Important: The regulatory landscape regarding alphanumeric sender ID registration is continually evolving. While we strive to provide the most current information, we strongly advise checking the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) website directly for the very latest guidance and updates. These FAQs are based on information available from the ACMA as at the date of this article, which is yet to include detailed information about the register/sender ID application process, access to the register or administration of the register.
The sender ID register and how it is proposed to work
Q: What is an alphanumeric sender ID?
A: When you receive an SMS or MMS message, and at the very top, there's a little identifier letting you know who it's from. That's the Sender ID. It's an alphanumeric header - think a mix of letters, numbers, and maybe a few symbols. Examples include names like ‘ATO’, ‘CBA’, or ‘myGov’. This ID is your way of instantly recognizing trusted senders.
Q: What is the purpose of the SMS sender ID register?
A: The SMS Sender ID register is here to safeguard you and the businesses that reach out to you through messages. How? By putting a stop to impersonation scams! These scams happen when fraudsters use fake sender IDs that look like well-known brands, like banks or government agencies, to trick you into giving away your personal info or money. By disrupting these scams, the register helps ensure that you can trust the messages you receive.
Q: Why is the ACMA developing an SMS sender ID register, and when will it be ready?
A: The ACMA's SMS Sender ID Register is established under the Telecommunications (SMS Sender ID Register) Industry Standard 2025 and the SMS Sender ID Register (Application, Access and Administration) Determination 2025.
The Register opened on 30 November 2025 and enforcement begins on 1 July 2026. From that date, alphanumeric sender IDs sent to Australian mobile numbers must be registered, or messages will be labelled "Unverified" on the recipient's device.
Q: How will the register work?
A: Any business sending SMS or MMS to Australian mobile numbers using an alphanumeric sender ID must register that sender ID with the ACMA. Registration confirms that the entity is legitimate and that the sender ID genuinely belongs to them, which prevents scammers from impersonating well-known brands.
You can register through a Certified telecommunications provider (such Sinch MessageMedia), through another participating telco, or directly via the ACMA Assist portal. From 1 July 2026, any sender ID that is not registered will be labelled "Unverified" when it appears on a recipient's mobile device.
Q: What happens if I don't register by the deadline?
A: From 1 July 2026, any unregistered alphanumeric sender ID will appear on the recipient's device as "Unverified" instead of your business name. This significantly damages brand recognition, message open rates, and customer trust and may also lead to messages being filtered or blocked by carriers under their anti-scam controls.
To avoid disruption to your messaging, register your sender IDs well before the deadline. The peak demand period will be the weeks immediately before 1 July 2026
Q: Can I register through Sinch MessageMedia?
A: Yes. Sinch MessageMedia (ABN 16 095 453 062) is a Certified Telecommunications provider with the ACMA. You can initiate Sender ID registration directly through your Sinch MessageMedia account (Settings → Numbers).
When you complete the verification step on ACMA Assist, you will see Sinch MessageMedia listed as the service provider.
For more details on the registration process Alphanumeric sender ID Registration
Q: What information will I need to provide to register my Sender ID?
A: To register a sender ID through Sinch MessageMedia, you'll need:
- Your full registered entity name and Australian Business Number (ABN).
- An authorised representative's details (legal name and business email). This person must be listed as an authorised contact on the Australian Business Register: ACMA will email them to verify the application.
- A valid use case showing the sender ID matches your entity. The sender ID must be the same as, or a contraction, abbreviation, or acronym of, one of: your registered business name, company name, registered trademark, or registered domain name.
We will pre-fill some of these information from Australian Business Registry (ABR). Before you start the registration Setting up ACMA Assist before your alphanumeric Sender ID is registered
Q: What do I need to do if my ABN is not in the Sinch MessageMedia system or needs to be changed?
A: Please contact Sinch Support and provide your ABN. Our team will review the details and reach out if we need more information.
Q: Why do I need to go through the registration process for my alphanumeric sender ID when I have already done this recently?
A: Our previous approval process for alphanumeric sender IDs was implemented to comply with existing anti-scam requirements where there was no central Sender ID Register in place. Even though you've recently gone through an approval process, these alphanumeric sender IDs must now be registered through ACMA's official framework. This is to ensure all alphanumeric sender IDs comply with ACMA's new requirements.
Q: Who is authorized to register alphanumeric sender IDs under the new ACMA process?
A: Only the following types of entities can participate in the Register: an individual; a body corporate; a corporation sole; a body politic; a government entity; a partnership; any other unincorporated association or body of persons; a trust; a superannuation fund.
For entities with an ABN, the authorization process requires:
Verification of the entity’s legitimacy and their authorized representatives.
Identification of the representative responsible for registering, which could include individuals or business administrators tied to the entity on platforms like the Australian Business Register (ABR).
Q: What should we do if our company is registered as a trust with a trading name that doesn't correlate to the sender ID we are looking to register?
A: Your Sender ID may be rejected if it does not match the registered legal entity. In Australia, trading names are not registered business names and cannot be used to prove ownership, including when a business operates as a trust. Find out more here.
Q: Will registering alphanumeric sender Ids under the ACMA process cost anything?
A: There may be an applicable charge associated with registering sender IDs, including any ongoing annual charge. The exact cost details will be provided once the ACMA finalizes and communicates the fee structures. We are committed to updating our customers with more information as soon as it becomes available from the ACMA.
Q: Can I use my registered sender ID with other telecommunications providers?
A: Yes, However, ACMA requires you to do a seperate registration with each telecommunication provider
Q: What is an Electronic Messaging Service Provider (EMSP) Partner?
A: An "electronic messaging service provider" that has partnered with Sinch MessageMedia to fulfil its obligations under the Standard. As a participating telecommunications provider in the register, we can help you in the registration process.
For more detailed information and guidance, please refer to the ACMA's official website
Q: How can Non-ABN Entities (Domestic and International Senders) participate in the ACMA SMS sender ID registration process?
A: An entity without an ABN (e.g., a foreign company or a domestic non-profit) sending messages for its own brand. Sinch MessageMedia as a Certified Telecommunications Provider can help you process non-ABN Sender ID applications.
Q: How do I register my SMS sender ID with the ACMA via Sinch MessageMedia?
A: Step 1 — Make sure your ABR contact is up to date and setup ACMA Assist Account. more information Setting up ACMA Assist before your alphanumeric Sender ID is registered and also you can refer to this information from ACMA https://www.acma.gov.au/frequently-asked-questions
Step 2 — Submit the registration in your Sinch account. In Sinch MessageMedia, go to Settings → Numbers and start a new alphanumeric sender ID registration. We'll validate the sender ID against your entity details, check the use case match, and submit the application to ACMA. We'll let you know once it's accepted into the queue.
Step 3 — Verify with ACMA Assist. ACMA will email your authorised representative with a link to ACMA Assist. They'll need to confirm their identity (using MyID, formerly MyGovID), confirm the registration. Once that's done, ACMA notifies us and your sender ID status updates to Approved in your Sinch account.
Q: What sender IDs are accepted as a match for my entity?
Your sender ID must clearly belong to your entity. ACMA accepts a sender ID as a "valid use case" when it matches one of these four registered sources for your entity:
For ABN Sender ID application:
| Source | Where it's registered |
|---|---|
| Registered business name | Business Names Register (status must be 'registered') |
| Registered company name | Australian Business Register (status must be 'active') |
| Registered trademark | IP Australia Trade Mark Search (status must be 'registered') |
| Registered domain name | WHOIS — your entity must be the registrant, and the domain must be in active use |
For non-ABN Sender ID application:
Sender ID must match the organisation’s trademark or an official register or record in the country in which the entity is based.
The match can be exact, a contraction, an abbreviation, an acronym, or an initialism. You can also add another word associated with your entity's function.
Sinch validates this automatically when you submit your registration. for more details ensure your sender IDs meet the valid use case rules
Q. I lost / never received my ACMA Assist email — how do I get into ACMA Assist to verify my sender ID registration?
You don't need the original email. You can go directly to your entity's sender ID page in ACMA Assist using this URL (replace <ABN> with your ABN):
https://www.acma.gov.au/acma-assist#/senderid/senderids/access?abn=<ABN>
You'll be asked to log in with MyID (the Australian Government's digital identity service, formerly MyGovID). The email address linked to your MyID must be listed as an authorised contact for your entity on the Australian Business Register (ABR).
From the sender ID page you can:
- Verify any sender ID registration that's waiting on you to confirm
- Check the current status of every sender ID submitted for your entity
- Update the authorised representative on an open application
If your MyID email isn't on your ABR contact list, see https://www.acma.gov.au/frequently-asked-questions
Q: I send messages on behalf of other businesses — how do I complete my partner verification with ACMA?
f you register sender IDs on behalf of other entities — either as an Entity Associate (EA) under another entity's sender ID, or as an EMSP partner who runs your own messaging service for end-customers — you need to complete a one-time partner verification with ACMA before your registrations can be approved.
Use this URL to access the partner verification step (replace <ABN> with your entity's ABN):
https://www.acma.gov.au/acma-assist#/senderid/partners/access?abn=<ABN>
Log in with MyID using an email listed as an authorised contact for your entity on the Australian Business Register (ABR).
A few things worth knowing:
- This is a one-time step for your entity. Once your partner verification is complete with ACMA, every sender ID you go on to register on behalf of your end-customers is covered — you don't repeat this step for each end-customer.
- This is separate from the individual sender ID registrations themselves. The end-customer entity (the one the sender ID belongs to) still needs to verify each sender ID registration on their own ACMA Assist account.
- If your partner verification isn't complete, your end-customer registrations will sit in Pending Partner Verification status until it's done.
If you've lost the original ACMA email inviting you to complete partner verification, the URL above takes you straight to the right plac
Q: Can I check the status of my Sender ID registration directly with ACMA?
Yes. You can view all your entity's submitted, pending, and approved sender IDs by logging into ACMA Assist directly:
https://www.acma.gov.au/acma-assist#/senderid/senderids/access?abn=<ABN>
Replace <ABN> with your ABN and log in with MyID. You'll see the status of each registration application.
You can also see registration status inside your Sinch MessageMedia account at Settings → Numbers. Note that status changes at ACMA can take a few minutes to sync to your Sinch account.
Q. We're a government agency and our sender ID doesn't match our legal entity name (for example "ServiceNSW" or "COVIDAlert"). What are our options?
The government agencies have a specific exception under the Standard.
Under the Industry Standard, the standard "valid use case match" requirement does not apply if:
- The entity is a qualifying government agency (a Commonwealth agency, a State or Territory, an authority of a State/Territory, or a corporation in which a State/Territory has a controlling interest), and
- The sender ID relates to an emergency, or a matter of public health, safety, or security, and
- The agency has provided evidence to the provider explaining why the proposed sender ID is being used instead of the registered name, trademark, or domain.
All three conditions must be met. Sinch will ask you to complete a short Letter of Attestation (LOA) confirming the use case. Our Compliance team reviews the LOA against ACMA-aligned criteria; the assessment is typically completed within a few business days.
Reach out to the support team to start a government use-case exception request.
Q: We're an Electronic Messaging Service Provider (EMSP), what do we need to do?
An Electronic Messaging Service Provider (EMSP) is a business that runs its own messaging platform and sends SMS on behalf of its end customers (often as a reseller or aggregator).
Under the Standard, EMSPs must register as a participating telecommunications provider with ACMA, but you don't have to handle the registration plumbing yourself. You can partner with Sinch MessageMedia ( sign a Partner Addendum) and use our platform to register your customers' sender IDs at scale.
For EMSP partners, we offer a single and bulk registration solutions in the Sinch MessageMedia Hub for registering many sender IDs at once.
Reach out to your Account Manager to start the EMSP onboarding conversation
Q: How long does Sender ID registration take from submission to approval?
Most registrations are completed within 2–3 business days, depending on how quickly your ABR authorised contact verifies the registration on ACMA Assist.
The breakdown:
- Sinch validation and ACMA submission: usually within 1 business day of submission, often within hours.
- ACMA Assist verification by your authorised contact: depends on your team, so prompt action helps.
- ACMA approval and notification back to Sinch: typically within 24 hours after your authorised contact verifies.
The single biggest cause of delay is the ACMA Assist verification step. Make sure your ABR authorised contact knows to expect the email and is ready to act when it arrives.
Q: My Sender ID was rejected by ACMA — what does that mean?
The most common rejection reasons are:
- No use-case match — the sender ID didn't match your registered business name, company name, trademark, or domain. Try an abbreviation or acronym of one of those (see "What sender IDs are accepted as a match for my entity?").
- Generic word — standalone generic words like "Alert" or "Info" are not allowed because they're a common scam vector. Use them with a qualifier (e.g. "ACMA Alert" or "MedicareInfo").
- Restricted term — sender IDs that resemble government services (ATO, Medicare, myGov) are restricted to single registration to prevent impersonation.
Q: We're an international business without an ABN — can we register a sender ID for sending to Australian mobiles?
Yes. Sinch is a Certified Telecommunications Provider with the ACMA, which means we can register sender IDs on behalf of entities that don't hold an Australian Business Number (ABN) — including international companies and domestic non-ABN entities.
The non-ABN registration path is now available for Sinch MessageMedia. It includes:
- Business existence verification against an official registry in your home country
- Identity verification of an authorised representative (government-issued ID plus liveness check)
- A sender ID use-case match against an official registry or record in your home country (for example, a trademark register or business register)
- Manual review by our Compliance team
A one-time setup fee of $19 AUD applies per sender ID, plus a recurring monthly fee that covers ongoing identity and compliance monitoring. Your Account Manager will share the full pricing breakdown.
The non-ABN flow is currently a controlled release — it's not on by default. To request enablement on your account, contact your Account Manager or the support team. We'll do a quick pre-check (confirming you have a valid use case match against an official registry in your country) before giving you the go-ahead.
Q: What does "Pending Partner Verification" mean on my registration?
"Pending Partner Verification" means your sender ID has been submitted to ACMA and is now waiting for your authorised representative to verify the registration on ACMA Assist. ACMA emails the link directly to the authorised contact listed for your entity on the Australian Business Register (ABR).
If your authorised representative hasn't received the email, see "I missed / lost the ACMA Assist email" for the direct ACMA Assist URL.
Q: I got "No business match found" — but my sender ID matches my business. Why?
The "No business match found" error means our automated check couldn't connect the sender ID to one of your registered sources. The check looks at four specific sources — and it looks at each as it is officially registered:
| Source | Where it's checked |
|---|---|
| Registered business name | ASIC Business Names Register — must be status registered |
| Registered company name | Australian Business Register (ABR) — must be status active |
| Registered trademark | IP Australia Trade Mark Search — must be status registered |
| Registered domain name | WHOIS — your entity must be the registrant and the domain must be active |
Common reasons the check fails even when you think there's a match:
- The match is against a trading name on the ABR, which is a legacy field and not a registered business name (see "We operate through a trust").
- The domain is registered to a related entity or to an individual, not to the entity submitting the application.
- The trademark is registered but the status is applied or pending, not registered.
- The business name registration has lapsed.
- The sender ID is technically related to your business but doesn't follow the abbreviation/acronym/initialism rules (for example, a marketing acronym that isn't traceable to a registered source).
What to do: Check each of your four sources against abr.business.gov.au, asic.gov.au/business-names, search.ipaustralia.gov.au and whois.auda.org.au.
More information on ACMA requirement ensure your sender IDs meet the valid use case rules
Q: Can I still register sender IDs after 1 July 2026?
Yes. The 1 July date is the start of enforcement (the "Unverified" label) — it is not a registration cut-off. You can register and remediate sender IDs at any time after 1 July, and once registered they will display your business name as normal (no more "Unverified" label).
Don't wait — the longer a sender ID is showing as "Unverified" to your recipients, the larger the impact on open rates, brand trust, and customer experience.
Q: Will I lose my existing sender ID if I don't register by 1 July 2026?
No — you won't lose the sender ID, and messages will continue to be delivered. The change is that messages sent using an unregistered sender ID will display "Unverified" instead of your sender name on the recipient's device.
Once you complete registration (which you can do at any time, before or after 1 July), the "Unverified" label is removed and your sender name displays normally again.
Alphanumeric sender ID format rules
Q: What characters are allowed in a sender ID?
A: Sender IDs must consist solely of characters with ASCII decimal codes 32–126. This includes all printable ASCII characters.
Q: What is the required length for a sender ID?
A: Sender IDs must be at least 2 characters and no more than 11 characters long.
Q: Can a sender ID be composed entirely of numbers?
A: No. Sender IDs must not consist solely of numbers; they must include at least one letter.
Q: Are there any restrictions on where certain characters can be used in a sender ID?
A: Yes. Sender IDs must not contain a space or underscore at the beginning or end.
Q: Are there specific words that cannot be used in a sender ID?
A: Yes. Sender IDs cannot include the word ‘Unverified’ or any term identified by the ACMA as a disruption term for unregistered IDs. Additionally, no offensive, deceptive, or misleading words are allowed.
Q: Are sender IDs case sensitive?
A: No, sender IDs are case insensitive. For instance, ‘ABC’ is considered the same as ‘abc’.
Q: Can multiple entities use the same sender ID?
A: Yes, sender IDs can be registered and used by multiple entities if each entity can prove a valid use case.
Q: Are there restrictions on certain sender IDs due to sensitivity or risk?
A: Yes, some sensitive or high-risk sender IDs may be limited to single registration to reduce harm if misused. Examples include government-related identifiers like ‘ATO’ or ‘Medicare’.
Q: Can generic words be used as standalone sender IDs?
A: No, standalone generic sender IDs like ‘Alert’ are prohibited. They can be misused to create false urgencies. However, using them with a qualifier, such as 'ACMA Alert’, is acceptable.
Conclusion
To ensure seamless messaging services and compliance with ACMA regulations, please proactively prepare for the upcoming changes in alphanumeric sender ID (alphanumeric sender ID) registration. For further assistance or queries, contact support or visit the ACMA website for more detailed guidance.