Australia to Test New AusAlert Emergency System Amid State and Safety Concerns

An unsilenceable siren will blare out of most phones in Australia on Monday afternoon for 10 seconds, with the federal government confirming a national test of the new AusAlert emergency alert system will go ahead, despite reservations from some state governments.

Domestic violence campaigners and the National Emergency Management Agency have also repeated advice that people who may have secret “safe phones”, kept hidden for personal safety reasons, may want to turn off their devices for up to 24 hours after the test scheduled for 2pm (AEST) on Monday.

AusAlert, built after recommendations from the royal commission into the black summer bushfires for a better national warning system, is slated to come into effect from October.

Most phones and some smartwatches and tablets will emit a loud siren for 10 seconds, and receive a test alert notification pop-up. The federal government says AusAlert is an improvement on current SMS-based alerts, which can be less reliable in disasters.

But ahead of an emergency services ministers’ meeting on Wednesday, concerns emerged from several states, including Queensland and Western Australia, that AusAlert warnings would not reach landline phones, older devices or those connected to satellite signals.

The federal emergency management minister, Kristy McBain, said AusAlert was working to add voice alerts to reach landlines, and that the existing Emergency Alert system would continue running for this year while that capability was added. Federal government sources said they were confident that would be confirmed soon.

Sources also said they were listening to concerns from state governments, and were comfortable with progress on AusAlert, but that states would not be forced to use the new system and could still use current Emergency Alerts.

“It’s one of the reasons those two systems will run alongside each other for this high-risk weather season,” McBain said.

McBain called AusAlert “more capable” and “far superior” technology.

“The 2020 bushfire royal commission into national natural disaster arrangements highlighted the fact that we don’t have a system that is capable of resilience currently, that it has its failings and that we do need to move towards a nationally consistent alert system so that people know what to expect,” she said.

Some older phones may not receive the alert on Monday. Nema said the alert will go to:

iPhones 11 and up running iOS 26.4 or later;

Apple Watch SE2, SE3, Series 6 and up running watchOS 26.4 or later;

Android devices running Android 12 or later.

Older Androids, or those not using iOS or Android, “might still receive AusAlerts”, Nema said, but Apple iPads will not.

The blaring alarm has raised concerns about the risk of exposing “safe phones”, or devices kept hidden for safety reasons by those experiencing violence. The alert will sound even if phones are on silent or do not disturb mode.

Nema said the agency had engaged with family violence experts about the test, including assisting advocates to disseminate safety information, and posting a safety guide on its website.

Nema’s interim coordinator general, Pat Hetherington said phones switched off or on aeroplane mode would not receive the alert.

“The message for safe phones and hidden phones is very much [to switch off for] a 24 hour period.”

Groups such as the Women’s Safety Commissioner, DV Connect and the Council of Single Mothers and their Children have issued safety advisories to this effect.

“We know that many people who are living with domestic and family violence and sexual violence have a hidden phone as part of their safety plan,” the CEO of women’s services network Wesnet, Karen Bentley, said.

“Wesnet’s recommendation is that on Monday, if you do have a concealed or hidden phone to support your safety, that you consider turning that device off or switching it into aeroplane mode one hour before the national test on Monday and to keep it off or in aeroplane mode for 24 hours.”

Queensland’s minister for emergency services, Daniel Purdie, said on Wednesday AusAlert was “potentially life-saving technology” and his state supported it, but voiced some reservations.

“We need to make sure Queenslanders aren’t put at risk and there are concerns around the gaps as we look to transition from the Emergency Alert system … Queensland is the most disaster-prone state and we’ve got a lot of people in regional communities that rely on those landlines,” he said.

NSW’s emergency services minister, Jihad Dib, said the system may need “further improvements” after the test and indicated states had “concerns”.

“We’re really happy to make sure that we continue working alongside the commonwealth to develop a system that’s going to be better than the current one that we have,” he said.