As the Higher Risk Weather Season begins, severe weather events are forecast to be more likely across Australia due to warmer than average sea surface temperatures and dry conditions, low soil moisture and the availability of fire fuels.
The Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council's Seasonal Bushfire Outlook for Spring 2026 has identified a heightened risk of fire across parts of New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
And a strong El Niño, likely to peak in late spring or summer, is expected to increase the frequency or intensity of storms and heavy rainfall in coastal areas.
To help keep Australians safe this Higher Risk Weather Season, two new tools have been added to our preparedness toolkit – our new national messaging system AusAlert and Temporary Disaster Roaming.
AusAlert uses the latest technology to send emergency messages directly to compatible mobile devices during local and national emergencies, helping keep Australians informed and safe when it matters most.
During the Higher Risk Weather Season, jurisdictions will be able to use both AusAlert and their existing warning systems, ensuring continuity while the new capability is progressively adopted.
Temporary Disaster Roaming (TDR) is a capability that may allow your phone to connect to another available mobile network during a natural disaster when your usual network isn’t working, provided it is safe to do so, and the network can support the additional demand.
TDR will help keep regional and remote Australians safe, informed, and connected should natural disasters cause mobile network outages.
Used alongside other existing communications methods, such as radio, social media and other agency communications tools, AusAlert and Temporary Disaster Roaming will help provide timely and relevant information and keep people connected during emergencies.
As we enter the Higher Risk Weather Season, Australians are being reminded to take a few simple steps to be prepared:
- Pack an emergency kit with essential supplies.
- Create an evacuation plan and discuss it with your household.
- Turn on alerts and check warnings by following the @Bureau of Meteorology.
- Enable notifications in your local emergency service apps.
- Save your local ABC Emergency radio frequency and visit
www.abc.net.au/emergency for emergency information.
Being prepared and staying informed can make all the difference when severe weather strikes.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain:
“This Higher Risk Weather Season will see a number of risk factors combine to increase the likelihood of severe weather events across most states and territories.
“The Albanese Government is continuing to implement new capabilities to help keep Australians safe and provide more ways for regional and remote Australians to stay connected during natural disasters.
“AusAlert is now active and has been designed to ensure communities receive timely warnings regardless of their mobile provider. This capability will be particularly important during fast-moving emergencies, such as bushfires, where every minute counts.
“I’m also pleased that Australia’s mobile network operators have activated Temporary Disaster Roaming to allow people whose usual mobile network is unavailable, to make calls, send texts, and access basic data via another available network.
“These important tools will help keep people safe as we enter another difficult Higher Risk Weather Season.”
