The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) requires all customers sending to Australia to submit their Alpha Tags to the government owned Sender ID Register. Your Alpha Tag and business will be vetted before you can send business messages. This is to combat impersonation scams and keep the Australian public safe.
The information in this article is specific to self-service, guiding you through the Alpha Tag registration journey specifically as an Entity Associate.
Impact on your messages in Australia
ClickSend requires all Alpha Tags to go through registration. As of 01 July 2026, you can no longer send messages with unregistered Alpha Tags, so we highly recommend you register all of your Alpha Tags as soon as possible to prevent disruptions to your client campaigns.
Self-Service via the Dashboard
We made the registration journey easy for you. In order to get your Alpha Tag registered with the ACMA as an Entity Associate, you need to pass 5 checkpoints:
Ensure you are an Entity Associate (Verify your classification)
Submit your application (Provide details for both your business and your client's business)
Vetting at ClickSend (Internal review and initial submission)
Verify in ACMA Assist (Approval from both you and your end-customer)
Final ACMA approval (Activation of your Alpha Tag)
Checkpoints:
Step 1: Ensure you are an Entity Associate
Before beginning the registration process, it is important to confirm that you fall under the Entity Associate category.
At ClickSend, an Entity Associate is not a reseller. Instead, this is a business which is authorised to send messages using another company’s registered Sender ID. For example, a marketing agency managing campaigns for a few local car dealerships might need to send messages from the alpha tags ‘Car dealer 1’, ‘Car dealer 2’, etc., on behalf of those dealerships.
If this describes your use case, proceed to Step 2.
Step 2: Submit your Application (Self-Serve)
To register an Alpha Tag as an Entity Associate, log into your dashboard. The application process is similar to a direct customer application, with one key difference: you will have to answer the required questions twice—once for your own business, and once for your end-customer's business.
Register an existing Alpha Tag
You will see a red banner alerting you about the new regulatory changes. The button ‘Register Alpha Tags’ will redirect you to your Smart Senders page. All Alpha Tags which require you to complete registration with the ACMA will have a red tag ‘Complete registration request’.
Click on the red tag to begin the registration journey. Fill in all required fields for both your business and your end-customer's business, and hit ‘Submit’.
Register a new Alpha Tag
Go to Sender IDs > Manage Senders > Alpha Tags and click the ‘+ Add’ button. In the field ‘Sending to’ choose Australia.
Pick an Alpha Tag name which is compliant with our formatting and naming rules. We will not allow you to use any generic names as per the banned Alpha Tags list.
Important: The Alpha Tag must have a clear relation to your end-customer's business. Otherwise, it will not be approved by the ACMA. For example, if your client's company name is TS Pty Ltd and their registered business name on the ABR is Teleservice, you could use Alpha Tags like Telservice, TelServs, TS, etc.
Next, choose your use case and click ‘Register Alpha Tag’ to begin the registration journey. Fill in all required fields for both entities and hit ‘Submit’.
Note: If you do not see the self-service option, it means your account may be incorrectly classified (e.g., as an EMSP). Please reach out to our team for help.
Step 3: Vetting at ClickSend
Submitting your application will send it to the ClickSend approvals team, who will review and vet it just as they would for a direct customer.
ClickSend will be in touch if we have any concerns about the information provided; otherwise, we will approve your application.
Once approved at ClickSend, we will send the nominated Entity Representatives an email to inform you about the internal approval. In addition, the ACMA will send emails with instructions to complete the final approvals.
Step 4: Verify in ACMA Assist
The ACMA verification process for Entity Associates involves actions from both you (the EA) and your end-customer (the Entity):
Entity Associate (You): As the ClickSend customer, you only have to confirm your status as an Entity Associate in ACMA Assist once. Your first application requires your approval, but every application after that does not require approval from you.
End-Customer (The Entity): Every end-customer has to confirm every single alpha tag submission in ACMA Assist, just like a direct customer would.
Entity Associate Verification (One-Time Setup)
To confirm your EA status for the first time:
Access the Register: Click on the Sender ID register link in the verification email you received.
Log in / Sign up: Log into the portal (ACMA Assist) using your Digital ID (myID).
Navigate: Click on the Entity associate access tab.
Select Telco: Check the box to the left of the telco (ClickSend).
Confirm: Click on the Confirm application to register entity associate button.
If your application is approved by the ACMA, the status will update from Pending to Complete.
Important: Changing status to "Complete" means you have been approved to participate in the register as an Entity Associate, but you cannot send messages using another entity’s sender ID until ClickSend confirms that the sender ID owner has registered the sender ID, confirming that you can send messages using that sender ID.
More detailed guide to accessing the register for the first time can be found here.
Entity Verification (Required for Every Submission)
Because you are sending on behalf of another business, the ACMA requires the end-customer to formally authorize each sender ID. For every Alpha Tag you submit, your end-customer must also complete the following:
Receive Link: The nominated Representative of your end-customer's business will receive an email from the ACMA containing a unique link. They must click this link to access the verification screen.
Sign Up: Log in or sign up on ACMA Assist using their business Digital ID (myID).
Confirm Details: Verify and confirm that their ABN and entity name are correct.
Verify ABR Authorization: Confirm that they are an authorized contact on the ABR (using an authorized email address listed on their ABR).
If they are not the authorized ABR contact, they can use the system-provided email template to send it to the appropriate authorized person in their organization.
Accept Terms: Accept the terms and conditions for the ACMA register.
Approve Alpha Tag: Go to the final confirmation screen, review the submitted Alpha Tag, and click Confirm to authorize the Entity Associate to send messages on your behalf.
More detailed guide to accessing the register for the first time can be found here.
Step 5: Final Approval from the ACMA
Once the required representatives confirm the application in ACMA Assist, the ACMA will aim to review and approve it within 24 hours.
Once the ACMA provides 'ready to use' approval, we will reflect this in your ClickSend dashboard. You (the Entity Associate) can then officially send messages from the Alpha Tag on behalf of your end-customer.