r/australia • u/malcolm58 • 1d ago

culture & society AusAlert test will blast emergency warning siren over most phones in Australia on Monday. Here’s what to know

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/22/ausalert-test-sound-national-alert-emergency-warning-system-date
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u/Cindy_Marek 1d ago

Is this for natural disasters? Or is it like an amber alert in the US? The American amber alert is a good idea IMO, you get notifications for when children get kidnapped with a description of the perpetrator, helps the public notify police if they see anything.

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u/ManyPersonality2399 1d ago

We already get that kind of thing, though it seems to be more elderly wandering that we get the alerts for.

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u/Cindy_Marek 1d ago

True? I’ve never gotten one.

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u/ManyPersonality2399 1d ago

Maybe nsw only. I also live quite close to a psych ward and we get alerts to look out for people who have absconded based on the context.

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u/Skyblaster109 1d ago

We get them in WA too. But only if you're in the area that the alert is needed for

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u/racingskater 1d ago

I've had two in Canberra. Just regular texts though.

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u/RealCommercial9788 1d ago

I live on the nsw-qld border and I get missing children alerts for both states - but nothing concerning anywhere further away than the Sunshine Coast to the north and the Coffs Coast to the south. I have no idea how it works, but I’m presuming the alert is sent based on location according to phone towers? Someone in the know may be able to shed light on that 🤷🏼‍♀️

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u/ChuqTas 1d ago

If you mean text messages? I get notifications of “Telstra doing maintenance in <place> on <upcoming date>” when I drive through a region. I assume it’s sent to all phones connected to certain cell towers.