New branded SMS rules to improve consumer confidence

From Wednesday July 1, 2026, new rules mean texts sent with an organisation’s name at the top of a message (known as a branded sender ID) will need to have the sender ID registered.

Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) says this will reduce scams and improve trust in business messaging. Businesses using SMS must register their sender IDs to ensure messages are delivered.

Under the SMS Sender ID Register rules, messages sent using unregistered branded sender IDs, such as business or organisation names, will appear on mobile phones labelled as “Unverified”.

These messages will be grouped in a single thread with other unverified messages, including possible scams.

Messages sent using registered sender IDs such as “AusPost”, “Linkt” or “myGov” will continue to appear individually with their registered name.

ACMA member Samantha Yorke says the new initiative will give people more confidence that SMS messages sent with a branded sender ID are legitimate.

“These changes will give Australians an extra layer of protection to help prevent impersonation scams,” she says.

“From July 1, people will start seeing a clear difference between text messages sent from registered sender IDs and those that have not been registered.

“If a message is marked as ‘Unverified’, people should treat it with extra caution and not click on any links or provide personal information,” Yorke says.

“If in any doubt, check for verified contact details online or via bills and only make contact via that channel.

“Telcos are required to let their customers know about the imminent changes, so expect your provider to be in touch.”

More than 17,000 sender IDs have already been registered, with that number rising each day.

Businesses and organisations that have not yet registered their sender IDs are encouraged to urgently contact their SMS provider if they want their messages to continue appearing with their branded sender ID after July 1.

“Any business that does not register its current sender IDs by July 1 risks having its messages labelled “Unverified” and ignored, or treated as a scam by the recipient,” Yorke says.

Last year Australians lost nearly $18 million to SMS scams, with many of those messages masquerading as major brands.

Information, user guides and fact sheets about the SMS Sender ID Register are available on the ACMA website.