Your Business Texts Now Say ‘Unverified’ — Here’s the Fix

Australia’s SMS Sender ID Register went live on 1 July, and two weeks in, it’s catching businesses off guard. If your company sends branded text messages — appointment reminders, booking confirmations, invoice notifications — and you haven’t registered your sender ID, those messages now display “Unverified” instead of your business name.

That’s a bigger deal than it sounds. “Unverified” messages get lumped into a single thread alongside actual scam texts. Your customers see your appointment reminder sitting next to a fake toll notice or a phishing link. Most people delete the lot without reading. We’re already hearing from businesses wondering why customers are missing confirmations and no-showing appointments — the common thread is unregistered sender IDs.

The fix is straightforward. Contact your SMS provider or telco and register your branded sender ID through the ACMA’s register. You’ll need your ABN and details of the sender IDs you use. Most providers can handle this within a few days, though some verifications take longer. If you use a booking platform, POS system, or practice management tool that sends texts on your behalf, check with that vendor too — they may need to register separately.

The register exists for a good reason: SMS impersonation is one of the biggest scam vectors in Australia, and branded spoofing has fooled people into handing over credentials and payment details for years. But the fix-it-later approach doesn’t work here. Every day your messages show as “Unverified” is a day your customers might ignore something important.

If you’re not sure whether your business SMS is affected, get in touch and we’ll help you audit your messaging setup.