SEQTA SMS Sender ID branding

If your school uses SMS as part of your SEQTA communication to parents and staff, you might be concerned that your school SMSs could be labelled as Unverified, once the Sender ID system is implemented in July 2026 by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. However for most schools this will not be the case.

The SMS provider used by SEQTA is Sinch MessageMedia. Your school might use a different provider, or might use a provider common to all schools if you are part of a group, such as CEWA.

• If you already use a dedicated phone number for your SMS communications you will not need to register a Sender ID.
• If your SMSs are sent from a rotating pool of numbers, and you have previously set up an alpha tag for your school, then you should either register a Sender ID, or convert your account to a dedicated number.
• Only unregistered Sender IDs (previously known as "alpha tags", "Branded IDs" and similar phrases) will be tagged as Unverified. Dedicated numbers will not be affected.
• SMS numbers using alpha tags are generally only used for one-way communication, so parents cannot, for example, reply to an absentee SMS.
• Dedicated numbers allow two-way conversations.

If you are using an alpha tag, the ACMA recommends registering early to ensure your communication with parents appears correctly once the change is made. Registration will need to be made directly to your SMS provider.

• Getting text messages from businesses and organisations | ACMA
• SMS Sender ID Register | ACMA
• Sending text messages with your business or organisation name | ACMA
• Alpha Tag SMS: Send SMS From A Name Rather Than A Number | MessageMedia Australia