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Jo Roberts
Jo Roberts
GPs and practices must register to ensure their messages to patients are not mistaken for spam after 1 July.
Eligible GPs and practices are urged to sign up to the SMS Sender ID Register as soon as possible, with those yet to do so at risk of missing the 1 July start date.
As part of the Federal Government’s Fighting Scams initiative, from 1 July 2026 all texts sent with an organisation’s name at the top of a message, known as a branded sender ID, will need to have the sender ID registered.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) says using a registered sender ID will make it harder for scammers to impersonate an organisation or business.
GPs and practices that use text messaging to notify patients and customers will need to register their sender IDs, such as their clinic name, with their telco or message provider.
Text messages from numbers not registered will appear as ‘unverified’ and grouped together in a thread with all other unverified messages, including spam.
Chair of the RACGP – Practice and Technology Management Expert Committee, Dr Rob Hosking, said the move will ‘hopefully result in better communication between practices and patients’ for information such as appointment reminders, test results, prescription updates, or urgent health alerts.
‘This will ensure messages are received at the patient end knowing they are legitimate reminders or messages,’ he told newsGP.
‘It will reduce the risk of [GP and practice] SMS messages being ignored as spam.’
ACMA Deputy Chair Adam Suckling is urging businesses to act now if their organisation uses branded sender IDs.
‘Branded sender IDs are widely used by businesses of all shapes and sizes in their marketing, appointment scheduling and billings,’ he said.
‘Sender IDs are used so recipients can quickly identify who a message is from. They may be used by a wide range of family and small businesses such as dentists, GPs, solicitors, schools and childcare centres, and franchisees.
‘Failing to register may mean consumers miss important messages or no longer trust them.’
The SMS Sender ID Register uses the Australian Business Register to check if someone is an authorised representative of a business or organisation – if details are not up to date, the sender ID cannot be registered.
For more information, visit the ACMA website.
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