ACMA SMS Sender ID Registration in Australia: What Ecommerce Brands Need to Know Before July 1

If you send SMS messages to customers in Australia using your brand name as the Sender ID, there’s a regulatory deadline you can’t afford to miss: July 1, 2026.

Australia’s communications regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), is launching a new SMS Sender ID Register. Starting on that date, any SMS sent with an unregistered branded Sender ID will be flagged as “Unverified” by mobile carriers — meaning your customers may see a warning next to your brand name before they even read your message.

For ecommerce brands that rely on SMS to drive sales, recover abandoned carts, and keep customers in the loop about their orders, this is a compliance moment that also directly impacts performance.

Here’s everything you need to know to stay compliant — and how Omnisend makes the registration process simple.

What is the ACMA SMS Sender ID Register?

The ACMA SMS Sender ID Register is a new national database that verifies which businesses are authorized to use specific alphanumeric Sender IDs when texting Australian mobile numbers.

An alphanumeric Sender ID is the brand name that appears at the top of an SMS instead of a phone number. If your customers receive texts that show “YourBrand” instead of “+1 555 000 1234”, you’re using an alphanumeric Sender ID.

The register was introduced as part of the Australian Government’s Fighting Scams initiative. Its purpose is straightforward: to prevent fraudsters and scammers from impersonating legitimate brands via SMS. By verifying that every Sender ID is tied to a real, authorized business, ACMA is building infrastructure that makes branded SMS safer and more trustworthy for everyone.

Who is affected?

If you’re an Omnisend user sending SMS to Australia, this applies to you.

Omnisend uses alphanumeric Sender IDs for Australian SMS, meaning your messages already display your brand name to customers. Registration with ACMA is required to keep those messages deliverable and trusted after July 1.

This applies regardless of what type of SMS you send, including:

• Promotional campaigns (sales, offers, product launches)
• Transactional messages (order confirmations, shipping updates)
• Automated notifications (abandoned cart reminders, workflow messages)

What happens if you don’t register by July 1?

Missing the deadline has real consequences for your SMS performance:

• Your messages will be labeled “Unverified” by mobile carriers. This warning appears before customers even open your message and can erode the trust you’ve built with your brand.
• Click-through rates may drop as a result. Customers who see an “Unverified” tag are less likely to engage.
• In some cases, messages may be blocked from delivery entirely by carriers.

Bottom line: skipping registration doesn’t just risk your messages getting flagged. It actively hurts the channel performance you depend on.

What you need to register

Omnisend submits your Sender ID registration to ACMA on your behalf. To complete the process, you’ll need to gather the following:

Business information:

• Legal entity name
• Business address and phone number
• Website URL
• ABN (if your business is registered in Australia)

Documentation to verify your business:

• ABN/ABR extract (for Australian businesses) or the local equivalent for international senders
• The document must show your business name and active status
• Accepted formats: PDF or PNG, max 5 MB

Documentation to prove you own the Sender ID: One of the following is accepted:

• Company extract
• Australian Business Names Register entry
• .au domain ownership certificate
• Australian or international trademark registration
• Other formal authorization letter

Authorized representative details:

• Full name and job title
• Work email address
• Government-issued ID (passport, driver’s license, or national ID card — if using a driver’s license or ID card, provide both front and back)
• If the representative isn’t listed in your business registration, a signed Letter of Authorization is also required

Use case description: A brief, plain-language explanation of how you use SMS (for example, “Promotional campaigns and order confirmation updates for ecommerce customers”).

How to register through Omnisend

Omnisend handles the submission to ACMA directly — you don’t need to navigate the regulatory process on your own. Here’s how to get started:

1. Go to Store Settings → SMS in your Omnisend account
2. In the Sender’s name field, enter or confirm your SMS sender name (up to 11 characters) and click Save
3. Scroll to Countries that require sender’s name registration, find the Australia row marked “Action required”, and click Resolve
4. Fill out the registration form and upload your required documents, then click Submit

Once submitted, the status will update from “Action required” to “Pending review”. Omnisend and its certified telecommunications partner, Twilio, will handle the submission to ACMA on your behalf.

Important: Registration typically takes up to 2 weeks to process, and incomplete submissions may result in additional delays or rejections. Don’t wait until the last week of June — start the process now.

Why this regulation is good news for brands

It’s easy to look at a compliance deadline and see only effort and paperwork. But the ACMA Sender ID Register is worth understanding for what it actually does for your brand.

Until now, any bad actor could send SMS messages impersonating your brand name. There was no infrastructure to verify that “YourBrand” in an SMS was actually you. Scammers have exploited this gap extensively, and the resulting consumer skepticism toward branded SMS is a real drag on the channel.

The Register changes that. Once your Sender ID is verified, it’s tied to your business. That’s a meaningful layer of brand protection — and it builds the kind of carrier-level trust that supports long-term deliverability and click rates.

In other words, registration is a one-time effort that pays off in ongoing performance.

Register before July 1 — Omnisend makes it simple

If you send SMS to Australian customers via Omnisend, the deadline is July 1, 2026. Acting early reduces the risk of delays and ensures your SMS program runs without interruption.

Omnisend handles the ACMA registration on your behalf. All you need to do is log in, fill out the form, upload your documents, and submit.

Register your Australian SMS Sender ID now →

For full regulatory details, visit the official ACMA SMS Sender ID Register page.