SMS can be the most effective message an Australian business sends, or the fastest way to generate opt-outs and complaints. The difference is rarely the channel. It is whether the text is timely, expected and short enough to be useful on a phone screen. This page looks at when SMS campaigns pay off in Australia and when email is the better tool.
Why SMS gets attention
Almost every Australian adult carries a mobile. DataReportal counted 34.1 million cellular connections in Australia at the end of 2025, equivalent to 126 percent of the population (DataReportal, 2026). Texts arrive on the lock screen, don’t compete with a crowded inbox, and don’t depend on a data connection, which matters for customers in regional and remote areas where mobile data can be patchy. That is exactly why SMS should be used sparingly: the same attention that makes it effective makes irrelevant messages irritating.
Where SMS campaigns tend to perform
Time-sensitive reminders
Appointment reminders for GPs, dentists, physios and salons, delivery windows, and “your table is ready” messages are the clearest wins. They save both sides a phone call and the customer wants them.
Short sales windows
EOFY clearance in late June, a Click Frenzy offer, or the last day of a Boxing Day sale all suit a one-line text because the deadline is the message. The detail belongs in the email; the SMS is the nudge.
Events and tourism
Festivals, sporting events and tour operators use SMS for gate changes, weather updates and pick-up times. A reef tour cancelled because of wind is far better communicated by text at 6am than by an email opened at lunchtime.
Property
Agents in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane text registered buyers about open inspections and Saturday auctions. The audience has asked for the information and acts on it quickly.
Where SMS campaigns backfire
- Too often. Weekly promotional texts wear out goodwill fast. Keep SMS for messages that justify interrupting someone.
- At the wrong hour. A 9am Sydney send reaches Perth at 6am during daylight saving. Split by time zone and use scheduled SMS.
- Without clear consent. A mobile number on an invoice is not permission to text promotions. Unwanted texts produce complaints to the ACMA.
- From an unrecognised sender. From 1 July 2026, an unregistered alphanumeric sender ID is replaced with “Unverified”, which looks like a scam and will hurt response.
The compliance side of effectiveness
A campaign that triggers an ACMA investigation is not effective, whatever its click rate. The Spam Act 2003 applies to commercial SMS: you need consent, you must identify yourself, and you must include an opt-out that is actioned within five working days. In 2026 Tabcorp paid more than $2.7 million after marketing emails and SMS reached customers who had already unsubscribed. Our FAQ on SMS regulations in Australia summarises the rules, including the Sender ID Register.
Measuring whether it worked
SMS has no open rate, so measure what happens next: link clicks, bookings, redemptions or reduced no-shows. Use a unique short link or offer code for each campaign, and compare a segment that received the text with one that did not. Mailpro’s SMS statistics show delivery status for each number, so you can clean out disconnected numbers before the next send.
SMS or email?
Use email for anything that needs images, detail or a long read: newsletters, catalogues, guides. Use SMS for short, urgent, personal messages. For most Australian businesses the best results come from both: an email campaign with the full offer, followed by a text to non-openers near the deadline. Our comparison of texting versus email goes deeper.
Getting started
With Mailpro you can send SMS and email from one account, with shared contact lists and shared opt-outs. In Mailpro’s own customer survey, users rated SMS deliverability 9.8/10. Start with the 500 free credits, send a small test to your own team across different carriers, and scale up once you’ve seen the results. More on our SMS marketing page.