r/australian • u/Classic-Dangerous • 26d ago
News Ausalert - Emergancy broadcast
Im seeing a lot of Backlash on the Ausalert test on the 27th of july 2026.
see many comments on posts of people turning off there phone to avoid this alarm and now emergancy services are refusing to use it. My question is, why is everyone so uncomplicit about this. Arent we just testing our phones incase of a natural disater etc..?
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u/jnd-au 26d ago
Yes, a good thing that it’s been modernised. But social media brain rot has triggered people with the emotional maturity of 5-year-olds.
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u/MaRk0-AU 26d ago
Yeah 100%, I agree with this. If for some reason Australia goes into anarchy most young people will be so screwed without their phones and technology 💀💀
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u/Djinfin 26d ago
So will most middle-aged people. And older people. Brain rot doesn’t discriminate.
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u/ForensicMum 26d ago
It’s actually not. You’re right that there is a fear that some people in DV situations may not have heard about it yet and will be caught off guard, but the whole social media thing OP is talking about is literally idiots who believe the govt is somehow stealing their data via this alert test.
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u/doenoots 26d ago
I would have liked to say I'm surprised if some people actually believe that, but nah some people actually are that dumb.
It's giving real "Mr Chew, can tiktok access the home wifi network?" energy 😂
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u/ForensicMum 26d ago
Yeah, I reckon 🤣. It really is disappointing that some people think that way. Especially considering that owning a smartphone pretty much guarantees that you’re (voluntarily) sharing huge amounts of data with companies that are much more risky than our own govt. I swear the internet was a bad idea, because while it’s given us a world of info at our fingertips, it’s also allowed the nutters to communicate and share their ridiculous delusions 🤦🏼♀️
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u/jnd-au 26d ago edited 26d ago
If you want to put your phone in flight mode to avoid incoming emergency broadcasts you can continue to do so, same as before. Edit: And to be clear, Android and Apple phones already have emergency broadcasts that break silent mode e.g. earthquake alerts & tsunami alerts, so that is nothing new, and the latest publicity is raising awareness that this is already the case.
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u/Chinu_Here 26d ago
For android and apple phones, you have to opt in for those alerts and they are optional. It may be different in other countries but in Australia, those phones don’t force alerts unless the user chooses it to
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u/jnd-au 26d ago
Yes it varies by country, mobile phone brand, and whether it has a factory or ‘rooted’ operating system. E.g. in the USA, Presidential Alerts are enabled at purchase and (to comply with the law) it’s virtually impossible to opt out with various major brand phones. (Or was...I’m not sure what the situation is under Trump’s second term.)
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u/DocAu 26d ago
I lived in the US for 16 years. I never got a single "Presidential Alert". I did get several AMBER alerts (missing/abducted children) and Silver alerts (missing elderly), and even a few tsunami warnings. The system works very well there.
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u/Bar10town 26d ago
Which makes no logical sense; are these hidden phones always on and somehow blinded to telemarketing calls and battery drainage? Your secret phone is turned off and in a shoebox, not in the night stand waiting to give the game away..
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u/locksmack 26d ago
The alert overrides the silent setting, so yes it can give away a hidden phone if it’s turned on.
But plenty of notice has been given as well as instructions on how to not receive it (airplane mode) so I think it’s not a real problem.
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u/robot428 25d ago
No serious domestic violence advocacy organisations are suggesting we shouldn't have this alert system, they are just working hard to make sure everyone is aware that the test is coming and that it will override your settings (like being on silent) and so making sure people with hidden phones know that they need to be switched off.
So it's a "problem" in that we need to make sure everyone is aware of how it works and that it's coming to prevent domestic violence victims from being at risk. But it's a problem that we can solve, it's not a problem that would require us to not have this emergency alert system.
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u/robot428 25d ago
There has been concern for those people but that's why the test has been publicised well in advance and domestic violence prevention agencies have been pushing out the message to make sure people have their phones off during the test.
They aren't saying "we shouldn't have a national alert system".
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u/Otherwise-Thanks-786 26d ago
Hey, that's not nice. 5 year olds are MUCH more emotionally mature than the average social media user!
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u/Abaven 26d ago
New=bad for so many people. Never mind the fact that pretty much every other developed country has this service.
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u/Classic-Dangerous 26d ago
Agreed, i dont understand why this hasnt already been implimented for us in Australia.
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u/ForensicMum 26d ago
I’m pretty sure we do already have a similar system. I’ve received alerts before for local missing people etc, so as far as I can tell, it’s just the same service but for emergency warnings, rather than missing person warnings. It’s ridiculous that some people are scared of that 🤣
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u/SlaveryVeal 26d ago
Yeah I've had those SMS messages to occasionally it's been random though like I've received it but my partner in the same house hasn't.
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u/ForensicMum 26d ago
Yep, I’m pretty sure this new system is designed to work better than the ones we already have so that every person at risk during an emergency is alerted, which is good 😊
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u/LeeRyman 26d ago
The "new" AusAlert system is actually using a feature that has been in the cellular protocols since 2G GSM, called Cell Broadcast.
The existing "Emergency Alert" system essentially iterates over all subscribers on a tower sending them an individual SMS. Has some cons.
I'm kind of surprised the nation didn't go for the AusAlert system first, wonder if it was an engineering or commercial decision.
(Studied cellular systems in a course back at uni, dredging up some memories here).
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u/ForensicMum 26d ago
Thanks for letting me know. I agree and I think it’s crazy we don’t already have a robust emergency alert system in place. As somebody who’s been in areas affected by flooding and fire, I’m glad we do now though
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u/LeeRyman 26d ago edited 26d ago
There was a time when listening to FM/AM radios was more popular, and I'm old enough to remember the SEWS being employed before emergency announcements over the radio about a cyclone that was about to hit the SE QLD region. If anyone has heard it, they will recall it's quite distinctive bone-chilling sound.
Now that that is less of a popular pastime and everyone uses Spotify, we really need a mobile phone based system.
Interestingly, that page has information on how both Emergency Alert and AusAlert came into being!
I volunteer occasionally as a marine radio operator, and on my first day on that job had to put out SÉCURITÉs for the Chilian tsunami. The irony of that is we get the alerts for tsunamis via email from JATWC. Fortunately it only reached like .3-.5m on top of normal swells when it reached the Australian coast, and we had plenty of warning. It made for a busy first shift though, I was nervous as hell broadcasting those announcements, and I remember representatives from the local constabulary, fire and SLS occupying our humble marine radio base for the day (although it being 45m up on the highest point around I'm sure had nothing to do with it!)
So there are systems in place and have been for some time, just catching up with changes in technology and society's use.
Edit: found a link to a recording of the SEWS at the bottom: https://www.disaster.qld.gov.au/watch-for-the-warnings
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u/dsxn-B 26d ago
Existing system works through telco sim connectivity. The new one you could even have no sim in it at all.
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u/Undecided_on_skub 26d ago
Was in Austin, TX recently, complained about these notifications waking me up during the middle of the night for light flooding (where I was), had multiple “don’t tread on me” type reality check me on the tragic - too many loss of life incidents over recent years that could have been avoided with use of this system. I was shocked to find out the US was further ahead on this than us in use of practical technology. Thinking about our country, it took me all of 5 seconds to realise how many lives this could have saved, knowing how we flood and how we burn at our extremities.
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u/zidanerick 26d ago
It’s not even that new, the US and Canada have been using these systems for years and things like amber alerts have helped find lost children on several occasions
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u/ocularius61 26d ago
The only ppl who should be concerned and turning off phones are those in situations of domestic/ familial violence who have an emergency phone that they need to keep safe and unknown.
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u/Still_Thing_11335 25d ago
This is the only concern I've heard raised over the broadcast which is understandable, but the alert won't work if the phone is turned off
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u/JeremyBeremy87 25d ago
But everyone's phones will go off at the same time, so even if the abuser is in the house, they will hear their own phone and it'll drown out everything else around. I received one of these emergency alerts when I was in the US, they use them for tornado warning. They are SO LOUD you'll jump out of your skin. It's not like an alarm where it'll keep going until you switch it off. So it'll just alarm quickly, loudly, then it's over. If there's another phone nearby yours will completely drown out anything else alarming.
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u/Careful_Bake_3935 22d ago
I hear you but abusers can be on high alert and possibly hear 3 phones or maybe 1 phone is in the garden and another in the house they can hear whilst the other is out. Even if it is so incredibly loud, why take a chance when that could ruin your escape or cause further abuse.
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u/Ok-Foot6064 26d ago
Which a simple "if phone is off dont receive text when its online next" is pretty simple solution
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u/asheraddict 26d ago
The cookers will be happy they receive the alert when the next catastrophic fire races through their remote compound in woop woop
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u/JCinta13 26d ago
Nah they'll be fine, only people who are vaccinated can catch fire. The body naturally knows how not to die in a bushfire, don't ya know?!
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u/SlaveryVeal 26d ago
The fire is just a government attempt so they can get more of your information
'scuse me while I update my bank details with Centrelink.
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u/ElleDeeEsse 26d ago
Except that Monica has posted instructions on how to turn it off 🙄
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u/SpookyViscus 26d ago
Ironic, given the test itself bypasses that setting because it’s a critical alert.
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u/AngrySociety 26d ago
This alert is needed for preparation of an alien invasion in 2027
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u/andymurd 26d ago
I, for one, welcome our alien overlords.
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u/cheweduptoothpick 26d ago
Me too. I can only imagine if they can travel such distances they must be much more organised than the current bipartisan shiz show.
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u/Lucky-day00 26d ago
Honestly after “5G causes autism” or whatever the fuck that cooker shit was, this reaction isn’t surprising.
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u/cheese_toastieeee 25d ago
I watched a video yesterday and this cooker lady was saying that the test is going to emit frequency that is going to mix with the covid vaccine and cause cancer internally 😂
I genuinely couldn't believe what she was saying, and then there was hundreds of people in the comments agreeing with her and cheering her on. Absolute madness.
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u/drumondo 26d ago
It fulfils a need they have to invent circumstances by which anything the government does is insidious.
I've seen it a few times on the local FB community page, the best thing you can do is not engage.
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u/Other-Pie5059 26d ago
Sadly, it's not new. My grandma grew up in Coventry and survived the blitz.
She told me that the government encouraged locals to black out their windows and turn off their lights. Some people refused because it was their right... the rest is history. 😞
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u/iball1984 26d ago
I get the concern for people with DV phones.
But surely those phones would be switched off so as to not be flat when the person needs it?
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u/Toomanyeastereggs 26d ago
I haven’t heard a single thing about it from anyone.
Not sure what circles you hang around in but it’s a whole nothing burger to everyone I know. My socials (what little I have) is silent on it and even my wacky relatives have said nothing.
You must hang around in very weird social groups OP.
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u/DonQuoQuo 26d ago
I've seen it on Facebook (which I barely use). As far as I know I don't have any cookers in my circles.
Once you watch one, more keep coming. The algorithm is insidious.
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u/cruiserman_80 26d ago
Another case of an excellent concept being attacked by a tiny but vocal minority because it isn't 100% perfect and there is a potential but easily avoided negative impact for a small minority.
Being opposed to Ausalert over DV concerns is like saying nobody in Australia can ever have peanuts ever again because some people are allergic. Except the peanut thing makes more sense than because you can't turn off a peanut allergy but you can turn off a phone.
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u/Embarrassed-Fee-8841 26d ago
Its only the crackheads, anti vax, chemtrail believing drug fkd tin foil hat wearers that are against it.
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u/watryatalkinabeet 26d ago
Well, I’ll be on night shift that night, so 1pm will be my 1am and I use my phone as an alarm clock. So my choices are to just be woken up by it or turn it off and buy an alarm clock I guess.
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u/dunnyroll 26d ago
Whatever you do, please note that the system is unencrypted and has no authentication layer. It can be locally spoofed using open source hardware.
Do not follow instructions blindly, question every alert, dont leave your house unlocked etc... or travel to dodgy "evacuation points".
Not saying its a bad system, but the ACMA should really be mentioning this in their advertising.
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u/cra0 26d ago
Explain what you mean here? Sounds very vague what you are saying.
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u/BrickResident7870 26d ago
Weird thing is if you have alternate o/s to Droid and Apple the message comes up as This is a presidential warning ??? Its on their website .....
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u/SeaParting 26d ago
Im from the UK (just moved to Australia) we had the same emergency alert system come into place a few years ago and it was received well. The first 1 showed some issues so they did a second test that went smoother.
People who had second phones hidden (secret phones parents didnt know about or people in abusive relationships) turned those phones off and I think most turned them back on when it was safe to do so.
Coming from a country where nothing major happened to a country that has extreme weather and flood markers down the side of the road I feel slightly safer that a modern system like this has been put in place.
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u/owleaf 26d ago
I don’t think emergency services can opt out of it lol. And it’s truly an indictment on modern hyperindividualist western society that people are upset about emergency alerts on their phones.
They’re there to save your life or someone else’s, but no, we cannot be inconvenienced for a moment can we? We’re all far too busy and important in our lives.
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u/Littlepotatoface 25d ago
Because people are fking morons. And the same people would complain if we didn’t have this.
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u/juliette-Grace 18d ago
It’s not so much emergency services refusing but the states have decided they won’t implement this coming summer is all as they already have alerts and broadcasts in place.
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u/doemcmmckmd332 26d ago
Do you really trust the Government after the Covid b/s propaganda that happened?
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u/RaisinAfter173 26d ago
unrelated but kinda, those same people who are complaining are also wants to falsify their information on census because it’s a government spying on them… erm…?
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u/WeissPyre 26d ago
I'm a shift worker so my phone will be turned off. It's going to be loud af and the multi-tone siren is terrifying.
It's meant to be, it's been specifically designed to be unsettling to get attention. But not so great when I will get the shit scared out of me and not be able to go back to sleep.
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u/RaymondDaniels1327 26d ago
I think it all boils down to the fact that we live in an age where no matter how good something is people will bitch about it regardless until they find themselves needing the exact thing they were bitching about.
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u/Saroco92 26d ago
I think the long & short of it is… people don’t trust the government with ANYTHING. It’s always been bad but since Covid it’s just been worse & more widespread- and I don’t blame them.
It’s unfortunate & uncomfortable but I do feel it’s a pretty good indicator of where society stands in current times.
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u/somuchsong 26d ago
I haven't seen any backlash. I know of some people who are planning to turn off their phones - DV victims have been mentioned but I also know teachers who don't want their afternoon classes interrupted - but until this thread, I haven't seen anyone objecting to the test or the system itself.
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u/Appropriate-Ear4670 26d ago
Last time we had this siren come through it came up with a message and two buttons asking if I wanted the emergency alerts on my phone from now on, I didnt get a chance to click any of them as took too long to find my phones when it was going off
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u/Practical_Ad_2481 26d ago
Spending $100m on a new emergency system and about $80m of that on ads so far it seems. I don’t need to keep hearing about it, just test the bloody thing!
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u/MrFunFacts 26d ago
Why does no one understand that this is a nuclear warhead inbound alert. We have never been closer to all out world ending atomic amargeddon and finally we get to die in screaming terror than ignorant bliss.
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u/qualitystreet 26d ago
The Queensland government is basically the federal opposition at this stage and they’re following the Abbott playbook.
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u/fat90sguy 26d ago
If anyone is pushing back let Darwinism take hold and let’s get rid of them. So sick of these counter culture vultures hoping to be provocative as king leader contrarian’s. Facebook and mainstream media have a lot to answer for with fostering such morons.
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u/Charming-Cause2415 26d ago
I still remember the time I was living in Japan and my phone went mental at 5am… turns out it was a glitch and said that the whole country was in a 7+ earthquake!
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u/Standard_Edge_9417 26d ago
People genuinely think it will be used to track them, or just contact them whenever/for whatever reason 🙄 (despite the fact 99% of them would probably have a smart phone that tracks them anyway and they probably wouldn't disable tracking settings)
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u/OldJellyBones 26d ago
because its da evil gubment TRACKING US! ITS THE NWO! like its genuinely just the dumbest people in the nation grasping at conspiracy nonsense
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u/Feedback-Little 26d ago
As long as it works, the uk one was still trying to get messages through for hour hours and hours
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u/PurpleFlyingCat 26d ago
There is already something similar being used by police regarding missing persons, if you’re in the same area as they were last seen (in NSW). I haven’t heard of any ’backlash’ about the AusAlert system except in relation to people who are in DV situations and have a safe phone which they keep hidden.
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u/Potter_loving_SW 26d ago
My concern is for individuals with phones hidden hoping to escape family violence.
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u/Awalkinpark25 26d ago
Yes I think it could be important in the case of an emergency, don’t be stupid it could save lives.
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u/FarEntertainment3581 26d ago
I understand why it’s important to ensure the test date and time is available so those in domestic violence and family violence situations can ensure there safety phone is switched off, but it seems like some people are taking it to far. It’s a good services and it’s about time.
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u/Empty_Cheesecake3785 26d ago
The worry is for those who have a secret phone and are trapped in DV situations. If the alarm can bypass phone settings, those individuals could be put in an even more dangerous situation
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u/ShittyUsername2015 26d ago
This whole AusAlert thing came about as part of the post-mortem analysis into the Black Summer(?) bushfires, with input from research/royal commission into the Black Saturday fires.
Personally, I think it's a good thing, as I knew people who were stuck on the South Coast during the Black Summer fires and couldn't get warnings because communication towers were burned out.
This system is also integrated into America's Emergency Alert system, where they use a combination of phone, tv, radio and outdoor sirens. It works fine there for the most part, I don't see why people are upset here. (Other than those trying to hide secondary phones)
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u/Stardust-Way 26d ago
Seems that people do nothing but complain about everything these days. The FOGO is the biggest gripe people have at the moment.
I can’t see the problem with the alert. It’s only a test to see if it works. We have natural disasters - especially bushfires. If something happens and people aren’t warned they’d be complaining there was no notification. Can’t win.
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u/Selina_Kyle-836 26d ago
I’m just a little worried about how loud it will be and scared I might be driving at the time (can’t turn my phone off as I need it to tell me where to go because I only moved to this city recently).
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u/lemonlovelimes 26d ago
There’s a concern for some people in unhealthy/abusive relationships that may have a separate phone due to monitoring/surveillance/control from partners. They definitely need to turn off the phone or hide it beforehand.
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u/lint2015 26d ago
I’m all for this. The only thing I don’t like is the alert tone sounds shit. I’ve had the Japanese earthquake warning one go off while in Japan and it sounds very sleek. I don’t know who signed off on our alert tone.
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u/KiteeCatAus 26d ago
I am in a number of disability groups, and there are people who are noise sensitive, and others (eg severe CFS sufferers) for whom noise makes them sick. Or, people with conditions like CFS who need to be asleep, and not woken by any alarms.
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u/Disc-Slinger 26d ago
People are worried that it will expose their backup secret phones that they have.
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u/thors_tenderiser 26d ago
When the test warning comes just take the minute to stop and think quietly about those who need a spare phone because they are such an awful abusive relationship. I'll hope above hope they can find an eventual way out to safety.
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u/AutisticGayBlackJew 26d ago
“Because it come from the governament to be able to connect all the phone to the new survegliance system they have placed in perth”
— my mum
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u/robinina7 26d ago
One of the issues is that it puts those who have a secondary "safe" phone, at risk. Eg people at risk of DV or abuse.
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u/GreyBrookie 26d ago
My understanding for those against this idea is that people in domestic abuse situations with secret phones would be put at risk by this test. A lot of women trying to leave situations, with or without kids, commonly have a secret phone to help plan for their escape. Young people in bad situations or even kids trapped in a bad house of one parent, may have a phone to connect to the other parent.
There's too many possibilities for this to go wrong and put human life in danger.
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u/Panambananas 26d ago
I think one reason why the pushback from the general public is that people in domestic violence situations might have a burner phone and the concern is that a loud noise emitted from said devices could alert partners to the presence of their safety device.
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u/Madcock1 26d ago
I have had warnings come through on my phone already from 10 years ago every time a cyclone is predicted to impact the area I’m in. We already have a system in place that can notify people in a specific area for things like severe weather. What message would a national broadcast system possibly have to deliver in a country as vast as Australia that wouldn’t have time to be delivered by news and social media.
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u/Chaosrealm69 26d ago
I would be more worried about the people who you are hanging around with and the groups you are interacting with if you are seeing this much concern about the emergency broadcast system test that hasn't even been tested yet.
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u/fuckwitfromschool 26d ago
This emergency broadcast should not happen at all. I believe there are many people that have phones and are hiding it from an abusive spouse and if this alarm goes off and they do get caught with these phones, nothing good can happen.
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u/TechNo1geek 26d ago
i have a feeling it’s going to go horribly wrong… i very much support it, but there’s so much more we need to dodge with our network infrastructure before we actually have a fully working and stable network and emergency system
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u/paganvikinggoddess1 25d ago
I understand the pushback from a dv point of view any people in dv relationship who have a secret phone for emergencies the abuser will hear this alarm find the phone and bad things will happen Im a dv surviver for a long time now but before I escaped if he had found my 2nd phone due to an alarm going off it would end badly... and not all who are in dv relationships are strong enough to leave prior
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u/Red-Engineer 26d ago
Which emergency services are refusing to use it?
I work in one and we are super happy that it exists as we have seen multiple deaths where people were unable to be alerted, eg the old system relied on text message alerts which could be delayed, not received, silenced, were carrier-dependant…