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‘Every second is critical’ in an emergency such as a bushfire, says emergency management minister Murray Watt.
‘Every second is critical’ in an emergency such as a bushfire, says emergency management minister Murray Watt. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images
‘Every second is critical’ in an emergency such as a bushfire, says emergency management minister Murray Watt. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

Australians in disaster zones to receive phone alerts to improve emergency response

This article is more than 10 months old

Government hopes prominent notifications will be hard to miss as it plans to begin testing new system soon

People in disaster zones will receive urgent phone alerts with warnings and advice, as the federal government plans to begin testing of a new emergency messaging system for fires, floods and public safety crises.

The new system will give prominent mobile notifications on phone screens that users cannot accidentally overlook, with an official alert from the government which cannot be mistaken for a scam text.

The federal government is following the lead of numerous countries worldwide with similar systems, including the UK and New Zealand, in the face of escalating natural disasters and to “mitigate the spread of misinformation” during emergencies.

“During a fire, flood or cyclone, we know every second is critical, so by giving residents and first responders more warning, we can give people the best chance possible,” said emergency management minister Murray Watt.

Some states currently have text message or voice message services to warn of health emergencies, but the Albanese government says the new national messaging system will instead send notifications that temporarily “take over” a user’s phone to deliver the alert.

The technology, which is already built into modern phones and in use in other countries, allows the government to send emergency messages to all devices in a specific geographic area, local government area or state – no matter which service provider is used.

The government says the alerts can’t be mistaken for scams or spam texts.

“Drawing on technology currently used overseas, the speed and effectiveness of the NMS will substantially improve Australia’s ability to send prioritised warnings from trusted sources, to prevent the loss of life, injury, damage to property, and mitigate the spread of misinformation during disasters,” Watt and communications minister, Michelle Rowland, said in a statement.

“This new technology will also allow governments to send messages in English and a second language, in order to provide accurate, official information to multicultural communities, helping them to understand the risks and make appropriate decisions about their personal safety.”

The system will be designed and tested over the next 18 months, ahead of an anticipated launch in late 2024.

Some Australians are likely to receive test alerts during that period, with a public awareness campaign to also be rolled out.

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“Being able to communicate effectively – from communities receiving emergency messages as quickly as possible to emergency service operators responding to an event – is critical in ensuring that there is minimal disruption to communities and individuals,” Rowland said.

Government sources said that process would also determine how state and territory agencies could feed into the messaging system, and whether it would ultimately replace the emergency warning systems run by the states.

“It will also improve how states and territories issue alerts and warnings to mobile phones and devices during a crisis or emergency event, in near real time,” Rowland and Watt said.

The 2020 royal commission into natural disaster responses warned safety messaging around emergencies needed to be improved. The final report said people receiving emergency warnings “often try to confirm the contents of the message before they take action to protect themselves”.

“To ensure that individuals feel empowered to act, emergency information and warnings must come from a trusted source, such as government and emergency service agencies, and be accurate. The public may question the reliability of government and emergency services agencies’ information when it is inconsistent across jurisdictions,” it said.

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