From 1 July 2026, Australian organisations that send SMS messages using their company or brand name will need to register their SMS Sender ID, also known as an alpha tag. This is part of a new SMS Sender ID Register introduced by ACMA to reduce SMS scams and stop criminals from impersonating trusted organisations.
After this date, organisations that have not registered their Sender ID and display their name at the top of the SMS as the sender will have the word "Unverified" next to the name to warn users that the SMS may be a scam.
To learn more, see the Australian Communications and Media Authority website and information sheet.
How does this affect your practice
Most Zedmed customers use the default SMS Sender setting, which does not display a practice name. These SMS messages show only a phone number, not a Sender ID, so they do not need to be registered under the new Sender ID requirements.
This means there is no requirement for a practice to register the SMS sender number for AoB.
For customers who have a name in the SMS Sender field
Zedmed has reached out to customers who used a practice name and explained how to register your branded SMS messages so they are not flagged as "unverified" after 1 July 2026.
Warning!
If you ever add a sender name in Zedmed, ensure you register a sender ID so your SMS messages are not labelled "unverified".
You will also be charged a higher SMS rate, and 2-way SMS will not work.
