name rather than a phone number, that name is your sender ID and it needs to be registered. Second, contact your telco or messaging provider to confirm they are a participating provider and begin the registration process. Third, make sure your details on the Australian Business Register are accurate, as the ACMA cross-references the ABR to verify the identity of whoever is registering on behalf of your business.
If you use the ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House to process payments, note that it is also closing on 1 July 2026, meaning July 1 is shaping up as a significant compliance deadline across multiple fronts for SMEs.
The ACMA’s full guidance, including a list of approved telcos and messaging providers, user guides, and fact sheets, is available at acma.gov.au.
July 1 is eight weeks away. For SMEs that send branded SMS, the registration process is not complex but it does take time to complete. Starting now is the only way to make sure your customers keep seeing your name, not the word “Unverified”, at the top of your messages.
A list of participating telcos and messaging providers is available on the ACMA website at Approved telcos and message providers for the SMS Sender ID Register.
Information, user guides and fact sheets about the SMS Sender ID Register are available on the ACMA website at Sending text messages with your business or organisation name.
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