Today, every single smartphone will sound the same alarm. Here’s what to expect.
Over the weekend, it was revealed that Australia would get its first taste of a brand-new emergency warning system.
Today, every single smartphone and smart device will notify users simultaneously.
But what’s it all for?
AusAlert is the federal government’s new nationwide warning system, which will launch in October.
Following the 2020 Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, development of the AusAlert system began.
In the event of future cyclones, floods, bushfires, biosecurity outbreaks, acts of terrorism or health emergencies, such as pandemics, the AusAlert notification will be used within 160 metres of the impacted area.
Today is the first time the system will be tested on a nationwide scale.
Here are the times to expect the alert:
2pm AEST
New South Wales
Victoria
Queensland
Tasmania
1:30pm ACST
South Australia
Northern Territory
12pm AWST
Western Australia
At these times, the test alert message will pop up on screens while producing a 10-second warning noise, along with device vibration.
It will sound something like this:
The noise and alert will occur regardless of whether your device is set to silent or ‘Do Not Disturb’.
But what if you’re not connected to Wi-Fi?
The system’s cell broadcast technology ensures that notifications will still alert devices, even if they do not have a SIM card.
For all the tinfoil enthusiasts out there, the alert is a one-way system that only sends a message outward. The government is not tracking every device.
Another, more legitimate, concern has been raised regarding ‘safe phones’ used in family and domestic violence situations.
A safe device can avoid the AusAlert notification if it has been switched to aeroplane mode or turned off completely.
ABC News has even offered the public an exclusive timer, ticking down to the moment every smartphone will buzz with the same foreboding analogue siren.
Today, Australia takes a historic step forward in national security.
