New money will be spent upgrading Australia’s emergency warning SMS system. 

The Australian government is allocating over $10 million to upgrade emergency warnings and improve interstate communication for first responders. 

The new National Messaging System will replace the current SMS system, which often becomes overloaded during emergencies, resulting in delayed messages. 

The new system will allow state and territory governments to instantly message all mobiles in a defined area, regardless of the service provider, with messages being sent in multiple languages. 

The alerts will appear as notifications that temporarily override the device to prevent them from being overlooked or dismissed. 

The technology will also send prioritised warnings and mitigate the spread of misinformation during disasters.

According to Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt, the new system will improve safety and limit damage to infrastructure. 

“During a fire, flood or cyclone we know every second is critical, so by giving residents and first responders more warning, we can give people the best chance possible,” Mr Watt said. 

In addition, the Albanese government is allocating $10.1 million dollars establishing a task force to improve progress on the Public Safety Mobile Broadband system. T

his system will allow for the sharing of live location information, video and photos between services and states on a secure network, replacing the current, outdated system as soon as possible.

Mr Watt insists that the new national model will replace the current separate voice or radio network used by each state and territory emergency service agency, making communication between services and states easier. 

The national secure communications system for emergency services was a key recommendation of the 2020 Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements.

“I think it is very strange in this day and age that different states have different communications systems,” he said. 

“That of course becomes a big problem when we've got bushfires and other events that span different state borders and when we've got volunteers helping out in other states and not able to communicate with each other.”

The new system will be jointly developed and implemented by Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland over the next 18 months, before it becomes operational late next year.