Hmm - I just bought a sim card on Monday - over the internet. It came yesterday, works great.

http://www.tpg.com.au/mobile/plans.html

Now - they do have a fix on me - my credit card and the fact that the sim card was sent to my home address. I don't know if they would have baulked if my CC address was different to the address where the sim went. However at no point did they ask for or see any actual identification of me.

They have your name, address and credit card number. That's more than enough identification.

Sure, but I could easily have lied about all those things except the CC number, which is why I wonder if it would have gone to 'manual verification' if my address didn't match. From all appearances I could enter any name, address and get a phone tied to that identity, with the billing going somewhere else.

You can also provide false ID when you buy them in person. That's not the point.

BS. Arab-American here, bought a SIM with no questions asked at an Optus booth.

That's quite extraordinary — I've registered prepaid SIMs with Telstra, Vodafone and Virgin which have all required registration in order to receive calls and be topped up; a process which Google tell's me via http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/LegislativeInstr... is the norm.

By law they are meant to (I used to sell them) - depends on the guy behind the checkout though.

Did you pay cash? Did you have to register by phoning Optus before using the SIM?

I paid cash and didn't have to do anything.

That's right — registration prevents drug dealers from getting disposable phone numbers because they are incapable of circumventing the law.