The information below is only for clinics that are using the alphanumeric sender ID features in PracSuite, which allow one-way, no-reply SMS to be sent from your business name. You can learn more about this feature here.
Sender ID features have no relation to sending SMS from a mobile number, allowing patients to reply to your SMS.
If you are not using the sender ID features in PracSuite, no action is required.
What is an alphanumeric sender ID?
Rather than sending SMS messages from a mobile number, alphanumeric sender IDs allow you to send messages from a business name, making it easier for recipients to recognise the SMS as coming from your business.
New laws will require sender IDs to be registered with the ACMA sender ID register. The improper use of an alphanumeric sender ID without permission, known as impersonation, is a tactic often employed by scammers. Businesses can mitigate this risk by registering and monitoring their alphanumeric sender IDs.
What is changing?
From 1 July 2026, all alphanumeric sender IDs used for sending messages to Australian mobile numbers must be registered and approved by the ACMA. Attempts to send SMS with unregistered alphanumeric sender ID messages will lead to the message being sent from a generic 'Unverified' label instead of your business name.
Why the change?
The ACMA's process aims to enhance trust and combat fraudulent messaging by ensuring all alphanumeric sender IDs are valid and verified. This aligns with broader efforts to protect end users from scams and spam.
What steps are required for PracSuite users?
Smartsoft handles the ACMA registration submission on your behalf. Your role is to complete the steps below first, then send us the required details, and we'll take it from there.
Confirm you're the right person - Only certain people can authorise a Sender ID registration: the ABR contact, a Public Officer or Director, or a delegated Business Administrator. If that's not you, find out who it is at your organisation and ask them to complete steps 2 and 3.
Set up myID - The authorised person must have the myID app installed and verified to Standard identity strength or higher (requires two Australian identity documents). Allow 15--20 minutes if starting from scratch.
Set up ACMA Assist - Log in to acma.gov.au/acma-assist using myID and link your identity to your organisation's ABN. Once your access is confirmed, you're done in ACMA Assist for now - do not submit a Sender ID registration from here. Your next step is to send your details to Smartsoft.
Send your details to Smartsoft - Send us the required details, and we will submit the registration with ACMA on your behalf. You can send the required details via the Live Chat in the help menu within PracSuite, or by email to businesscare@smartsoft.com.au.
Approve the application in ACMA Assist - Once submitted by Smartsoft, ACMA will send you a request through ACMA Assist to confirm the registration. Approve it, and you're done. Your Sender ID is typically registered within 3-5 business days of submission.
Setting Up ACMA Assist
Who the instructions below are for: The instructions below are for anyone who needs to set up ACMA Assist before an alphanumeric Sender ID is registered in PracSuite - whether that’s you directly, or because a colleague has asked you to complete this step on their behalf. It explains what ACMA Assist is, why it needs to be set up first, and exactly what to do.
What is ACMA Assist?
ACMA Assist is the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s online portal. It’s used by Australian businesses to manage authorisations for services regulated by the ACMA - including alphanumeric Sender IDs used in business SMS messaging.
When your organisation registers an alphanumeric Sender ID (the business name that appears instead of a phone number on SMS messages), the ACMA uses ACMA Assist to verify that the registration is authorised by someone with the legal authority to act on behalf of your business.
Am I the right person to set up ACMA Assist?
You’re the right person if you are one of the following for your organisation's ABN:
The ABR contact - the person listed as an authorised contact for your ABN on the Australian Business Register
A Public Officer or Director of the entity
A delegated Business Administrator who has been granted access by the above
Typically, this is a senior person in your organisation - a Director, CFO, or similar. It is not an IT administrator or the person who manages your PracSuite account (unless they also hold one of the roles above).
If you’re not sure whether you’re the right person, ask internally - your finance team, company secretary, or a Director will usually know. The ABR contact is typically a Director, Public Officer, or similar senior role. It’s worth asking around rather than trying to look it up, as this information isn’t publicly searchable. Note that having general access to your organisation's ABN online doesn’t automatically make you the ABR contact for this purpose.
What you’ll need before you start
Before you begin, make sure you have:
The myID app installed on your smartphone, set up to Standard identity strength or higher. Standard requires verifying two Australian identity documents (such as your passport and Medicare card). A Basic myID will not grant access to ACMA Assist. If you haven’t set up myID yet, allow 15–20 minutes to complete identity verification. (How to set up myID)
Your ABN - your organisation's 11-digit Australian Business Number
The email address associated with your ABN on the Australian Business Register. This is the email address the ACMA system will check your identity against.
Steps to set up ACMA Assist
Go to the ACMA Assist portal - Visit acma.gov.au/acma-assist and select Log in with myID.
Verify your identity with myID - Log in using the myID app on your smartphone. You’ll be prompted to approve the login request in the app.
Link your identity to your organisation's ABN - The ACMA system will check whether the email address associated with your myID appears as an authorised contact for your organisation's ABN on the Australian Business Register. There are three scenarios:
Your myID email matches your ABR listing - You’ll be asked to agree to the terms and conditions, and your access is confirmed immediately.
You have a different email on the ABR - You’ll be asked to enter that alternative email address and verify it with a code sent to that inbox.Your email doesn’t appear on the ABR at all - You’ll need to update your ABR contact details first, or ask the current ABR-listed contact to grant you access. See below.
Complete the ACMA Assist setup - Once your identity is verified and your access is confirmed, your ACMA Assist account is set up. You don't need to do anything else right now -- let your colleague know you're done so they can contact Smartsoft to continue the process.
To confirm that your business is associated with your ACMA Assist account:
Select Manage under client information.
If you see your business name in the list, this confirms that your business is associated with your ACMA Assist account. You can move on to the next step: What happens after you’ve set up ACMA Assist?
If you don't see your business name in the list, you will need to associate it.
Select 'Link to our client records'.
Select I am an authorised contact for an organisation according to Australian Business Register.
Enter your ABN to complete the process.
If your email isn’t listed on the ABR
If the ACMA system can’t verify your identity against the ABR, you’ll need to either:
Update your ABR contact details to include your current email address. Changes to ABR records can take 1–2 business days to take effect. You can update your details at abr.business.gov.au.
Ask the current ABR-listed contact to log into ACMA Assist first and then grant you access as a delegated Business Administrator.
For full instructions on the ACMA Assist setup process, see: ACMA Assist registration guide.
What happens after you’ve set up ACMA Assist?
Let your colleague know you've completed the ACMA Assist setup. They can now contact Smartsoft to get the Sender ID registration underway.
To register your Sender ID, Smartsoft will need the following details:
Requested Sender ID - refer to sender ID validation rules below.
Business ABN
Business Name as Registered with ABN
Business Address Street
Business Address Suburb
Business Address State
Business Address Postcode
Business Website
Business Phone
ACMA Assist Authorised Contact Full Name
ACMA Assist Authorised Contact Email
ACMA Assist Authorised Contact Phone
You can send the above information to Smartsoft via the Live Chat function from the Help menu in PracSuite, or by email to businesscare@smartsoft.com.au.
Once Smartsoft has submitted the registration, ACMA will send you a request through ACMA Assist asking you to confirm the application. Log in and approve it - that's the final step before your Sender ID is registered. The full process typically takes 3-5 business days from submission.
Once you've received confirmation from the ACMA that the Sender ID request has been approved, please contact Smartsoft so that we can apply it to your account.
Sender ID validation rules
A sender ID is considered a valid match if it:
is the same as your organisation’s name, or a shortened version (e.g., ’Australian
Taxation Office‘ → ’ATO’)is an acronym, contraction, abbreviation or initialism of your name (e.g.,
‘Australian Communications and Media Authority‘ → ’ACMA’)includes extra words that relate to your organisation’s function, location, or the
purpose of the message (e.g., ‘ACMA-Alerts’).
Your alphanumeric sender ID will be validated against your ABR details to confirm you have a legitimate and appropriate use case for the alphanumeric sender ID you’re applying for. Your alphanumeric sender ID will need to match up with one or more of your registered business name, company name, registered trademark or website domain.
As of May 2026, the ACMA permits the registration of alphanumeric sender IDs only if they adhere to the following guidelines:
They must be 2-11 characters long.
They can only include characters 32–126 from the ASCII decimal codes
They cannot solely consist of “restricted” words published on the ACMA’s website.
Examples of restricted words are “verify”, “notice”, “important”, “banking”, “alert",
or anything that can be interpreted as impersonation of trusted entities. You can
find the complete list of words here.They can consist of letters, numbers, and symbols (standard ASCII), but cannot be only numbers.
They cannot contain a space or underscore at the beginning or end.
They cannot contain the word ‘Unverified’.
They cannot be offensive, deceptive, or misleading.
They must have a valid use case (e.g. your registered business name, company name, trademark, or domain name).
Note: Alphanumeric sender ID's are not case sensitive (i.e PracSuite is the same as pracsuite)
Important: If your alphanumeric sender ID does not comply with these guidelines, the ACMA will not approve registration of the sender ID.