Australian businesses using GoHighLevel to send texts and emails have to follow the Spam Act 2003, and since 1 July 2026 there's a new rule that catches many businesses out: the SMS Sender ID Register. Here is what the rules mean in practice and how I set up GoHighLevel accounts to follow them.
This is practical guidance from building these systems, not legal advice. The Spam Act is enforced by the ACMA; check its guidance or a qualified adviser for your situation.
The three Spam Act rules for every marketing message
Every commercial email or SMS you send to Australians has to meet three requirements:
- Consent. You need permission, either express (they ticked a box or asked to hear from you) or, in narrow cases, inferred from an existing relationship. You have to be able to prove it.
- Identify yourself. Every message must say clearly who it's from and how to contact you.
- A working unsubscribe. Every message needs an easy way to opt out, and opt-outs must be actioned within 5 working days.
Consent details people miss
- Consent is per channel. Permission to email someone doesn't cover texting them. Ask for SMS consent separately.
- Inferred consent is narrow. It relies on an existing relationship and a reasonable expectation of hearing from you. When in doubt, get express consent.
- Bought lists are a problem. You can't rely on someone else's consent for your messages.
- You carry the burden of proof. If the ACMA asks, you need to show when and how each person agreed.
Unsubscribe rules in detail
According to the ACMA's rules, your unsubscribe option must:
- be in every commercial message
- keep working for at least 30 days after you send
- not cost more than a standard message to use
- not require a login or account
- take effect within 5 working days
In practice: an unsubscribe link in every email, and "Reply STOP to opt out" in every marketing text, with GoHighLevel set to honour STOP automatically.
New in 2026: the SMS Sender ID Register
If your texts show a brand name as the sender (an alphanumeric sender ID like "SmithPlumb") instead of a phone number, that sender ID must now be registered. From 1 July 2026, messages from unregistered sender IDs show up as "Unverified", grouped together in one thread, and most people will treat them as scams.
What to do:
- Check whether any of your messaging uses a branded sender name.
- If it does, register it through your SMS provider and the ACMA's register process.
- If you send from a normal mobile number instead, this register doesn't change how your messages appear, but the Spam Act rules above still apply.
How I set this up in GoHighLevel
- Separate, unticked consent checkboxes for email and SMS on every form, saying who will contact them and about what.
- Consent records: the date, the source form and the consent wording saved on each contact in custom fields.
- Sender identification built into every template: business name in each text and full business details in email footers.
- Opt-outs that always work: unsubscribe links, automatic STOP handling and GoHighLevel's Do Not Disturb settings respected by every workflow.
- Service messages kept separate from marketing, so appointment reminders still reach people who opted out of promotions.
Calls and privacy: two related rules
- Do Not Call Register: if you make telemarketing calls (including from a GoHighLevel dialler), numbers on the Do Not Call Register have separate protections.
- Privacy Act: the Australian Privacy Principles cover how personal information is handled. Many small businesses under $3 million turnover are exempt, but not all, for example health service providers. Check whether it applies to you.
A quick checklist
- Separate email and SMS consent on every form, unticked by default
- Consent date, source and wording saved on each contact
- Business name in every text, full details in every email
- Unsubscribe in every marketing message, actioned within 5 working days
- STOP handling and Do Not Disturb respected in every workflow
- Branded sender IDs registered with the SMS Sender ID Register
- Service messages separated from marketing
Working with Australian businesses
I'm based in Lahore, Pakistan, and my mornings overlap with Australian afternoons. One of my builds is for an Australian business: an instant quoting system for a building and pest inspection company. If you want your GoHighLevel account set up to follow these rules, see my GoHighLevel VA plans or pricing. For other markets, read my A2P 10DLC guide (US) and GDPR guide (UK and EU).