I received an email from ACMA — is my sender ID approved?
If you've applied to register a custom sender ID, you may receive an email directly from the ACMA that looks like an approval. It has the subject line "SMS Sender ID Register: application to participate approved" and reads something like this:
Subject: SMS Sender ID Register: application to participate approved
Dear Your Name,
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has approved YOUR COMPANY PTY LTD to participate in the SMS Sender ID Register.
If you have any questions, please contact senderIDregister@acma.gov.au.
This decision has been made by the operation of computer programs.
Regards,
Australian Communications and Media Authority
It's easy to read this as "your sender ID is approved" — but that's not what it means.
What this email actually means
This email confirms that the ACMA has approved your business to participate in the SMS Sender ID Register. In other words, your organisation can now access the Register — it does not mean your sender ID is registered, approved, or active yet.
Your sender ID is a separate thing from your business's access to the Register. Approving the business is the first step; the sender ID itself still needs to be confirmed.
What you need to do next
For some applications, there's one more step: you need to log in to the Register and confirm the registration of your sender ID yourself. Until you do this, your sender ID is not registered and won't activate on your account.
👉 Follow our step-by-step guide here: How to confirm a sender ID in ACMA Assist.
That guide walks you through logging in to ACMA Assist with myID, opening the SMS Sender ID Register, and confirming your sender ID application.
Do I always have to do this?
No. Many applications submitted through Mobile Message don't require you to confirm anything yourself — we handle the registration through our internal fast-track process and your sender ID activates automatically.
Only follow the confirmation steps if Mobile Message or the ACMA has directed you to confirm your application in ACMA Assist. If you've received the ACMA participation email above and you're unsure whether any action is needed, email us and we'll check the status of your application for you.
What happens after you confirm
Once your sender ID is confirmed in ACMA Assist, it's registered on the SMS Sender ID Register and a 24-hour readiness period begins, during which the mobile networks update their systems to accept your sender ID. ACMA Assist shows a Registered by <date> <time> — the date and time your sender ID will be ready to use.
Your sender ID won't appear in the From dropdown on the Send Messages page until then. After the Registered by time, it's ready to send with.
If your sender ID still isn't available after the Registered by date and time shown in ACMA Assist, email us and we'll look into it.