On Monday 27 July 2026 at 2pm AEST, virtually every phone in Australia will blare an emergency siren as part of the first nationwide test of a new national warning system called AusAlert. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
Most phones, and some smartwatches and tablets, will receive a pop-up notification and an alert sound that cannot be silenced, even if the device is on "do not disturb" or silent mode. According to Pat Hetherington, interim coordinator general at the National Emergency Management Agency (Nema), the siren will last about 10 seconds and will be "loud enough to get people's attention" but quieter than a fire alarm.
About the system
AusAlert is Australia's new national warning system, which will send emergency messages to mobile devices during local and widespread disasters. Authorities currently use SMS texts, but the new system will send a mass broadcast via mobile phone towers, similar to a phone notification. It will launch nationally in October.
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. "The 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," he said. "You [could] get network congestion, text messages may not come through in a timely way … or come through at all, dependent upon who your provider is."
Test time
The test will occur at 2pm AEST on Monday 27 July, which is: - 2pm for New South Wales, Victoria, the ACT, Queensland and Tasmania. - 1.30pm in the Northern Territory and South Australia.
Device compatibility
Phones made after 2019 should receive the alert, but some older phones may not. Nema advises that about 80% of Apple iPhones will ring, and some 16 million Android devices. The only way to not receive a critical alert is to turn the device off or switch it to 'airplane mode'.
Compatible devices: - iPhone models 11 and up running iOS 26.4 or later. - Apple Watch models SE2, SE3, Series 6 and up running watchOS 26.4 or later. - Android devices running Android 12 or later.
Older Androids, or those not using iOS or Android "might still receive AusAlerts", Nema said, but Apple iPads will not.
Safety concerns
The system will prepare Australians for fires, floods, terrorist incidents or health emergencies, but it has raised questions about regional access and the risk it poses to women and children experiencing domestic and family violence. Domestic violence advocates have advised how to turn off safe phones.
Federal emergency management minister Kristy McBain, whose electorate of Eden-Monaro was hit by the black summer bushfires, said AusAlert was a "far superior" system and would reach "more people in a more timely manner" than current warning systems. Existing systems will still be used, with McBain describing AusAlert as "another tool in the toolkit".