Know Your Customer (KYC) in Australia
Notice: The Australian government, through the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), is rolling out new regulations to crack down on phone scams and protect consumers, known as the Scam Prevention Framework. As part of this effort, KYC requirements for phone number purchases are expected to be updated toward the later end of May 2026. This article outlines what you can do to prepare and will be updated as new information is made available.
Overview
If you have built an A2P communications solution, you will be familiar with Know Your Customer (KYC) data. Originating from the banking industry, KYC is essentially customer information that is required to identify and verify an individual or business that requests to use a service is who they say they are.
Over the past decade, telecommunication service providers, carriers and regulators around the world have been working hard to create a trusted and verified messaging and voice ecosystem for businesses to engage with consumers.
A step that the global communications industry is taking to protect consumers is requiring that their customers submit more substantial KYC information to become identified and verified as a legitimate user of telecommunication services. Industry is also taking this step in response to global legal and regulatory trends that are significantly strengthening KYC requirements applied to telecommunication providers.
What you need to know — Australian regulatory developments
Under the Scam Prevention Framework, Australian consumer, financial and telecommunication regulatory authorities are rolling out new laws and regulations to collectively crack down on voice and messaging phone scams that are victimising consumers.
As part of Australia's world-leading effort to reduce harmful financial scams from impacting consumers, new legal obligations will be placed on Australian telecommunication providers (like Calilio) to ensure that their customers meet updated KYC requirements for access to telecommunications services. That includes access to Calilio's Australian local, mobile, and toll-free numbers.
The goal of the authorities is for telecommunication service providers (like Calilio) to verify, to new standards, who is using every number. This goal will help legitimate businesses maintain trust in the deliverability of their communications in Australia, whilst achieving the objective of making it more difficult for bad actors to operate and target consumers with harmful financial scams.
Note on timelines
Calilio is phasing in adjustments to its KYC policy for Australian phone numbers in anticipation of Australia's regulatory changes under the Scam Prevention Framework. Final guidelines from regulators have not yet been issued. We will update this article as soon as the final guidelines are published.
Calilio's KYC verification policy for Australian phone numbers
The document verification policy set out below reflects our current expectations of KYC standards, but is subject to change when the regulations are settled by the relevant Australian authorities.
Business requirements
If you are submitting on behalf of a business, you will need:
- Business name and registration number — as it appears on your commercial registry document. Australian businesses should provide an ABN (e.g.
123 456 789) or ACN (e.g.12 123 456 789) obtainable through the ASIC portal. - Proof of business identity — Australian businesses must provide the Current Company Extract or Record of Registration for Business obtainable through the ASIC portal. All businesses must provide the long-form extract, which includes the officer names and business address.
- Address
- Local numbers — must be an address within Australia (not a PO Box).
- Mobile and toll-free — may be located anywhere in the world.
- Proof of address — commercial registry, utility bill, tax notice, rent receipt, or title deed.
- Authorised representative details — name, government-issued ID or passport, contact email.
- Proof of authorisation — if the authorised representative's name is listed on the extract as a Director or Officer, no Letter of Authorisation (LOA) is required; your extract serves as direct proof. If the authorised representative's name is NOT listed on the extract, you must upload a Letter of Authorisation signed by one of the Directors named on your extract (for example, if "John Citizen" is the Director on the registry document, John must sign the LOA authorising the named authorised representative).
- Customer type — whether you are registering as a Direct Customer or an Independent Software Vendor (ISV).
- ISV resale — if you are an Independent Software Vendor (ISV), will you assign the Calilio phone numbers to your end customers? (Yes / No)
Individual requirements
If you are submitting as an individual, you will need:
- Name and government-issued ID — passport or ID card for proof of identity.
- Address
- Local and mobile — must be an Australian street address (no PO Boxes).
- Toll-free — may be located anywhere in the world.
- Proof of address — government ID showing the address, utility bill, tax notice, or other document showing the address.
- Website — a public-facing website or verified social media account.
- Use case — description of the use case for the phone number.
- Email address — a valid email address.
Next steps
If you are using Calilio for Australian local, mobile, or toll-free numbers today, we will reach out individually as final ACMA guidance is published. If you are evaluating Calilio for Australian coverage, gathering the documents above now will let you move quickly once the verification flow is live. Questions go to the Calilio compliance team through in-app support — we respond within one business day.