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Notifications FAQs

An Alert SA notification is a message sent by the Alert SA mobile app to keep users informed about hazards and emergency information that affect their selected Watch Zones.

You will receive warning notifications for hazards affecting your Watch Zones. You can also choose to receive notifications for:

  1. Fire
  2. Flood
  3. Severe weather
  4. Hazardous materials
  5. Tree down incidents
  6. Sandbags
  7. Emergency Relief and Recovery Centre Locations

  • Users create one or more Watch Zones in areas they want to monitor.
  • The app sends notifications when an incident or warning affects those Watch Zones.
  • Users can customise which incident notifications they receive.
  • Warning notifications for hazards affecting a Watch Zone are automatically delivered to help keep people informed of potential danger.

Tailoring your notification preferences helps you receive the alerts that matter most to you.

When creating a Watch Zone, you can choose which types of incidents you want to be notified about. This helps you stay informed about hazards that are important to you while reducing notifications you may not need.

Each Watch Zone can have its own notification settings, allowing you to personalise alerts for different locations.

  1. Create a Watch Zone (see "How do I create a Watch Zone?").
  2. Use the toggle buttons to choose which incident notifications you want to receive for that Watch Zone.
  3. A blue toggle means notifications are on.
  4. A grey toggle means notifications are off

You can update your notification preferences at any time by editing your Watch Zone.

There are a few reasons why you may not be receiving notifications:

  1. You do not have any Watch Zones set up.Try: Creating a Watch Zone (see "How do I create a Watch Zone?").
  2. The incident or warning is outside your Watch Zone.Try: Increasing the size of your Watch Zone or creating another Watch Zone for a different area.
  3. Notifications are turned off on your device.
    Try: Checking your device settings and allowing notifications for the Alert SA app.
  4. Your Watch Zone notification preferences are turned off for that type of incident.
    Try: Reviewing your Watch Zone settings and turning on notifications for the incident types you want to receive.

A cross-border notification alerts you to fire warnings that occur near South Australia's borders.

To receive cross-border notifications, your Watch Zone must extend across the border into the neighbouring state or territory.

This helps you stay informed about fires that may affect areas close to where you live, work, or travel.

  1. Create a Watch Zone near a South Australian border.
  2. Make sure your Watch Zone extends across the border into the neighbouring state or territory.
  3. Save your Watch Zone.

You will then receive fire warning notifications for incidents within 100 km of South Australia's borders that fall within your Watch Zone.

To turn Critical Alerts on:

  • You can turn them on during the Alert SA app setup.
  • If you skipped this step, go to your phone's Settings, select Alert SA, and turn on Critical Alerts.

To turn Critical Alerts off:

  • Go to your phone's Settings.
  • Select Alert SA and turn off Critical Alerts.

We recommend keeping Critical Alerts turned on so you can receive important emergency warnings, even when your phone is on silent or Do Not Disturb mode.

The Notification Sound feature lets you choose how Alert SA notifications sound on your device.

You can choose from:

  • A longer Alert SA sound
  • A shorter Alert SA sound
  • Your phone's default notification sound

Available options may vary depending on your device and app version

Yes. You can choose from available Alert SA notification sounds, including your device's default sound.

You can find the Notification Sound feature by going to:

More → Settings → Notification Sound

From there, choose the notification sound you would like Alert SA to use.

Yes. If Critical Alerts are turned on, Emergency Warnings can still make a sound even when your phone is on silent or Do Not Disturb mode.