The Emergency Alert system was introduced in December 2009 following the Victoria bushfires. It is a communications tool used by the emergency services to inform people of potential risks, direct them to seek further information from a radio or website, and provide advice on what to do. The EA system, which was developed with funding from the Commonwealth Government allows States and Territories to send voice warnings to landlines and text warnings to mobile phones based on the customer’s registered addresses.

The review of Emergency Alert was commissioned by the South Australian Government on behalf of the States and Territories, using Commonwealth funding.