![\"Video](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1785116650_672_Video_of_the_AusAlert_test--b057d3fa-a01a-429c-9235-7ba9f02f9ed8-1.0.0000000.jpg\")
Video of the AusAlert test<\/p>\nVirtually every phone in the country will blare an emergency siren at 2pm AEST on Monday 27 July as part of the first Australia-wide test of a new national warning system called AusAlert.<\/p>\n
Most phones, and some smartwatches and tablets, will receive a pop-up notification and an alert sound that cannot be silenced \u2013 even if your device is on \u201cdo not disturb\u201d or silent mode.<\/p>\n
What is AusAlert?<\/p>\n
AusAlert is Australia\u2019s new national warning system, which will send emergency messages to mobile devices during local and widespread disasters.<\/p>\n
Authorities currently use SMS texts to alert people about safety information. The new system will instead send a mass broadcast via mobile phone towers, with an alert popping up on devices, similar to a phone notification.<\/p>\n
It will launch nationally in October, months after the national alert test.<\/p>\n
What will happen during the national test?<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Monday 27 July 2026, a test alert will be sent to all mobile devices in Australia. This includes most phones, and some smart watches and tablets,\u201d the National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) advises.<\/p>\n
Users will hear a siren and see a pop-up notification on their phone, which will look different depending on the device, but with text including \u201cTEST MESSAGE\u201d and \u201cNO ACTION IS REQUIRED\u201d.<\/p>\n
Video of the AusAlert test<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat people should expect to hear is a siren that will last for about 10 seconds,\u201d said Pat Hetherington, the interim coordinator general at Nema.<\/p>\n
He said it would be \u201cloud enough to get people\u2019s attention\u201d but quieter than a fire alarm.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be noticeable, but it won\u2019t won\u2019t be too over the top.\u201d<\/p>\n
What time is the AusAlert test around Australia?<\/p>\n
There have been local tests, but Monday will be the first nationwide test, occurring at 2pm AEST, which is:<\/p>\n
2pm for New South Wales, Victoria, the ACT, Queensland and Tasmania.<\/p>\n
1.30pm in the Northern Territory and South Australia.<\/p>\n
12pm in Western Australia.<\/p>\n
Why is the AusAlert emergency warning system test needed?<\/p>\n
Hetherington said AusAlert came from a recommendation of the royal commission into the 2019-20 black summer bushfires, which called for a nationally consistent warning system.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe existing system is based on standard SMS capability, and throughout a series of emergencies and disasters, that system has had real latency in terms of people receiving the messages,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou [could] get network congestion, text messages may not come through in a timely way \u2026 or come through at all, dependent upon who your provider is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kristy McBain, the federal emergency management minister whose electorate of Eden-Monaro was hit by the black summer bushfires, said some people in her area didn\u2019t receive emergency text alerts during that disaster because their phone provider was unavailable.<\/p>\n
The new system allows nationwide alerts as well as localised \u201cgeofenced\u201d alerts such as for floods or even warnings to boil water in emergency situations.<\/p>\n
The emergency services minister, Kristy McBain, says the AusAlert is \u2018far superior\u2019 to current warning systems. Photograph: James Ross\/AAP<\/p>\n
McBain said AusAlert was a \u201cfar superior\u201d system and would reach \u201cmore people in a more timely manner\u201d than current warning systems used by state governments. Existing systems will still be used in future, with McBain describing AusAlert as \u201canother tool in the toolkit\u201d.<\/p>\n
Will every phone ring or make a sound during the alert test at 2pm AEST?<\/p>\n
Essentially, yes. Hetherington said phones made after 2019 should receive the alert, but some older phones may not.<\/p>\n
The alert will come through on all compatible devices even if you are on a call, or if the phone is on silent. Nema has advice that about 80% of Apple iPhones will ring, and some 16m Android devices.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only way to not receive a critical alert is to turn your mobile device off or switch it to \u2018airplane mode\u2019,\u201d Nema advised.<\/p>\n
The agency said the alert will go to:<\/p>\n
iPhone models 11 and up running iOS 26.4 or later.<\/p>\n
Apple Watch models SE2, SE3, Series 6 and up running watchOS 26.4 or later.<\/p>\n
Android devices running Android 12 or later.<\/p>\n
Older Androids, or those not using iOS or Android \u201cmight still receive AusAlerts\u201d, Nema said, but Apple iPads will not.<\/p>\n
Hetherington and Nema\u2019s deputy coordinator general, Katarina Carroll, said the agency had engaged with \u201cthousands\u201d of groups including schools, businesses and even funeral associations to warn of the alert test.<\/p>\n
They said it was important to run the test during an \u201cordinary\u201d time of day so people knew what to expect in future.<\/p>\n
But noting some people may find it inconvenient to have a loud siren ring alert, such as during an important meeting or a funeral, Hetherington and Carroll said \u201cif you have your phone off an hour before and an hour after [2pm AEST], we\u2019re confident you won\u2019t receive that message\u201d.<\/p>\n
Other countries around the world have had problems in testing or using such systems, with alerts delayed or not arriving at all. Nema said it had \u201clearned a lot\u201d from tests around the world and it was well prepared for Monday.<\/p>\n
What about \u2018safe phones\u2019 for those experiencing domestic and family violence?<\/p>\n
Domestic and family violence advocates have raised concerns about the risk of the alert exposing \u201csafe phones\u201d, or devices kept hidden for safety reasons by those experiencing violence.<\/p>\n