What Australian businesses need to know about RCS messaging

Texting your customers might not be on your radar yet. Maybe email marketing is at the top of your communication strategy. Or perhaps your sales team still rings people to confirm bookings.

If you’re not using SMS marketing as part of strategies though, you’re missing out. But you may have waited for exactly the right time. Plain SMS has a trust problem. Your customers get so many scam texts that a message from an unfamiliar sender is easy to ignore.

Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging fixes that, and it's finally coming to Australia. Telstra starts switching it on from 16 November. RCS for business will follow in December.

If you've got an iPhone, you already know the power of a text with sending photos, read receipts, typing bubbles, reactions. That's iMessage. RCS brings most of that to everyone, whether they are on Apple or Android, and businesses can use it too.

Here's what RCS is, what it means for your customers, and how to add it to your marketing, even if you're starting from scratch.

The fast track

• RCS is like iMessage for everyone. Verified, branded messages with images, carousels and buttons, right in your customer's normal messaging app. Works on iPhone and Android.
• Telstra is the first in Australia. Android from 16 November, iPhone after Apple's December iOS update.
• Optus and Vodafone haven't named dates yet, so SMS isn't going anywhere.
• Nobody has to switch. Customers keep their phone and messaging app, and anyone who can't receive RCS still gets SMS or MMS.
• You can send RCS from HubSpot through Sinch, inside the workflows you already run.
• Selling online with Klaviyo? RCS will upgrade the texts and flows you already run once Klaviyo switches on Australia.

What is RCS messaging?

RCS is the modern standard for text messaging. RCS for business lets brands send verified messages with images, video and buttons. They land straight in the customer's built-in messaging app.

Think of it as iMessage for everyone. The same features except it works across Apple and Android, and brands can use it.

Instead of a plain text from a sender ID, your customer gets:

• Your brand name, logo and colours
• A verified tick, so they know it's really you
• Rich cards and carousels with product images
• Tap-to-act buttons like "Track my order", "Book now" or "Add to calendar"
• Quick replies, so they can answer with a tap instead of typing

As a brand, you get read receipts and campaign insights, so you finally know who opened your message, not just who received it. And because it lives in the phone's own messaging app, nobody downloads anything. Your texts just start looking a lot more like your brand.

Isn't that just iMessage, we hear you ask?

It’s pretty close to what iMessage is capable of except RCSworks on Apple and Android, and businesses can actually send it.

So if you've ever wished you could send customers something that feels like iMessage, this is it. One message that looks great whether they're holding an iPhone or a Samsung.

And no, nobody has to switch. Your customers keep the phone and messaging app they already use. iPhone owners just install the December iOS update. As a business, you don't have to switch either. Your SMS program stays put, and RCS sits on top of it.

RCS in Australia

Telstra is the first Australian carrier to commit to RCS. Android customers get it from 16 November 2026 and iPhone customers after Apple's December iOS update. Telstra expects to finish the rollout by the end of 2026.

A few things worth knowing:

• It's on by default across Telstra's consumer, small business and enterprise services. No plan change, no add-on.
• Telstra network brands get it too, like Belong, Everyday Mobile and ALDI Mobile.
• iPhone users need to update. RCS switches on for Telstra iPhones with Apple's December iOS release.
• Business RCS lands in December. Sinch has told its partners that RCS for business arrives on Telstra in December. Sinch will confirm the exact date soon.
• Optus and Vodafone haven't committed to dates yet. Until they do, a good chunk of your customers will keep getting SMS.
  
  

RCS vs SMS: what actually changes?

RCS doesn't replace SMS. It sits on top of it. If a phone can receive RCS, it gets the rich version. If it can't, it gets SMS or MMS instead.

Why you

Why your customers will care (and so will your reports)

SMS has always been brilliant at getting seen. It consistently maintains a 98% open rate benchmark.

The catch? SMS has no read receipts, so that number is an educated guess. RCS tells you exactly who read your message, and the results stack up.

Here's what brands overseas from Europe, the US and Brazil are seeing:

• 73 to 92% read rates across in-market RCS campaigns
• 35 times more likely to be read than email
• 10 times the click-through and 115% more revenue for retailer Club Comex, compared with its old SMS campaigns
• 1.6 times more conversions and 6.2 times higher ROI than other channels for retailer Casas Bahia
• A 79% read rate and 22% click-through for Clarins, 2.5 times a comparable Rich SMS campaign
• 3 to 7 times higher click-through than Rich SMS across Sinch's campaign data

Scam texts have taught Australians to treat unexpected messages with suspicion, and fair enough. A verified sender with your logo and a tick gives your customer one less reason to hit delete.

RCS on Klaviyo coming soon

Klaviyo’s RCS rollout hasn’t reached Australia yet, and there’s no local release date announced at the time of publishing.

When it does arrive, it will slot directly into your existing text program with zero flow rebuilds.

Klaviyo will handle it as an automatic upgrade. Capable devices will receive rich RCS cards, while standard SMS acts as the built in fallback. Opt-outs remain unified across both formats, and your existing templates carry over instantly.

Use the waiting period to sort out your sender verification assets and customer data so your online store is ready to launch on day one.

How RCS works in HubSpot

You can send RCS straight from HubSpot workflows through Sinch, HubSpot's messaging partner and ours. Sinch was the first to bring RCS into HubSpot, and it already has customers in the US and Europe using it.

Here's how it comes together:

1. Register your verified sender. Google and the carriers approve your brand name, logo, colours and details, so your messages carry the verified tick.
2. Design your RCS templates in Sinch Engage. In this first release, that's where you build your rich cards, carousels and buttons.
3. Drop them into HubSpot workflows. Trigger them the same way you trigger SMS today: a deal stage change, an abandoned cart, a booking, a renewal date.
4. Switch on fallback. Customers who can't receive RCS get MMS or SMS instead.
5. Track it alongside everything else. Engagement data lives with the rest of your customer data, not in a separate tool.

Because it runs off your CRM, your RCS messages can be as personal as your best emails. Their name, their order, their renewal date, their nearest store.

Opt-outs apply across SMS and RCS, so your compliance stays tidy too.

How to prep for RCS in Australia

Switching RCS on is the easy part. Getting real value from it takes a little prep.

New to texting customers? Starting with RCS and SMS together means you set it up properly from day one. Take a look at this checklist to get on top of it now.

• Check your consent. The Spam Act rules for SMS apply to RCS too. You need consent, a clearly identified sender and an easy way to opt out.
• Tidy your mobile data. Numbers in the right format, on the right contacts, with opt-in status you can actually trust.
• Get your brand assets ready. Logo, colours, description and contact details for your verified profile. Approval isn't instant, so start early.
• Pick two use cases to start. Abandoned carts, booking reminders and order updates are all great candidates.
• Write for fallback. Every RCS message needs an SMS version that still makes sense on its own.
• Test on Android and iPhone. Rich cards don't always look the same on both.
• Decide how you'll measure it. Set your benchmarks now so you can compare RCS and SMS fairly.

The brands that get this right early will look noticeably more trustworthy than the ones still sending plain text. You want to be in the first group.

Where Refuel fits

We're Adelaide's only Platinum HubSpot partner, and we work with Sinch to bring SMS and RCS into HubSpot for our clients.

We'll help you get RCS live from day one. We can connect Sinch to HubSpot, sort your verified profile and build your first RCS workflows with SMS fallback. Then we'll set up reporting so you can see what's working, and train your team so you're not waiting on us for every send. All so your customers get messages they trust, and texting finally earns its spot in your marketing mix.

Book a chat about RCS

RCS messaging FAQs

What is RCS messaging?

RCS (Rich Communication Services) is the next generation standard for text messaging. Brands can use it to send verified messages showing their name, logo and colours. These messages can include images, video, carousels and buttons. It arrives in the customer's built-in messaging app, with no app to download.

Is RCS available in Australia?

Yes, starting with Telstra. Telstra switches RCS on for Android from 16 November 2026 and for iPhone after Apple's December iOS update. Sinch says RCS for business arrives on Telstra in December. Optus and Vodafone haven't announced dates yet.

Does RCS work on iPhone in Australia?

It will for Telstra customers once they install Apple's December iOS update. iPhone users on other networks will keep getting SMS until their carrier switches RCS on.

Is RCS the same as iMessage?

No, but it does a lot of the same things: send high quality photos, read receipts, typing indicators and reactions. The big differences are that RCS works on both iPhone and Android, and brands can use it to send marketing messages. iMessage only works between Apple devices.

What happens if a customer can't receive RCS?

They get the message as SMS or MMS instead. Platforms like Sinch and Klaviyo handle this fallback automatically, so nobody misses out.

Is RCS better than SMS?

For customers who can receive it, usually yes. Overseas campaigns show read rates of 73 to 92%, and Sinch's data shows 3 to 7 times higher click-through than Rich SMS. But SMS still reaches every mobile, which is why the two work best together.

Do the Spam Act rules apply to RCS?

Yes. RCS marketing messages count as commercial electronic messages. You still need consent, a clearly identified sender and a working unsubscribe.

How much does RCS cost in Australia?

Providers haven't published Australian pricing for business RCS yet. We'll update this post once Sinch confirms Australian pricing.