ACMA targets end-2026 finish for telco scam code, framework codes from March 2027

The Australian Communications and Media Authority plans to complete its telecommunications scam prevention code before 2026 ends, chair Nerida O'Loughlin said. Speaking at the IIC annual conference in Kuala Lumpur, organised by Axiata, on 14 October 2026, she gave 31 March 2027 as the date from which the framework codes are expected to apply. O'Loughlin said her aim was this: "Our aim is to finalize the telecommunications code by the end of this year, with the framework codes expected to come into force from 31 March 2027."

She outlined how the Scams Prevention Framework spreads responsibility across sectors, with common principles obliging regulated businesses to prevent, detect, disrupt and respond to scams. Governance arrangements, information-sharing duties and internal and external dispute resolution will support those principles, she said. The ACCC will act as general regulator and as sector regulator for digital platforms, ASIC will oversee banking, and the ACMA stays responsible for telcos. O'Loughlin said this gives the regulators shared responsibility for coordinating compliance, investigations and enforcement. Complaints that stay unresolved internally and are eligible can go to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

The proposed telco code aims to reduce scam traffic ahead of its arrival on Australian networks, tighten consumer identification, lift the quality of network information and speed up sharing of scam intelligence, according to O'Loughlin. She said the ACMA registered enforcement rules for phone scams in 2020, extended them to scam SMS in 2022, and monitors compliance, taking action where it sees evidence of breaches.

O'Loughlin said telcos have stopped 3.1 billion scam calls and 1.1 billion scam SMS since the rules began. For one three-month period ending June 2026, telcos reported blocking more than 176 million scam calls and 55.1 million scam SMS. Blocking on its own is insufficient, she cautioned, because scammers adapt fast and work at industrial scale. She also pointed to reported Australian losses of nearly 18 million AUD to SMS scams in 2025.

On the newly launched SMS Sender ID register, O'Loughlin said telcos must register sender IDs for their customers, while businesses may choose not to. Messages from unregistered senders will show as unverified, a label she said may reflect a sender yet to register or may signal a scam. By mid-September 2026 the register listed more than 59,000 sender IDs, almost 40,000 businesses and organisations, and 490 telcos, she said. She said scammers had tried unsuccessfully to register sender IDs and that offshore scam SMS had been disrupted before reaching consumers. Participating telcos report to the ACMA quarterly, with first reports due in October 2026, and she credited Singapore's IMDA for sharing its registry experience.