The Albanese Government is cracking down on SMS scams by implementing a mandatory SMS Sender ID Register (the Register).
The Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, will direct the Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) to develop an enforceable industry standard, requiring telecommunications providers to check whether messages being sent under a brand name correspond with the legitimate registered sender.
If the Sender ID is not on the Register, the ACMA will either block the SMS or include a warning.
The Register will help stop scammers from using the names of trusted brands, including banking institutions, service providers or government entities - like ANZ, Linkt or myGov - and deceiving Australians into thinking the scam messages are from reputable sources.
With SMS the most commonly reported scam delivery method, the Register will provide greater protection to more consumers, as well as to legitimate brands and organisations impacted by scam activity.
The Register will help to:
- 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 communications channel; and
- make Australia a much harder target for scam activity.
The establishment of the mandatory Register follows the passage of laws earlier this year and is informed by a voluntary pilot phase that tested the operation and effectiveness of the Register.
It forms part of the Albanese Government's suite of measures to make Australia the toughest target in the world for scammers, and bring losses down. We've invested over $168 million to tackle scam activity across the economy, established a National Anti-Scam Centre, and introduced the Scams Prevention Framework that will impose world-leading obligations on banks, telcos and social media companies to prevent, detect, report, disrupt and respond to scams.
The Government has provided $10 million through the 2023-24 Federal Budget to the ACMA over four years to launch and maintain the Register.
The Government anticipates the Register will be open for registration of Sender IDs from late 2025.
During the first half of next year, the ACMA will consult on the industry standard and establish the systems and processes required to operate the Register, and provide for a transition period for entities to submit and register their Sender IDs.
Whilst this work is underway, the pilot SMS Sender ID Register established by the ACMA and industry in December 2023 will continue to operate.
The pilot Register involved a number of network operators and major brands (including National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and the Australian Taxation Office) registering their Sender IDs.
Quotes attributable to the Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP:
"The SMS Sender ID Register is an important tool to protect hard-working Australians from increasingly sophisticated and organised scammers.
"We've all received scam messages on our phones purporting to be from reputable sources - and it's costing Australians millions of dollars every year. This mandatory Register will enable these messages to be blocked or flagged as a scam - better protecting consumers from being cheated.
"In this way, the Register will also help restore trust in communications received from legitimate organisations and make Australia an even harder place for scammers to operate."
Quotes attributable to the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, the Hon Stephen Jones MP:
"Our coordinated approach to keeping Australians safe from scammers is among the most comprehensive in the world and the Register will help to bolster our defences against the criminal scammers.
"Scam text messages bombard Australians 24/7. The Register will help to shut this down by disrupting the scammers' business model.
"The Government's crackdown on scams is already showing signs of success, but it is not job done. We continue to work to ensure Australians have the best protections against these predatory and criminal scams."
