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CX news · Regulation and trust

SMS Sender ID Register: unregistered branded texts now show as ‘Unverified’

By BREME · · 4 minute read

In short

Since 1 July 2026, a branded text message in Australia only shows the sender's name if that sender ID is registered on the ACMA's SMS Sender ID Register, through every telco or message provider used. Unregistered sender IDs are replaced with the word ‘Unverified’ and grouped in one thread with other unverified messages, including scams. For organisations that send appointment reminders, delivery updates and security codes, an unregistered ID now puts those messages at risk of being ignored.

Who this is for: Operations, CX and digital leads in clinics, utilities, retailers, logistics firms, membership bodies and any organisation that sends customers texts under its own name.

What changed, and when

In October 2025 the ACMA made the rules for how brand names at the top of a text, such as ‘myGov’ or ‘AusPost’, can be registered and used. Organisations could start registering their sender IDs through a participating telco or message provider from 30 November 2025.

From 1 July 2026, only registered sender IDs can be used in SMS and MMS. That rule is now in force. The ACMA's frequently asked questions, last updated 14 August 2026, say texts sent using unregistered sender IDs are now being labelled ‘Unverified’. Messaging provider Sinch also describes the register as live since 1 July 2026.

The register is part of the federal government's Fighting Scams initiative. The ACMA says Australians lost more than $13.8 million to text message scams in the first nine months of 2025, and that many of those scams used the same sender IDs as real brands and government agencies, so they landed in the same message thread as genuine texts.

Who must register

Any business or organisation that sends texts with a branded sender ID, including small businesses, not-for-profits and agencies. Australian and international organisations can register. If you only send texts from a phone number, you do not need to do anything, and the rules do not cover messaging apps such as WhatsApp, iMessage or Facebook Messenger.

A few details catch organisations out:

  • You must apply through every SMS provider you use. Registering with one provider does not authorise another to send under that name.
  • If an agency or partner sends texts under your name, it applies as an entity associate, and you as the owner must agree.
  • For organisations with an ABN, the authorised contact or service of notice email on the Australian Business Register must be current, and the person confirming needs a myID of at least standard strength.
  • The application does not proceed until you confirm it using the unique link the ACMA emails you.
  • With an ABN, the sender ID must match your registered business name, company name, trademark or domain name, and be 2 to 11 characters.

What happens to unregistered messages

The text still arrives, but the brand name is replaced with ‘Unverified’. All unverified messages are grouped into a single thread on the customer's phone, alongside potential scams.

The ACMA's advice to the public is to check those messages carefully and, if in doubt, not to reply, click links or give personal details. ACMA member Samantha Yorke warned in May that messages labelled this way "may be ignored or deleted by customers" who are on alert for scams.

By then, the ACMA said, thousands of organisations had registered, including Coles, Australia Post, AAMI, StarTrack, EnergyAustralia and the Australian Taxation Office. The ACMA says most applications are approved within 24 hours, though some reviews have taken longer because of the volume. It has said it will consult on fees in the future.

What it means for the customer journey

Texts carry some of the most time-sensitive moments in a journey: the appointment reminder the day before, the delivery window, the security code, the account alert. If one of those now arrives as ‘Unverified’ in the same thread as scams, the customer has to decide whether to trust it. Many will not, and the organisation will see it as missed appointments, failed deliveries and calls to the contact centre rather than as a registration problem.

Look beyond the main marketing sender to the systems nobody thinks of as messaging systems. This is what we would check now:

  • List every system that texts customers: booking software, CRM, delivery platform, payment provider, after-hours service and marketing tools. Each may use a different provider.
  • Check the exact sender ID each one uses. Two spellings of your name are two sender IDs.
  • Confirm each registration shows as Complete in ACMA Assist, and ask your provider if you think messages are wrongly marked ‘Unverified’.
  • Ask front desk and contact centre staff whether customers have mentioned ‘Unverified’ texts since July. They usually hear first.
  • Compare confirmation rates, no-shows and failed deliveries before and after 1 July.
  • Tell customers the sender ID you use. The ACMA notes that customers who know it can treat other messages with caution.

Sources

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