24 September 2018
A test of the Emergency Alert system will take place today to a targeted number of landlines in the Macedon Ranges as part of routine testing of the technology used for automatic calls to landline phones.
Emergency Alert is a national telephone warning system to alert and inform people of impending emergencies. It is used by emergency services to send voice messages to landlines and text messages to mobile phones within a defined area about likely or actual emergencies.
Today’s Emergency Alert test campaign is short and targeted and will capture around 238 landlines within a designated area in Mt Macedon.
The test involves a voice component only and residents in the area will not receive text messages to their mobile phones.
Calls to landlines will rollout from 11am and continue for approximately one hour. Residents within the targeted area will hear the message – “This is an Emergency Alert test message. No further action or response is required”.
The designated test area has been carefully managed to exclude schools, early learning centres, aged care facilities, hospitals, emergency services and other essential services to minimise disruptions.
The test of the Emergency Alert should conclude by approximately 12pm and landlines in the designated area should not receive test calls beyond this time.
The department acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Custodians of the land and acknowledges and pays respect to their Elders, past and present.