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Australia SMS Guidelines: Two-Way Messaging, Compliance, and Best Practices

Planning to send SMS messages in Australia? It's crucial to understand local regulations, technical limitations, and best practices to ensure compliance and effective message delivery. This guide covers essential aspects of SMS messaging in Australia, including two-way SMS support, message length restrictions, and compliance with the SPAM Act (2003).

Two-Way SMS Support in Australia

Australia supports two-way SMS messaging, allowing recipients to reply to your messages. This feature enhances user engagement, especially for customer service and appointment confirmations. Leverage two-way messaging in your SMS campaigns to boost interaction.

Message Length and Concatenation

SMS messages in Australia adhere to standard character limits based on encoding:

  • GSM 3.38 encoding: 160 characters per message.
  • Unicode encoding: 70 characters per message.

Exceeding these limits splits the message into segments. Sent supports message concatenation, reassembling segments on the recipient's device. Note that message splitting and rejoining can vary by sender ID type and character encoding.

MMS Support

Australia also supports Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), enabling the sending of pictures and videos, thus enhancing communication with rich media content.

Sending SMS to Landline Numbers

SMS messages cannot be sent to landline numbers in Australia. Attempting this results in a 400 error response from the Sent REST API, with no logging or charges applied.

Compliance Considerations

Compliance with local laws is crucial when sending SMS messages in Australia. The SPAM Act (2003) regulates commercial electronic messages, requiring:

  1. Consent: Obtain recipient permission before sending messages.
  2. Identification: Clearly identify the sender in all messages, including contact details.
  3. Unsubscribe Option: Provide a cost-free way for recipients to opt out.

As of April 25, 2023, all Alphanumeric Sender IDs must be pre-registered. Unregistered IDs may be blocked. Pre-register your sender ID through Sent's portal.

Prohibited Content

Australia enforces strict content regulations for SMS messages. Prohibited content includes:

  • Gambling
  • Firearms
  • Cannabis-related content

Ensure compliance with these restrictions to avoid penalties or message blocking.

Best Practices for SMS Campaigns in Australia

To optimize your SMS campaigns in Australia, follow these best practices:

  • Get Opt-In Consent: Secure explicit consent from recipients before sending marketing or non-essential messages.
  • Respect Time Zones: Send messages during the recipient's daytime hours, unless urgent.
  • Support HELP/STOP Messages: Allow recipients to text "HELP" or "STOP" to manage preferences, supporting local languages.
  • Check Do-Not-Call Registries: Avoid contacting users listed on do-not-call or do-not-disturb registries.

By adhering to these guidelines, your SMS campaigns in Australia will be compliant, effective, and well-received.

Conclusion

Sending SMS messages in Australia demands attention to local regulations, technical limitations, and best practices. Understanding two-way SMS support, message length restrictions, and compliance with the SPAM Act enables successful and compliant SMS campaigns. Always consult legal counsel to ensure full compliance with Australian laws.