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Compliance Update

SMS Sender ID requirements

Submit your Letter of Authority and supporting information so we can register your SMS Sender ID with Clickatell in line with ACMA rules.

Start your submission

You may begin submitting your Letter of Authority (LOA) and supporting information using the link below.

Open the Clickatell form

Please enter ish group — squish@ish.com.au in the Clickatell Account Info field to reference our account.

Details on the process and requirements

ACMA requires the Sender ID to have a valid business link to the registrant. Please review and prepare each of the following.

Legal identity of the brand owner (mandatory)

You must prove who owns or controls the Sender ID. Provide one of the following:

  1. Australian Business Number (ABN) — preferred
  2. Registered business name or company name
  3. Government entity identifier
  4. For foreign entities: equivalent registration plus an explanation

Sender ID → Brand linkage (mandatory)

The Sender ID must match or be clearly derived from the brand. Accepted evidence includes:

  1. Exact match to company name, registered business name, trademark or domain name
  2. Abbreviation or acronym clearly traceable to the brand
  3. Brand plus qualifier (e.g. ACME, ACMEAlerts, ACMESupport)

Brand ownership proof (at least one required)

You must prove the enterprise controls the name. Any one of the following is usually sufficient:

  1. ASIC business extract
  2. Trademark certificate (IP Australia or equivalent)
  3. Domain ownership (WHOIS plus website showing brand usage)
  4. Government website (for public sector entities)

Letter of Authorisation (LOA)

Because Clickatell is registering on your behalf, ACMA requires delegated authority. The LOA must confirm:

  1. The enterprise authorises Clickatell to register the Sender ID and transmit SMS using it
  2. Brand owner legal name
  3. Sender ID(s) covered
  4. Signature of an authorised representative

Authorised contact details (mandatory)

ACMA or the provider may contact the brand directly. You must submit:

  1. Authorised person's name
  2. Business email (domain-based preferred)
  3. Business phone number
  4. Physical business address

Use-case declaration (strongly recommended)

Many providers now ask for:

  1. Message purpose (e.g. OTP, notifications, marketing)
  2. Confirmation that messages are not misleading
  3. Confirmation of no impersonation of banned terms

Restricted / high-risk Sender IDs (extra scrutiny)

ACMA maintains a restricted terms list and enforces it strictly. Examples likely to be rejected or escalated include:

  • Bank-like terms (Bank, Pay, Secure, Verify)
  • Government references (ATO, Medicare) without proof
  • Generic trust terms (Alert, Notice) unless brand-linked

If you plan to register one of these, please proceed with the steps above — we may come back to you if the regulator requests more information.

Sample Letter of Authorisation

Download a sample LOA template to help you prepare your submission.

Download sample LOA (.docx)

Reference: ACMA SMS Sender ID register.

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