The AusAlert national emergency alert test sounded across parks, libraries, cinemas and homes throughout Australia on Monday at about 2pm AEST, though the alert reached some devices only briefly while others received no notification at all, according to the Guardian. Almost every phone in the country, along with some smartwatches and tablets, was expected to emit a loud sound and display a pop-up notification reading “TEST MESSAGE” and “NO ACTION IS REQUIRED.”
The test marked the first nationwide trial of AusAlert, a new warning system due to be deployed in October to alert Australians to fires, floods, terrorist incidents or health emergencies. The federal government had spent the preceding week publicising the test ahead of Monday’s rollout, the Guardian reported.
Reactions varied widely. Indigo Miller, working from home in Canberra, said the alert was “pretty anti-climactic” and that she accidentally dismissed the notification, adding that the sound was not loud enough for her to have noticed it had she been outside while her phone remained indoors. Busker Dani Bainbridge, preparing to perform at Sydney’s Hyde Park, said the alert “did the job,” according to the Guardian.
Guardian Australia received reports of some mobile users whose phones displayed a notification without producing a sound, as well as reports of an iPhone 15 Pro, an iPhone 17 Pro, an iPhone 12, a Samsung device and other phones that were switched on but did not receive any alert at all.
Ahead of the test, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had advised that approximately 80% of Apple iPhones would ring, alongside 16 million Android devices. The agency said the alert was designed to reach iPhone models 11 and above running iOS 26.4 or later, Apple Watch models SE2, SE3 and Series 6 and up running watchOS 26.4 or later, and Android devices running Android 12 or later, according to the Guardian.
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, adding that NEMA would continue to analyse technical and performance data and engage with emergency service organisations around the country.
Asked whether the system would ever achieve complete success, McBain said “there is no one avenue of communication that is 100% successful,” while noting the new technology was more reliable than the existing text-based alert system. She described AusAlert as “just another tool in the toolkit for emergency service agencies.”
Ahead of the test, domestic and family violence advocates had raised concerns about the risk of the alert exposing “safe phones” used by people in unsafe situations, urging affected individuals to keep such devices hidden. AusAlert interim coordinator general Pat Hetherington said the advice for people with safe or hidden phones was to switch them off for a 24-hour period surrounding the test, according to the Guardian.
Businesses and members of the public responded to the test in different ways. Cinema staff instructed patrons who had purchased tickets to an IMAX screening of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey in Sydney to switch off their phones ahead of the 1.50pm session, though some alerts still sounded during pre-film advertisements, according to people present in the theatre. At the State Library of NSW, the alert briefly interrupted the usual quiet, drawing attention from students studying for exams, including one who was reported to have been dozing at his laptop before the sound roused him. Further details on the technical rollout and ongoing evaluation of the AusAlert national emergency alert test are available through NEMA.</p
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