Australia's first nationwide test of the new AusAlert emergency warning system produced mixed results on Wednesday, with many phones blaring for a few seconds while others received no alert at all.
Almost every phone, along with some smartwatches and tablets, was supposed to emit a loud noise at about 2pm AEST and display a pop-up notification reading “TEST MESSAGE” and “NO ACTION IS REQUIRED”. The test was the first nationwide trial of the system, which will be deployed in October for fires, floods, terrorist incidents or health emergencies.
Mixed reception
Indigo Miller, working from home in Canberra, said the alert was “pretty anti-climactic” and she accidentally clicked it away. Her phone cut out as the siren went off while she tried to film it. Busker Dani Bainbridge, in Sydney’s Hyde Park, said “it did the job, I think”.
But others did not receive an alert at all. Guardian Australia received reports of phones that got a notification but no sound. The National Emergency Management Agency had advised before the test that 80% of Apple iPhones and 16m Android devices would ring, limited to iPhone 11 and up running iOS 26.4 or later, Apple Watch SE2/SE3/Series 6 and up running watchOS 26.4 or later, and Android devices running Android 12 or later. Reports included an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 12, and a Samsung phone not receiving notifications.
Government response
The federal emergency management minister, Kristy McBain, said 94% of targeted cell towers had successfully broadcast the alert. “Don’t worry if you did not receive an alert – this could be because you were not in a coverage area, your software was not up to date or your device was incompatible,” she said. “Nema will continue to analyse the technical and performance data and engage with emergency service organisations around the country.”
Asked if the system would ever be completely successful, McBain said “there is no one avenue of communication that is 100% successful”. She added: “This technology is more reliable than the current text-based technology … this is just another tool in the toolkit for emergency service agencies, who are doing a really good job in communicating to communities that are at risk during a natural disaster.”
Concerns and reactions
Before the test, domestic and family violence advocates raised concerns about the risk of exposing “safe phones”. AusAlert interim coordinator general Pat Hetherington advised that people with safe or hidden phones should switch them off for a 24-hour period.
Businesses and the public reacted in various ways: an Imax theatre in Sydney told patrons to switch off phones for the 1.50pm screening of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, but some phones still went off during ads. At the State Library of NSW, the siren cut through the silence, startling studying Year 12 students and waking one sleeping student.
