Mandating an SMS sender ID registry is the latest addition to Australia’s world-leading suite of scam prevention measures
The Australian Government is introducing a mandatory SMS sender ID register
On 3 December 2024, Michelle Rowland (Minister for Communications) announced that the Australian Government would establish a mandatory SMS sender ID register to crack down on SMS-based scams. The registry will compile official sender IDs for organisations in Australia, such as banks, telecoms operators and government entities, with the aim of preventing scammers from sending SMS messages that use trusted brand names to deceive consumers. Rowland will soon direct the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to develop an enforceable industry standard for telecoms operators, which will require operators to check whether SMS messages being sent under a brand name correspond with the legitimate registered sender on the sender ID register. If it is confirmed that the sender is not on the register, ACMA will either block the message or issue a warning alongside it. In 2023, Singapore introduced a mandatory SMS sender ID registry that has proved to be very successful, reducing the number of SMS scam cases by 70% in its first three months of implementation.
The register’s full implementation follows a voluntary pilot phase and the recent passing of anti-scam legislation
The SMS sender ID register was first announced in the Government’s 2023-2024 federal budget, from which A$10m (£5.1m) will be given to ACMA over the course of four years to launch and maintain the register. The Government also launched a voluntary pilot phase of the register in December 2023. A number of telecom operators participated in the pilot phase, including Optus, Telstra, TPG Telecom and Pivotel. Less than a year on from the budget, on 22 August 2024, the Australian Parliament voted to pass the Government’s sender ID register legislation, with the following aims for tackling SMS-based scams:
Decrease the frequency and impact of SMS impersonation scams on consumers;
Increase protections for legitimate brands and agencies against bad actors impersonating them;
Disrupt the business models for SMS impersonation scams;
Restore public confidence in SMS as a reliable communications channel; and
Make Australia a much harder target for scam activity.
The ACMA is reportedly expected to consult on the industry standard and establish the necessary systems of the register in H1 2025, while the Government anticipates that registration for sender IDs will be open from late 2025.
Tackling scams has been a key focus of Australia’s Labor Government and has given it a reputation internationally
The creation and implementation of the sender ID register reflects a prioritisation of combatting scams within the policymaking of the current Labor government that has made Australia a world-leader in scam prevention. On 1 July 2023, the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC) was established within the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to act as a public and private sector partnership against scammers in the country. The NASC also focuses on disrupting scams and educating communities to protect them from scams. The Government’s plans to implement the sender ID register – and have the ACMA block or include warnings on messages from potential scammers – is therefore just the latest example of the Government’s ongoing focus on tackling increasingly sophisticated and organised scammers. More broadly, the Government is in the process of pushing through an amendment to the Competition and Consumers Act 2010, which will establish an economy-wide scams prevention framework, again proving why Australia is now seen as a global leader in the fight against scams.
ACMA and Ofcom have partnered to combat scams
Along with enforcement of the new sender ID register, ACMA has announced that it will be partnering with Ofcom in the UK to collaborate on combatting phone scams, unsolicited calls and spam. The two regulators have agreed upon a Framework for Practical Cooperation to promote mutual assistance and information sharing between them in the hope of better protecting consumers from phone scams. The partnership’s focus on phone scams aligns with the creation of the sender ID registry in Australia and demonstrates Australia’s global leadership in scam prevention. ACMA agreed a similar partnership with New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs in June 2022, signing a memorandum of understanding to further enhance the countries’ joint efforts to combat unlawful spam and scams.
