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ACMA’s mandatory Sender ID Register comes into full effect on 1 July 2026. For businesses sending branded SMS at scale, compliance is not optional.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has mandated a national SMS Sender ID Register under the Telecommunications (SMS Sender ID Register) Industry Standard 2025. The register is a direct response to escalating impersonation scams, where fraudsters have exploited Alpha Sender IDs – the branded name that appears at the top of an SMS – to impersonate government bodies, financial institutions, and major business brands.
For organisations, this means every Alpha Sender ID used across your SMS communications – including transactional alerts, authentication messages, and marketing campaigns – must be formally registered through an approved provider before 1 July 2026.
Compliance is mandatory. From 1 July 2026, only participating telcos are permitted to transmit messages using registered Sender IDs. Non-compliance results in automatic disruption of your SMS delivery.
Registration ensures your organisation’s Sender ID is exclusively linked to your verified entity. It prevents third parties from impersonating your brand via SMS – protecting customers and your reputation.
Unregistered Sender IDs will be replaced with “Unverified” on recipient handsets from July 2026 – directly impacting open rates, customer trust, and the efficacy of time-sensitive communications.
The register applies to SMS delivered to Australian mobile numbers using Alpha Sender IDs. Sending from a Virtual Number and sending to international recipients are outside the scope of this requirement.
A verified business representative must submit business registration details and photo identification, before 1 July 2026. The registration process is straightforward and can be done directly from our portal.
Important:
* You may already have and using a sender ID but this still needs to be registered with ACMA
* Once your sender ID has been approved and verified it will be shared across all users of your account – no need for “per user” registrations
Any entity – corporate, government, or otherwise – that uses an Alpha Sender ID to send SMS to Australian mobile numbers is subject to this requirement.
ABN-registered corporations – can register Sender IDs directly through an approved participating provider or directly with the ACMA, with an authorised representative listed on the ABR.
Government agencies & statutory bodies – subject to the same registration obligations regardless of exemption status in other regulatory frameworks.
Entities without an ABN – including international corporations and non-registered organisations – must engage a certified telco such as Edgility to register on their behalf.
Multinational organisations – messaging Australian mobile numbers from offshore requires registration through a certified Australian telco or authorised partner regardless of origin.
Out of scope: Numeric long code senders and organisations sending exclusively to recipients outside Australia are not subject to these requirements.
Every SMS dispatched under an unregistered Sender ID will display as “Unverified” to recipients – appearing in a separate, isolated inbox clearly flagged as a potential scam.
For transactional communications – two-factor authentication, payment alerts, appointment confirmations, or critical operational notifications – this labelling creates immediate friction, erodes brand credibility, and risks your customers ignoring legitimate messages entirely.
Edgility manages the registration process on your behalf. Here’s how it works in three straightforward steps:
Log in to Edgility and head to Settings > Profile & Settings > SMS Settings. Review your current Alpha Sender ID list or register a new one ready for verification.
Submit your ABN and personal proof of ID. As a certified telco, Edgility provides these details to the ACMA on your behalf to complete the registration process.
Once verified with ACMA, you’re done. Your messages will continue displaying your Alpha Sender ID as usual – nothing changes for your recipients.
📌 Sender ID naming requirements: Each Sender ID must be demonstrably linked to your organisation – matching a legal business name, registered trademark, or domain. Generic terms such as “Alerts”, “Notifications”, or “Info” will not be approved, nor will IDs that could mislead recipients or impersonate another entity. IDs must use standard ASCII characters and cannot begin or end with a space or underscore.
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The Edgility Sender ID Registry is live. Business accounts can now view, manage, and submit Alpha Sender ID registrations across multiple users, teams, and business units – all from a single centralised dashboard within the platform.
Centralised management across all accounts and users
Registration status tracking and compliance visibility
Direct ACMA submission pipeline via Edgility’s Certified Telco status
This is one of the most common questions we receive from businesses – so let’s address it directly. The ACMA Sender ID Register applies exclusively to Alpha Sender IDs. If your organisation sends from a purchased Virtual Number, no ACMA verification or registration is required.
A Virtual Number is a purchased Australian mobile or long code number assigned exclusively to your organisation. Messages appear to originate from a real phone number, recipients can reply, and the number is unique to your account.
No ACMA registration required. No action needed.
An Alpha Sender ID is a custom Alpha label – typically your brand or organisation name – displayed in place of a phone number. Recipients cannot reply to these messages, and the name is not exclusively yours by default.
ACMA registration required by 1 July 2026.
Unsure which sending method your organisation uses? Log in to Edgility and navigate to Settings > Profile & Settings > SMS Settings. Your default “From” name is displayed there – if it appears as a word or phrase, it is an Alpha Sender ID. If it appears as a number, it is a Virtual Number and no registration is required.
Protect your organisation’s SMS delivery, brand reputation, and customer trust. Edgility’s team will guide you through every step of the registration process.