Australia | Alphanumeric sender ID registration - Direct customer flow

If you have selected the "Your own business" during the Alphanumeric sender ID Registration flow, this article outlines the remaining steps and what happens after you submit your application to register your sender ID.  

Step 1: Enter business details

The workflow will automatically retrieve your business information from the Australian Business Register, using the ABN you provided when you setup your Sinch Engage account.

Verify your pre-filled information

Review the following details that are automatically populated:

• Australian Business Number (ABN)

• Entity name - Your registered company name

• Business name(s) - All trading names registered to your ABN

Add required information

Complete the following fields:

• Business address - Enter your registered business address using the full street address format e.g. 150 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, VIC3000

• Business website - Enter the URL of your businesses website, it must be the official website for your entity name or one of your business names e.g. https://yourcompany.com.au/

• Telephone number (if not auto-filled)

  • Include country code and area code (e.g., +61 3 1234 5678)

Step 2: Validate your alphanumeric sender ID

Enter your alphanumeric sender ID in the text field, there's no separate Validate button any more, validation now runs automatically as you type:

The system will check if your sender ID matches your registered business details and you will be presented with one of two message types:

1. Success message: "Business match confirmed - you're good to go"
   This means your sender ID closely matches your entity name, business name, trademark, or domain. You can proceed to step 3.

2. Error message: If validation fails, you'll need to choose a different sender ID that better matches your registered business details

Validation Requirements:

Refer to Australia | Changes to alphanumeric sender ID (formerly alpha tag) registration and usage 

Step 3: Verification

You'll now choose between two ways to verify your business and complete your registration:

How it works: We confirm your business details and your role, then the person completing verification does a quick identity check using a government-issued ID and a selfie, through a secure, Persona-hosted verification page (opens in a new tab). You will have the option to hand-over the identity verification steps to mobile device.  

Who completes verification? Choose "I'll complete it myself" to start straight away, or "Someone else will complete it" to send a verification link to another authorised person by name and email. That link is valid for 21 days.

If you get interrupted: your progress is saved. You have 21 days to pick up where you left off before you'll need to restart, we'll email you a reminder partway through that window.

If verification can't be confirmed automatically: it's flagged for manual review and someone from our team will contact you within one business day, no separate document upload is needed.

For more information on business and user verification flow Australia | Completing Identity Verification for Sender ID Registration.

You'll be asked whether ACMA Assist is already set up for your organization. If it isn't, your authorised representative will need to set it up before your sender ID can be approved.

Designate an authorised representative You must designate an authorised business representative who can approve this registration in ACMA Assist. If you enter the name of the wrong person, it will delay your alphanumeric sender ID approval.

• I'll approve it myself - select this if you're the authorised representative, your details are used directly.

• Someone else will approve it - provide their full name, email address, and mobile phone number. Use the email address listed on their ABR record, a different email will delay or reject approval.

If you're unsure who qualifies as an authorised representative, see Australia | How to identify your business's authorised representative, that guide also covers switching to Option 1 if you can't confirm this in time.

If you choose this option, you'll see a prompt offering to switch to "Let Sinch verify for you" instead, useful if you're not sure ACMA Assist is set up or who your authorised representative is.

Once you've made your selection, click Next to continue.

Step 4: Review and submit

Review Each Section

The review page displays all your information in collapsible sections. Each section shows Completed in green when all information is complete, and Error in red when all or some information is missing. You can click the edit icon ✏️ under any section you need to make changes to.

Set Notification Preferences

Your email address is pre-filled from your account, and you'll receive updates when there are changes to your application. This email address can be changed by updating the details entered in the Authorized business representative section. 

You have the option to add a mobile number to receive time-sensitive regulatory updates. This will only be used for critical ACMA notifications.

Confirm fees This section shows what you'll be charged for this registration:

• If you chose Let Sinch verify for you: a one-time registration fee of $19 AUD per sender ID, added to your next invoice after approval. You'll need to tick a confirmation checkbox before you can submit.

• If you chose Verify with ACMA directly: no registration fee.

• Your existing monthly sender ID charges continue to apply either way, if applicable.

Set notification preferences Your email address is pre-filled from your account, and you'll receive updates when there are changes to your application. This email address can be changed by updating the details entered in the Authorised business representative section. You have the option to add a mobile number to receive time-sensitive regulatory updates. This will only be used for critical ACMA notifications.

Submit your application Review all sections carefully, the information cannot be changed after submission. Click "Submit for review" in the bottom right.

Your application status will change to Pending Review and you will receive email confirmation to your email address linked to the Sinch Engage platform.

Submit Your Application

Review all sections carefully - the information cannot be changed after submission. Click "Submit for review" in the bottom right. 

Your application status will change to Pending Review and you will receive email confirmation to your email address linked to the Sinch Engage platform.

After Submission

Internal Review & Submit to ACMA 

Sinch Engage compliance team verify the application before submitting to ACMA, and the team will reach out to you if further information required.
If all requirements are fulfilled, the team will submit the application to ACMA. 

Your application status will change to Pending ACMA Registration.

What happens next depends on which verification option you chose:

If you chose Let Sinch verify for you: once compliance review passes, we submit your application to ACMA on your behalf. Since you've already completed business and identity verification with us, no further action is needed from you or anyone else at your business. Your sender ID typically goes live in 2–3 business days total, once ACMA confirms the registration.

If you chose Verify with ACMA directly: once compliance review passes, we submit your application to ACMA. Your authorised representative will then receive a confirmation email directly from ACMA asking them to approve the registration in ACMA Assist (setting it up first if they haven't already). The application cannot proceed until they action this email, we're unable to track their progress once it's with ACMA, so it's worth giving them a heads-up that this email is coming. For more information, see this ACMA guide. Your sender ID typically goes live in 3–5 business days total, becoming active 24 hours after your representative confirms in ACMA Assist.

Approval notification 

You'll receive email and/or SMS notification when approved. Your sender ID status will change to "Approved" and it can then be used for SMS campaigns to Australian numbers.