Gov to fund SMS sender ID register with $10m

A government-run register of SMS sender IDs will go ahead courtesy of a $10 million commitment to be made in next month’s federal budget.

Communications minister Michelle Rowland said yesterday that the funding, to be announced as part of the 2023-24 Budget on May 9, would run over four years.

Rowland had asked the ACMA to investigate a local register, and other models, back in February as a way to combat rising scam losses.

Sender ID scammers send messages that appear to be from agencies like Australia Post or myGov.

Rowland said that a local register - replicating those seen overseas - “will help prevent scammers from imitating key industry or government brand names in text message headers.”

Agencies will register their sender IDs and telcos will then refer to this central list and “block incoming messages that are not legitimate trying to use that Sender ID.”

Rowland said the register “will have a phased introduction before an industry-wide model is in place - subject to rule making, industry readiness and security arrangements.”

This approach was welcomed by Communications Alliance, which represents telecommunications service providers.

“There are complexities as to how such a registry should be introduced and operated, so it is crucial that the relevant regulator, the ACMA, engages further with industry and other stakeholders, to ensure that the resulting framework is effective and practicable,” Communications Alliance CEO John Stanton said.

“We are pleased that the government has recognised the need for the registry to be introduced in a phased way that enables the development of new business processes and systems.

“A sender SMS ID registry – if executed well – can be a valuable addition to the armoury available to combat the increasingly sophisticated scourge of scam SMS.”

Rowland added that “we will all reap the practical benefits that will be delivered by the implementation of the SMS sender ID registry.”