What is sender ID registration?

An alphanumeric sender ID (a Sender ID) is the brand name that shows as the sender of your SMS, in place of a phone number. Under Australian law, each Sender ID used to send SMS to Australian numbers must be registered on the SMS Sender ID Register (the Register), which the Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) establishes and maintains.

Why registration is required

  • The Register is a requirement of Commonwealth law. It is not an Instant requirement and it is not optional.
  • Since 1 July 2026, an SMS sent from a Sender ID that is not registered can be labelled Unverified or blocked by the mobile networks.
  • The Register exists to stop scammers from sending SMS under the names of real businesses and government agencies. For this reason, each application is checked against your business records before it is accepted.

These instruments govern the Register. Each one is published free of charge on the Federal Register of Legislation.

For the ACMA’s own explanation of the Register, see the ACMA SMS Sender ID Register page.

Note: This article is general information about the Register. It is not legal advice. If you need advice about your obligations, speak to your own legal adviser.

Why the process takes time

Your application passes through five stages. Different parties are responsible for each stage, and each stage must be complete before the next one starts.

  1. Instant review. Instant checks your application and documents against the requirements before submission. Instant is responsible for this stage.
  2. Messaging provider verification. Instant’s messaging provider verifies your business profile against your documents. If a document does not meet the requirements, the provider rejects it. After you supply a corrected document, this stage starts again.
  3. Confirmation by your authorised contact. The ACMA sends an email to the authorised contact for your Australian Business Number (ABN). That person must sign in to ACMA Assist with myID and confirm the application. The ACMA does not assess an application until this confirmation is made. You are responsible for this stage.
  4. ACMA assessment. The ACMA assesses your application against the Determination. The ACMA states that it approves most applications within 24 hours, but that a high number of applications has caused some reviews to take longer. See the ACMA frequently asked questions.
  5. Registration and network update. After approval, ACMA Assist shows a Registered by date and time. Your Sender ID becomes available to send only after that date and time.

Instant does not control the timing of stages 2, 4 and 5. Instant cannot ask the ACMA or the messaging provider to process your application faster.

What causes most delays

  • A proof of business registration that does not show the name of a business officer, such as a director. The public ABN Lookup summary does not show officers, so it is not accepted.
  • A legal entity name, ABN or address that does not exactly match your record on the Australian Business Register.
  • An authorised contact on your ABR record who is out of date, cannot be reached, or does not have a myID.
  • No response to the ACMA confirmation email.
  • A Sender ID that does not meet the ACMA’s valid use case rules, or that contains a word on the ACMA’s restricted terms list.
  • A missing Letter of Authority, when someone other than a business officer submits the application.

Each rejection returns the application to an earlier stage. Two rejections can add several weeks to the total time.

How long it takes

The standard time from submission to a live Sender ID is 5 to 10 weeks. Instant cannot give you a guaranteed date, because the ACMA and the messaging provider set the timing of their stages.

Note: Instant sees longer government processing times between August and December each year. The ACMA states that a high number of applications has caused some of its reviews to take longer. If you apply in this period, allow for a wait at the upper end of this range, or longer.

How to avoid delays

Before you apply

  1. Download a current copy of your record from the Australian Business Register
  2. Confirm that the authorised contact on that record is the correct person and that their email address is current
  3. Make sure that person has a myID and can sign in to ACMA Assist
  4. Prepare a proof of business registration that shows your registration number and the name of at least one business officer
  5. Copy your legal entity name and address from your ABR record into the application form exactly as they appear

For the full list of documents, see How to send SMS from your brand name in Australia.

After you apply

  1. Tell your authorised contact to look for an email from [email protected]
  2. Ask them to confirm the application in ACMA Assist on the day the email arrives
  3. Check the status of your application under Configuration > SMS in your Instant AI dashboard, or on your Dashboard
  4. If Instant asks for a corrected document, send it as soon as you can

Tip: If your authorised contact cannot find the ACMA email, they can ask the ACMA for another copy at [email protected].

How it works while you wait

  • If you already send from an Australian number, your SMS continues to send from that number during the whole process. You do not lose SMS at any stage.
  • If you are new to SMS, you can request a standard number while your application is pending, so you can start to send immediately.
  • When your Sender ID is live, Instant attaches it to your account. All your SMS to Australian numbers then send from your brand name, in flows and campaigns.

FAQ

Can Instant speed up my application? No. Instant submits your application and monitors it, but the ACMA and the messaging provider control the time they take to process it.

My Sender ID is already registered with another platform. Why do I have to wait again? Your registration belongs to your business, but each provider must be authorised separately against it. An authorisation for another platform does not transfer to Instant. This path is usually shorter, because your registration already exists.

Can I contact the ACMA about my application? Yes. Your authorised contact can email [email protected] about your organisation’s access to the Register.

What happens if I send SMS from a Sender ID that is not registered? The mobile networks can label the SMS Unverified or block it. Instant does not send from a Sender ID until its registration is complete.

Is this article legal advice? No. It is general information about the Register and how Instant handles applications. For advice about your legal obligations, speak to your own legal adviser.

What if I need help with my application? Contact your account manager, or submit a ticket and our support team will help you.

For the documents and steps to apply, see How to send SMS from your brand name in Australia.