Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As part of a comprehensive range of measures the Albanese government is putting in place to combat scammers, we are also establishing the SMS Sender ID Register. The Telecommunications Amendment (SMS Sender ID Register) Bill 2024 will require the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the ACMA, to establish and maintain a register of legitimate sender IDs. Instead of having to hunt down and eliminate all the fake scammer SMS sources, we will establish a register of those who have been authenticated as legitimate. The register will establish an industry standard for telecommunications providers who manage SMS traffic. The standard will require telcos who manage SMS traffic to check the SMSs that use sender IDs to ascertain whether a sender ID is on the register and whether the sender is the registered party. If not, the telco could be required to block or tag the SMS as fraudulent.

Once operating, the register will decrease the frequency and impact on consumers of SMS impersonation scams. It's good for consumers, but it's also good for businesses. The operation of the register will also increase protections for legitimate brands and agencies against bad actors impersonating them. I know I've been late paying a bill because I thought the messages I was receiving were from scammers. The sender ID registry will disrupt the business models for SMS impersonation scams. It will boost public confidence in SMS as a communications channel. The operation of the register will ultimately make Australia and Australians a harder target for scam activity.

But the Albanese government is not naive in thinking the register will provide a silver bullet against all future SMS impersonation scams. Unfortunately, we know that scammers will invariably change tactics and use new methods to contact and ensnare would-be victims. This is why the bill has inbuilt provisions to allow us to respond quickly. The bill provides for the Minister for Communications to make determinations in future by way of legislative instruments which will respond to the changing scam landscape. This will allow the minister to determine if there are future communications services other than SMS and MMS which may use sender identification in the future. The minister can determine whether there is something other than letters, numbers and symbols which may be included in sender identification in the future. And the minister can determine if there is additional relevant information that should be kept on the register in future.

The Telecommunications Amendment (SMS Sender ID Register) Bill 2024 marks an important step in the Albanese government's multipronged approach to combating SMS scams. The May 2023 budget provided $86.5 million over four years to address scams and help keep Australians safe. This funding established the National Anti-Scam Centre in the ACCC from July 2023. It is an innovative, world-leading, public-private-sector partnership to disrupt and stop scammers in Australia. There has been a national campaign by the National Anti-Scam Centre to show Australians how to identify and protect themselves from scams. We've had the Assistant Treasurer in Boothby to run a very popular antiscam forum, and I've spoken to a number of groups about how to protect themselves from scams. In May 2024, through its Fighting Scams initiative, the Albanese government has committed a further $67.5 million over four years from 2024-25 to combat scams and protect Australians from financial harm. This funding will further support the introduction of mandatory industry codes which require all telecommunications providers, banks and digital platforms to identify, trace and block phone and SMS scams. To the end of March 2024, these code rules have already resulted in over 1.9 billion scam calls and 533 million scam texts being blocked.

Sadly, scammers are increasingly a part of our modern lives. We have previously been playing catch-up trying to identify and block scammers, and this has been a losing game. The faster we catch them, the faster they set up on a new phone number, a new site or a new business model. This bill aims to help Australians to take control and keep themselves safe by maintaining a register of trusted and verified numbers. I commend the bill to the House.

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