Australia Registration Guidelines

These guidelines ensure compliance with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) SMS Sender ID Register. They help reduce sender impersonation and build trust in branded SMS messages delivered to Australian recipients.

Important dates and requirements:

From 1 July 2026, all alphanumeric sender IDs both new and existing must be registered in the ACMA SMS Sender ID Register. Any unregistered alphanumeric sender ID will be automatically replaced with "Unverified" in SMS messages sent to Australian recipients.

This documentation outlines the requirements, roles, and registration process for organizations involved in sender ID registration, including:

Entity (brand owner / direct customer) – The owner of the brand and sender ID.

Entity Associate (EMSP partner / wholesaler) – A third party authorized to send SMS on behalf of the brand owner.

Validation Rules:

A Sender ID’s must:

• be 2 to 11 characters long
• include only characters 32–126 from the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) decimal codes. ASCII can be accessed free of charge at ascii-code.com
• not solely consist of ‘restricted’ words published on the ACMA’s website
• not consist only of numbers
• not contain a space or underscore at the beginning or end
• not contain the word ‘Unverified’
• not be offensive, deceptive, or misleading
• have a valid use case (e.g., it must match your registered business name, company name, trademark, or domain name – see next section for more information)
  

Note: Sender IDs are not case sensitive (for example, 'ABC' is considered the same as 'abc').

Valid use case:

To be registered, a sender ID must be clearly linked to your organisation. This helps consumers recognise who the message is from and reduces the risk of confusion or impersonation.

As an organisation with an Australian Business Number (ABN), your sender ID must match your organisation’s:

• registered business name in the Business Names Register, and the status of the business name must be “registered”
• company name in the Australian Business Register, and the status of the related ABN relating to the entity must be “active”
• trademark included in the Register of Trade Marks or an equivalent international register of trademarks, and the status of the trademark must be “registered”, or
• domain name for which your organisation is the “registrant” in the whois.auda.org.au database, and either:
  • the registered domain name is used for a legitimate website that can be accessed via the internet, or
  • the registered domain name is used for an active email account.

Note: The sender ID for an organisation that does not have any ABN must match the organisation’s trademark or an official register or record in the country in which the entity is based.

You can register a sender ID that:

• is the same as your organisation’s name, or a shortened version (e.g., ’Australian Taxation Office‘→ ’ATO’)
• is an acronym, contraction, abbreviation or initialism of your name (e.g., ‘Australian Communications and Media Authority‘→ ’ACMA’)
• includes extra words that relate to your organisation’s function, location, or the purpose of the message (e.g., ‘ACMA Alerts’).

If it doesn’t meet these criteria, the ACMA will not accept an application to register the sender ID.

There is an exception to the valid use case if:

• you are a government agency
• the sender ID relates to an emergency, or a matter of public health, safety or security, and
• you have provided satisfactory evidence to the telco of the reason why you want to use the non-matching sender ID.

Entity Registration Guidelines

The entity is the legal owner of the sender ID and holds primary responsibility for its registration and ongoing compliance.

Important Note: An ABN (Australian Business Number) is a unique 11-digit number issued to businesses registered in Australia.

Before starting the registration process, review the requirements below.

Sender ID Requirements

The entity must ensure that the sender ID:

• Clearly represents its legal business name, trademark, or domain
• Is actively used and publicly associated with the entity
• Is not misleading, generic, or impersonating another entity

Note: Sender IDs are not case-sensitive (for example, 'ABC' and 'abc' are considered identical).

Requirements and registration steps differ depending on whether your organization has an ABN. Follow the section relevant to your business registration status.

Entity Registration with ABN (Local)

The entity with an ABN is responsible for:

• Confirming the sender ID application in the ACMA Assist web interface
• Maintaining accurate business and contact details in the Australian Business Register (ABR)

Note: The authorized representative is the person who manages the business's ABN. Only the ABR contact can initially set up ACMA Assist and must have MyID to access it and confirm a sender ID registration submitted by SMSGlobal in the ACMA portal.

Please see the following guidelines if you need to update Your authorised contact on the Australian Business Register ABR: 3.2 Update your authorised contacts on the Australian Business Register (ABR) | ACMA

Valid Use Cases for ABN Entities

The sender ID must match one of the following valid use cases to proceed:

Registration Process (ABN Entity)

Step 1: Submit your request

Once your sender ID meets the eligibility requirements and you have a valid use case:

Please follow the guideline to register the Sender ID on our MXT portal: Alphanumeric Sender ID Registration

Step 2: Submission to ACMA

• SMSGlobal will review your request to ensure all required information is complete and compliant.
• Once validated, SMSGlobal will submit the sender ID registration to ACMA on your behalf.
• If additional information or clarification is required, you will be notified.

Step 3: Confirmation via ACMA

• You will receive an email directly from ACMA requesting confirmation of the sender ID registration
• You must follow the instructions in the email and confirm the registration via ACMA Assist
• A step-by-step guide for accessing ACMA Assist is available in the official ACMA documentation

Step 4: ACMA Review

• After you complete the confirmation, ACMA will review the application.

Step 5: Final Confirmation

• SMSGlobal will notify you once the sender ID has been successfully registered with ACMA.

Sender ID Status in ACMA Assist:

Entity Registration Without ABN (International)

Entities without an ABN cannot access the register directly. SMSGlobal will manage the registration process, confirm your registered sender IDs, and maintain your contact details in the register.

Valid Use Cases for Non-ABN Entities

The sender ID must match one of the following valid use cases to proceed:

• Name on a trademark register
• Name on an official register or record in the country in which the entity is based

Registration Process (Non-ABN Entity)

Step 1: Submit your registration request

Once your sender ID meets the eligibility requirements and you have a valid use case:

Please follow the guideline to register the Sender ID on our MXT portal: Alphanumeric Sender ID Registration

Step 2: Business review and identity verification

• SMSGlobal will review and validate your request by assessing the legitimacy of your company and the provided use case
• The authorized representative will receive an email with a QR code or verification link to complete identity verification through our accredited partner.
• The authorized representative must complete the verification process as instructed
• If any additional information or supporting documents are required, you will be notified accordingly

Step 3: Submission to ACMA

• Once the company details have been validated and the identity verification is successfully approved, SMSGlobal will submit the sender ID registration to ACMA on your behalf.

Step 4: Confirmation

• SMSGlobal will notify you once the sender ID has been successfully registered with ACMA

Entity Associate Registration Guidelines

An entity associate acts solely as a sending party on behalf of the brand owner.

Requirements for Entity Associates

Before proceeding with registration, review the requirements below. The entity associate:

• Can submit sender ID registration requests through SMSGlobal by collecting the valid use case and information from the brand owner
• Must coordinate confirmation steps with the brand owner (if the brand owner holds an ABN)
• Must use the sender ID strictly for the authorized brand and purpose
• Must have a formal arrangement with the sender ID owner

Registration Process for Entity Associates

Step 1: Submit sender ID request

Once your sender ID meets the eligibility requirements and you have a valid use case:

Please follow the guideline to register the Sender ID on our MXT portal: Alphanumeric Sender ID Registration

Step 2: Company validation (one-time requirement)

Note: If your company has already completed participation and verification previously, SMSGlobal will proceed directly to Step 3.

SMSGlobal will review and validate your company before proceeding.

If your company holds an ABN

• You will receive an email directly from ACMA with a link to access ACMA Assist.
• You must log in and complete your participation steps in ACMA Assist.
• A detailed guide for the Entity Associate role is available in Appendix A of the official documentation.

If your company does NOT hold an ABN

• SMSGlobal will validate your company by assessing its legitimacy
• SMSGlobal will contact the nominated authorized representative
• The authorized representative will receive an email with a QR code or verification link to complete identity verification through our partner.
• The authorized representative must complete the identity verification process
• Once identity verification is approved, SMSGlobal will submit your participation application to ACMA.

Step 3: Brand owner (customer) validation

After your company participation has been completed, SMSGlobal will proceed with validating the sender ID request for the brand owner.

If the brand owner holds an ABN

• SMSGlobal will submit the sender ID registration request to ACMA
• The brand owner will receive an email directly from ACMA
• The brand owner must log in to ACMA Assist and confirm the sender ID registration

If the brand owner does NOT hold an ABN

• SMSGlobal will review and validate the request by assessing the legitimacy of their company and the provided use case
• The authorized representative will receive an email with a QR code or verification link to complete identity verification through our partner.
• The authorized representative must complete the identity verification process
• Once identity verification is successfully approved and all details are validated, SMSGlobal will submit the sender ID registration to ACMA

Step 4: Confirmation

SMSGlobal will notify you once the sender ID has been successfully registered with ACMA.

Registration Process for Electronic messaging service provider (EMSP):

EMSPs (Electronic Messaging Service Providers) are defined in Section 108A of the Telecommunications Act 1997 - Federal Register of Legislation. This definition includes providers involved in sending text messages, such as:

• SMS aggregators
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform providers
• Software as a Service (SaaS) providers
• Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) providers
• Automated marketing platform providers
• Two-factor authentication (2FA) providers

EMSP Partner (Platform Provider)

You are an electronic messaging service provider (e.g. a software platform provider) and this requires a formal partnership agreement with SMSGlobal.

Choose this if:

• You're a software platform or CRM provider
• Your end-users send messages through your platform, but you need SMSGlobal to fulfil technical or compliance requirements
• You want SMSGlobal Engage to handle some or all of the compliance obligations on your behalf
• You have multiple end-users who need to register sender IDs through your platform

Key characteristic: You're a technology intermediary that enables your customers to send messages, but you need SMSGlobal to help fulfil technical or compliance requirements

Examples:

• A CRM platform that enables hundreds of businesses to send SMS from within the platform
• A marketing automation tool that processes bulk SMS campaigns for users
• A telecommunications software provider that white-labels messaging service
• An e-commerce platform that provides SMS notifications as a feature

Entity Associate vs. EMSP Partner

These two categories are often confused. Here's the key difference:

• An Entity Associate (you send messages on behalf of your customers as a service), or
• An EMSP Partner (you provide a platform that enables your customers to send their own messages)?

Still not sure?

Ask yourself these questions:

Do your clients log into YOUR platform to send messages?

• YES → You're likely an EMSP Partner
• NO → You're likely an Entity Associate

Are you sending messages yourself on behalf of clients?

• YES → You're likely an Entity Associate
• NO → You're likely an EMSP Partner

Important Note for Australian EMSPs:

Australian EMSPs (those that hold an Australian Business Number or ABN) are considered telecommunications providers for the purposes of the SMS Sender ID Register.

This means they must apply to the ACMA to participate in the register. Please refer to the ACMA guidelines on how to become a participating telco: Become a participating telco | ACMA

If you require any assistant identify your roles as entity associate or EMSP to start the registration process please contact us to support@smsglobal.com.