Australia's AusAlert system went live on 1 October, following its nationwide test in July. AusAlert is set to become a vital part of Australia's emergency warning systems, allowing the federal government and emergency services organisations to send alerts to compatible mobile devices. No registration or app is required to receive an alert during a disaster or emergency, with everyone near the area affected by the emergency to receive an alert if they have a compatible mobile device - including visitors to the area and people using 'roaming' on their devices. AusAlert will eventually replace the existing SMS-based alert system, Emergency Alert. As occurred for many people during the July test, in an emergency an AusAlert may be sent to mobile devices, which may vibrate and make a siren-like sound for about 10 seconds. The alert may contain information such as the type of emergency, where it is, how serious it is, actions that need to be taken, where more information can be found, and the name of the organisation sending the message. It's important not to wait to receive an AusAlert before acting in a disaster - people must still prepare themselves and have an action plan. Professor Daswin de Silva, La Trobe University's professor of AI and analytics and director of AI strategy, said AusAlert was likely to face its first sustained operational use within weeks of its launch, as Australia entered a period of elevated emergency risk due to a predicted El Nino event. "This period of operational use could provide substantial evidence on AusAlert's performance, which is currently limited to the results of network-level testing," Professor de Silva said. "The only published evaluation is from the national test of 27 July, in which the reported metric was that 94 per cent of mobile cell towers across Australia successfully broadcast the test alert. "This highly aggregated metric at the network level doesn't provide clarity on how many people received and understood the alert or took appropriate action. "Existing warning systems are likely to remain necessary as part of a multi-channel approach that addresses gaps at both network and recipient levels."
