4.3 Initiate, manage and review the status of sender ID registrations on behalf of entities

Originating telcos who have been approved by the ACMA to participate in the register can apply to register sender IDs on behalf of Australian entities that hold an ABN. 

Certified telcos can apply to register sender IDs on behalf of entities (domestic or international) that don’t have an ABN. The application form to become a certified telco is available within the register in the Settings tab. A user guide for certified telcos is available here.

Transiting and terminating telcos are not permitted to apply to register sender IDs.

As a participating originating telco, you may be asked to register a sender ID:

1. Via a telco partner

   If you have international partners or EMSP partners, you may receive a request from one of those partners to apply to register a sender ID on behalf of one of the partner’s customers who have an ABN. Requirements relating to telco partners are set out in section 13 of the Standard

2. Directly by an entity

   An ABN entity may ask you directly to make an application to register a sender ID on their behalf.

If you are applying to register a sender ID in collaboration with an International partner, you must first add the partner to your account. Refer to 4.5.1 Add a telco partner for instructions.

If you are applying to register a sender ID in collaboration with an EMSP partner, they first must be approved to participate in the SMS Sender ID Register as an originating telco. You must then add them as a telco partner to your account. Refer to 4.5.1 Add a telco partner for instructions.

When you are registering the sender ID on behalf of a telco partner:

1. Select a Telco Partner from the dropdown list in the Application to register a sender ID form.

Adding a telco partner to the application ensures that communications from the register to the entity will reference the telco partner rather than your telco.

If you are an originating telco, the Standard requires you to:

• offer to make an application to register sender IDs on behalf of your customers that send sender ID messages, and
• make an application to register a sender ID if a customer asks you to do so. 

Entity associate 

If an entity asks you to apply to register a sender ID, you must ask the entity if it is an entity associate for another entity. That is, you must establish if the applicant is applying to register their own sender ID, or if they are applying to register/use a sender ID that belongs to another entity. 

If the entity is not an entity associate (i.e. they are registering their own sender ID), follow the process starting at section 4.3.3.

If the entity is an entity associate (i.e. they are seeking to register/use a sender ID that belongs to another entity), you must:

1. first make an application to register the entity associate, following the process in 4.5.2 Register an entity associate), AND
2. then make an application to register the sender ID that the entity associate has requested to use, following the process starting at section 4.3.3. 

For point 2, the entity associate will provide the required information to enable you to submit the application (see Appendix A of the User guide for businesses and organisations for instructions for entity associates). After you submit the application, the sender ID owner must confirm the application before the entity associate can use the sender ID. By confirming the application, the sender ID owner:

• agrees to register their sender ID, and
• consents to the entity associate using that sender ID. 

To apply to register a sender ID on behalf of an entity/customer:

1. Click on the Sender IDs tab.
2. Click on the Apply to register a Sender ID button.

You will be taken to the Application to register a sender ID form.

Sender ID

3. Enter the sender ID the entity wants to register in the Sender ID field.

The register application will not accept sender IDs unless they:

• include only characters 32–126 from the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) decimal codes. ASCII can be accessed free of charge at www.ascii-code.com
• are at least 2 and no more than 11 characters long
• do not consist only of numbers
• do not contain a space or an underscore at the beginning or end of the sender ID
• do not contain the word ‘unverified’
• do not solely contain a prohibited word or words published on the ACMA’s website here.

4. If applicable, select the entity associate’s name from the drop-down list, or the telco partner’s name. 

Entity details

Enter the entity’s details. If a record has previously been created for the entity for your company, the Website, Business address and Telephone fields will auto populate once you enter the ABN.

5. Start typing the entity’s name or ABN in the Australian Business Number (ABN) field. A list will appear as you type. Select the entity from the list.
6. The Entity name field will be populated with information taken from the ABR.
7. Enter the entity’s web address, or online presence on a social media platform, into the Website field.
8. Enter the entity’s address in the Business address field. If the entity is a company, the full address of their registered office must be provided. If the entity is not a company, the address of their principal place of business, operation or administration must be provided.
9. Enter the entity's contact number in the Telephone field. You will be asked to provide the details of a specific contact for the entity in the next section. 

Entity contact details 

10. Enter the contact details of a representative for the entity that you are registering the sender ID on behalf of into the text boxes. These details will be used to contact the entity to verify the sender ID registration application. 

Valid use case

You must establish that the entity has a valid use case for the sender ID before you can submit the application. 

you are dealing with an ABN entity Note: If you are dealing with an ABN entity and it has already registered the sender ID through another telco, you are not required to establish a valid case and the valid use case field will not appear.

The sender ID must be either:

• the same as
• a contraction or abbreviation of
• an acronym of

• an initialism of 

  either the entity’s:

• registered business name in the Business Names Register, and the status must be ‘registered’
• registered company name in the Australian Business Register, and the status must be ‘active’
• registered trademark in IP Australia’s Trade Mark Search or equivalent register, and the status must be ‘registered’, or
• registered domain name on WHOIS, the entity is the ‘registrant’ and the domain name is used for an active and legitimate website, or an active email address.

For example, if an entity’s:

• company name is TS Pty Ltd
• business name is Telservice
• trademark is TelService
• registered domain name is Zrates.com.au,

the following sender IDs are examples that would pass the valid use case requirements:

• Telservice
• TelServs
• Telser
• TS
• TS_Track
• TelServSale
• Zrates
• TS-Sydney.

There is an exception to the valid use case requirements if:

• the entity is a government agency; and
• the sender identification relates to an emergency, or a matter of public health, safety or security; and
• the entity has provided evidence to the provider that satisfies the provider of the reason why the agency intends to use the sender identification rather than its registered business name, company name, trademark or registered domain name, as relevant.

11. Check the box next to the valid use case/s you have used to match the sender ID to the entity. You can select more than one of the first four boxes. 

12. Click the Submit button. 

Your application will now be submitted. An email will be sent to the entity contact nominated in step 10. The entity contact will be asked to access the register via ACMA Assist to confirm the registration application for that sender ID. 

If the application includes an entity associate, the entity associate will be mentioned in the email. By confirming the application, the entity is agreeing to register the sender ID and for the nominated entity associate to send messages on the entity’s behalf using that sender ID. 

If the sender ID is registered (and the entity associate is registered to participate in the register), you must notify the entity associate that they are authorised to use the sender ID after 1 July 2026.

You will receive an email notification once the sender ID application has been confirmed by the entity. However, you can check the status of a sender ID at any time.

1. Click on the Sender ID tab.
2. Type the sender ID into the search field and press enter.
3. View the status of the sender ID in the Status column. Statuses include:

• Submitted means the application has not yet been confirmed by the entity
• Under review means the entity has confirmed the sender ID, but the application is being reviewed by the ACMA
• Registered by <date/time> means the sender ID has been approved and will be registered and ready for use by the given date and time
• Ready to use means the sender ID has been registered and is ready for use
• Revoked means your authorisation to send messages using that sender ID has been removed. This may be because the entity has decided it no longer wants you to send messages using the sender ID, or it may be because the entity or the ACMA has removed that sender ID from the register.

You may need to remove your authorisation to send messages using a sender ID for an entity (for example, because the entity asks you to remove it, or you no longer agree to send messages for that entity). 

To remove your authorisation for a sender ID: 

1. Click on the Sender IDs tab.
2. Click on the sender ID you want to remove.

The sender ID details will open.

3. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the Remove button.

A popup window will appear.

4. Click OK to confirm that you want to remove the record.

Your authorisation for the sender ID will be removed.

ABN (Australian Business Number)

Has the meaning given by section 41 of the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999.

ABR (Australian Business Register)

The register established under section 24 of the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999.

ACMA Assist

ACMA Assist is the online portal for the ACMA.

Certified telecommunications provider (certified telco)

A participating telco that is an originating telco that has been approved by the ACMA to be a certified telecommunications provider. A certified telco can apply to register sender IDs and send sender ID messages on behalf of non-ABN entities.

Client record (account)

An account that organisations set up with ACMA to access specific services. The account contains all relevant information about a telco or entity interacting with the SMS Sender ID Register.

Customer

An entity that has a contractual arrangement with their telco relating to the sending of sender ID messages.

Electronic messaging service provider (EMSP)

1. EMSPs are defined in section 108A of the Telecommunications Act 1997 - Federal Register of Legislation, and include providers involved in sending text messages, such as:

• SMS aggregators
• customer relationship management platform providers
• software as a service providers
• communications platform as a service providers
• automated marketing platform providers
• two-factor authentication providers

After the ACMA approves the application, and in accordance with subsection 4(3) of the Standard, an EMSP can comply with its obligations under the Standard by:

1. fulfilling the obligations itself, or
2. becoming an EMSP partner, by arranging with another participating telco to fulfill some or all of the obligations on its behalf under subsection 13(5) of the Standard.

EMSP partner

An electronic messaging service provider that has a direct relationship with an entity and who has partnered with:

• any participating telco that is an originating telco – if the EMSP’s customers are ABN entities.
• An originating telco that is a certified telco – if the EMSP’s customers are a non-ABN entity.

and has arranged for the provider to fulfill some or all of the EMSP’s obligations under the Standard on its behalf.

Entity

One of the following who uses or proposes to use sender identification messages:

• an individual
• a body corporate
• a corporation sole
• a body politic
• a government entity (within the meaning of the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999)
• a partnership
• any other unincorporated association or body of persons
• a trust
• a superannuation fund (within the meaning of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993).

Entity associate

An entity who is authorised by another entity to send sender ID messages using the sender ID registered in the register for that other entity. Examples of entity associates are:

• a research company that has been engaged by a bank to send messages for the bank, using its sender ID
• a sports club that is authorised to send messages, using a sender ID that is owned by a sports league
• an advertising or marketing agency engaged by a business to run advertising and promotional campaigns, using a sender ID owned by that business.

International partner

An international telecommunications service provider that has a direct relationship with an entity and who has partnered with either:

• any participating telco that is an originating telco – if the international telco’s customers are ABN entities.
• An originating telco that is a certified telco – if the international telco’s customers are a non-ABN entity.

to make an application for registration of a sender ID and to send sender ID messages on behalf of the relevant customer.

Originating telecommunications provider (originating telco)

A telco that agrees to send sender ID messages on behalf of either:

• a customer
• an international partner
• an EMSP partner.

Participating telecommunications provider (participating telco)

A telco that has been approved by the ACMA to participate in the register.

Telecommunications provider (telco)

Either:

• a carrier
• a carriage service provider
• an electronic messaging service provider.

Telco partner

An international partner or EMSP partner. Requirements relating to telco partners are set out in section 13 of the Standard.

Terminating telecommunications provider (terminating telco)

A carrier that is responsible for delivering sender ID messages to message recipients who are connected to a public mobile telecommunications service owned or controlled by the carrier.

Transiting telecommunications provider (transiting telco)

A telco that connects with other telcos to transit sender identification messages between 2 telcos over a telecommunications network.