New legislation to crack down on SMS scams

The Albanese Government’s new SMS Sender ID Register legislation, which passed the Parliament today, will help disrupt scammers and reduce the number of Australians being ripped off.
 
The SMS Sender ID Register will protect consumers and businesses by cracking down on scammers trying to impersonate well-known Australian brands such as banks, government agencies and retailers.
 
Nearly half of all Australians received a scam via text message in the last 12 months alone.

To be run by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the Register requires telcos to check whether messages being sent under a brand name correspond with the legitimate registered sender, and either block or include a warning if they don’t match.
 
The Register is intended 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.

In April 2023, the Government announced the establishment of a Register as part our suite of initiatives to combat scams and protect Australians from financial harm.
 
A pilot register was launched in December 2023 to test the effectiveness of the scheme, with Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and the Australian Taxation Office amongst the participating organisations.
 
The legislation is the first step in establishing the Register and is just one element of the Government’s comprehensive approach to scam prevention.
 
Quotes attributable to Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP:
 
“Cracking down on criminals trying to rip off hardworking Australians is a priority for the Albanese Government.

“I welcome the passage of the enabling legislation to allow the Australian Communications and Media Authority to establish the SMS Sender ID Register, which is an important tool in the fight against these highly organised criminals.

“The Register will help build trust in communications from legitimate organisations and help 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:
 
“Cutting off the avenues scammers use to contact their victims is part of our coordinated approach to keep people’s money safe.
 
“Scam text messages bombard Australians 24/7 and the Register will start to shut down this access point. 
 
“The Government’s crackdown on scams is already showing signs of success, with scam losses falling for the first time since 2016.”