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TasALERT Terms of Use

By using and accessing the TasALERT App, you agree to these Terms of Use, including the privacy statement and any disclaimers.

1.    Do not rely upon this Application alone

  • a.) In emergency circumstances, you should not rely on any single source of information. You should seek information from as many sources as possible, including ABC local radio, television, Facebook and Twitter channels and this Application.

2.    Privacy

  • a.) This Application may be used anonymously. However, in order to access and use the full features of this Application, some personal information is required of you.

3.    Use and disclosure of personal information

  • a.) Any personal information that this Application collects will be used by and disclosed to Tasmanian Government employees or contractors whose duties require them to use it in operation of the Application. Such employees and contractors are required to protect and handle your personal information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act 2004.
  • b.) When you create a TasALERT account via a third party provider, such as Google, Facebook, or Apple, we only collect your email address. This information is used for the following purposes:
    • i.) To authenticate your identity and allow you to log in to the application.
    • ii.) To communicate with you about your account and provide customer support.
    • iii.) To notify you when Incidents or Warnings match your defined Watch Zones.
  • c.) If an error occurs during your use of the application we may log diagnostic data, including but not limited to device type and operating system, in order to improve the application.
  • d.) We are unable to prevent other people from providing your personal information to this Application. However, you are entitled to access, correct and delete any personal information about you that is collected by this Application.
  • e.) You should also be aware that there are risks in transmitting information across the internet. However, we will take reasonable steps to protect any personal information from unauthorised access once that personal information comes into our possession.
  • f.) If you have any further questions in relation to the handling of the information that we may collect about you or would like access to that information, please refer to our Personal Information Protection Statement available from the TasALERT website, TasALERT.com.

4.    Disclaimer

  • a.) This Application is made available for information purposes.
  • b.) All text, graphics, video, information, designs, data and other content available through or arising from this Application (Content) is provided to you for general information only. You understand and agree that the Content is not comprehensive, does not constitute advice and has not taken into account your specific circumstances. You understand and agree that your use of the Content is solely at your own risk.
  • c.) We have taken reasonable care to ensure that the Content is correct and current at the time of publication. However, we make no warranty, either express or implied, concerning the suitability, reliability, availability, timeliness or accuracy of the Content for any purpose.
  • d.) You understand and acknowledge that the internet is not a secure medium and communications to and from this site may be intercepted or altered in transit. To the extent permitted by law, we make no representation or warranty, either express or implied, that this site will be free from viruses or any other security threats that may damage any electronic device used to access this site.
  • e.) The Content has been created by many different government agencies and third parties and we do not represent or warrant that any of the Content is accurate, authentic or complete, or suitable for your needs. Changes in circumstances after the time of publication may affect the accuracy of the Content.
  • f.) We recommend that you exercise your own skill and care with respect to your use of this Application and that you carefully evaluate the accuracy, currency, completeness and relevance of the Content for your purposes and circumstances, including any and all data.

5.    Warnings and information for your current location

  • a.) In order to provide you with warnings and information about incidents relevant to your current location, this Application will collect some information about you, including information about your location if you have chosen to activate location services.

6.    Creating a Watch Zone for a specified geographical area

  • a.) This Application requires users who are setting up a Watch Zone to create a user profile, which requires you to enter your first and second names, a password and your email address. Up to 10 separate Watch Zones can be set up for each user profile.
  • b.) The purpose for collecting this personal information is to enable you to access and modify your Watch Zones from multiple electronic devices. This information may also be used to advise you through targeted social media advertising about upgrades to the Application and other important information related to the Application’s use and operation.
  • c.) Your personal information is not collected for the purposes of identifying your location at a particular point in time. However, in naming your Watch Zones, such as after places you reside, work, or frequent, you may be inadvertently providing additional identifying information about yourself. Therefore, you may want to consider whether to use identifying terms such as ‘home’, ‘work’, or ‘parents’ when naming your Watch Zones.

7.    Shared use

  • a.) If you create a user profile that you intend to be accessed and used by other users, such as family members, friends or employees, be aware that all users will have the capacity to amend or delete any of the existing settings. You may therefore wish to formalise with other intended users, your own conditions of use in relation to how they may use the Application when accessing it through a user profile you have created.
  • b.) We take no responsibility for any changes to your user profile settings made by other users, whether or not you have given the user permission to access the Application via that particular user profile.          

8.    Liability

  • a.) To the full extent permitted by law, the Crown and its officers, employees and agents will not be liable to you for any loss, loss of profits, loss of use, loss of contracts, loss of sales or damages from failure to supply services, or for any indirect, economic, special or consequential damages arising out of, or in connection with or resulting from your use of or reliance upon the information in this Application, or your reliance upon the availability of such information at any time, regardless of whether liability is based on a tort (including negligence), breach of contract, warranty, statute, or any other basis of liability.
  • b.) This clause does not attempt or purport to exclude liability arising under statute to the extent that such liability cannot be lawfully excluded.

9.    Links to external websites

  • a.) This Application contains hyperlinks to pages contained on external websites. We have no control over the content of any linked websites or the changes that may occur on those sites. It is your responsibility to make your decisions about the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of information contained in linked external websites.
  • b.) Unless otherwise indicated, we:
    • i.) do not endorse or verify the accuracy of information on any external website; and
    • ii.) does not accept any responsibility for the condition or content of any linked website or for the operation or function of any service or facility offered on any  such external website.

Frequently Asked Questions

General

To contact the TasALERT team for support, please email info@alert.tas.gov.au and the team will help you.

If you find an error with the TasALERT map on the website or app, please email info@alert.tas.gov.au and the team will help to get the issue fixed.

The Bureau of Meteorology ‘Severe Weather Warnings’ and ‘Coastal Hazard Warnings’ are published as incidents on the TasALERT website and app because they are a forecast. A forecast means they are a prediction of what is going to happen.

The Australian Warning System (AWS) is a new national approach to information and  warnings during emergencies like bushfire, flood, storm, extreme heat and severe weather. In Tasmania, the AWS applies to bushfire and flood.

TasALERT publishes emergency information and warnings from the following agencies and departments:

TasALERT publishes emergency information and warnings in real-time, so you know what to do during an emergency.

TasALERT also has information to help you prepare for an emergency:

  • Get Ready provides practical information to help you prepare for a number of hazards.
  • RiskReady is a tool which shows you what natural hazard risks impact your property.
  • The Insurance Checkup tool helps the community to understand how to find the right level and type of insurance.
  • Defend your Data provides simple steps you can take to defend your data.

TasALERT also has a section called TasRECOVERY. TasRECOVERY provides information to help you recover from an emergency. When an emergency occurs, a page with recovery information specific to that emergency will appear on TasRECOVERY. You can also read general recovery information across a number of areas so you know what to do when recovering from an emergency.  

Yes. It is important to stay up to date with what is happening around you. You should use more than one source for emergency information and warnings.

You can get information by:

  • tuning into ABC local radio
  • tuning into other emergency broadcasters including commercial and community radio or Sky TV
  • downloading the TasALERT App
  • visiting the TasALERT.com website
  • following TasALERT on Facebook and X (Twitter)
  • following official sources on social media such as ABC, Tasmania Fire Service, Tasmania State Emergency Service, Tasmania Police, the Bureau of Meteorology and others.
  • checking in with family and friends.

Technology might fail and as part of your emergency plan it is important to know where you can get emergency information and warnings if you don’t have access to internet or mobile phone coverage.

No, the Tasmania Fire Service now publish their warnings on TasALERT.

The TasALERT website was redeveloped in 2022 and became the home of the Tasmania Fire Service warnings and incidents. All the bushfire warnings, smoke alerts and fuel reduction burn notifications that appeared on the Tasmania Fire Service website are published on the TasALERT website and app.  

You will need permission from the TasALERT team to access the data feeds. Email info@alert.tas.gov.au to request access.

Warnings and incidents are issued by emergency services to provide information to the community. They will display on the app in both a list and map form. Both warnings and incidents will display the date and time they were first issued and last updated. They can be updated a number of times a day or as the situation changes.

Warnings and incidents are issued by emergency services to provide information to the community.

An incident is the initial occurrence of an event before it becomes a warning. As soon as an incident is reported, TasALERT publishes information including the type and location of incident. Some incidents will have more information than others and some incidents may last a long time.

A warning will be issued containing further information if the community are required to take action.

Be aware that a warning is not needed or issued for every incident.

You can go to the Know your warnings page on TasALERT which explains what each of the warnings mean.

You can also go to the Know your map icons page which explains what each of the icons on the map mean.

The TasALERT Resources page links to the Tasmania Fire Service website which displays the Australian Fire Danger Rating System.

The TasALERT Resources page links to the Tasmania Fire Service website which explains the Australian Fire Danger Rating System.

TasALERT Website

Yes, TasALERT has been built to the highest possible strength and has multi-region hosting.

While multi-region hosting strengthens the TasALERT website, it does not make TasALERT free from networking disruptions. You should use TasALERT with other sources of emergency information and warnings including:

  • tuning into ABC local radio
  • tuning into other emergency broadcasters including commercial and community radio or Sky TV
  • downloading the TasALERT app
  • visiting the TasALERT.com website
  • following TasALERT on Facebook and X (Twitter)
  • following official sources on social media such as ABC, Tasmania Fire Service, Tasmania State Emergency Service, Tasmania Police, the Bureau of Meteorology and others.
  • checking in with family and friends.

No, you can only view warnings, incidents, and information on the website. If you would like to receive warning and incident notifications, you will need to download the TasALERT App.

To view registered burns/permits and total fire bans on the website:

  1. Select ‘map settings’.
  2. Turn on ‘Permits/Registered Burns’.
  3. Select ‘Filter’.
  4. Close the map settings page.

The website was created to have a clean map with a little information on there, so when a warning or incident occurs you can clearly see what is happening. That is why users will need to turn on additional useful information such in the map layers on each time they visit the website.

No, the website does not automatically update. Users will need to refresh the page to make sure they are viewing current warnings, incidents, and information.

In the bottom left-hand corner of the home page, there is a small icon that tells you if you are ‘online’ or ‘offline’.

When you hover over this icon, it will tell if you are viewing the latest version of the TasALERT homepage or whether you are 'not connected'.

There are two ways to find where you are.

Search bar:

  1. Enter your address in the search bar.
  2. Select your address or hit enter. The map will zoom into your location.

Locate me:

  1. Select the ‘Locate me’ button.
  2. You might need to allow TasALERT to use your location. Select ‘Allow’.
  3. The map will zoom into your location.

TasALERT App

The TasALERT App works on phones using Apple and Android operating systems that are still receiving security support. This means that we are confident the App can work correctly.  Operating systems that receive security support mean the device has a level of protection from technical difficulties that could cause the App to not work correctly. It is important to know that all operating systems supported either officially or with security support changes over time.  

We understand not all individuals will have a phone that can operate the TasALERT App. That is why the TasALERT website and App are one of the many tools available for the community to use to receive emergency information and warnings. If you are unable to update your operating system we encourage you listen to your Local ABC radio station for your emergency warnings and information, follow TasALERT on Facebook or X (formerly Twitter), or follow other emergency services on social media.

You can download the App from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

Read our quick guide for instructions on how to download the App:

How to download the App

By default, the following warnings are switched on for new watch zones:

  • all bushfire warnings
  • all flood warnings
  • other warnings
  • community updates.

For any other incidents or warnings, you will need turn on which ones you would like to receive notifications for. You can do this by following these steps:

  1. select your watch zone
  2. select the pencil icon in your watch zone list
  3. scroll down to the warnings and incidents section and make sure the emergencies you want to hear about are turned on. The button will be red to show you will receive updates.
  4. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and press save.

The TasALERT App is an extension of the TasALERT website. TasALERT is the home of emergency information and warnings for the Tasmanian community.

TasALERT publishes emergency information and warnings from the following agencies and departments:

The app includes user accounts, watch zones where you can turn on notifications for your chosen incidents and warnings.

Like the TasALERT website, the TasALERT App publishes emergency information and warnings from the following agencies and departments:

A what zone is an area of interest that you want to receive emergency incidents and warnings for. You decide which areas are important to you and what warnings and incidents you want to get notifications for, such as fires, floods, severe weather and more.

To create a watch zone in the TasALERT App:

  1. Open the menu on the home screen.
  2. Under the Watch Zones heading, select ‘Manage’.
  3. Select ‘Add new watch zone’ or select ‘New’.
  4. If you do not have an account, select ‘continue without account’.
  5. Enter your address, or select a location on the map.
  6. Enter the name of your watch zone and turn on the notifications you want to receive.
  7. Choose your notification type: email or push notifications or both.
  8. Select ‘Create’.

Note: if you create a watch zone without a user account, you will not be able to choose email notifications.

If you do not set a watch zone, you will not receive notifications for warnings or incidents. You must create a watch zone to get notifications to your device.

The TasALERT app allows you to change the size of your watch zones between 5km – 75km. You can have up to 10 different watch zones.

You can have up to 10 different watch zones on the TasALERT App. This means you can set up watch zones for the areas you are interested in like your house, shack, or where your family and friends live.

You can edit a watch zone by:

  1. Opening the menu on the home screen.
  2. Under the Watch Zones heading, select ‘Manage’.
  3. Select the pencil icon on one of your watch zones
  4. Edit your watch zone size, location, name or change warnings and incident notifications.
  5. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select ‘Save’.

You can delete a watch zone by:

  1. Opening the menu on the home screen.
  2. Under the Watch Zones heading, select ‘Manage’.
  3. Select the pencil icon on one of your watch zones.
  4. Select the ‘Delete’ button and choose ‘Delete’.

You can turn off watch zone notifications by:

  1. Opening the menu on the home screen.
  2. Under the Watch Zones heading, select ‘Manage’.
  3. Select the pencil icon on one of your watch zones
  4. Turn notifications off for warnings and incidents you don’t want to hear about.
  5. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select ‘Save’.

Note: if you turn off all notifications for warnings and incidents, then you will not receive a push notification or email if something is happening in your watch zone. You will need to check TasALERT regularly to stay up to date with current warnings and incidents.

You do not need to create a user account to create a watch zone.

Creating a user account means that your device will remember your watch zones and means you can log in over multiple devices.

A user account can also be created and shared between family and friends so everyone has the same watch zones.

To create a user account in the TasALERT App:

  1. Open the menu on the home screen.
  2. Scroll down to the bottom of the menu and select ‘Login’.
  3. You can log in though Facebook, Google or Apple. Select your favourite option and follow the instructions.
  4. Or you can log in by entering your email address. Select ‘Sign in with Email’.
  5. Enter your email and create a password.
  6. Select ‘Sign in’.

To reset your password:

  1. Select ‘Forgot Password’.
  2. Check the email address is correct for your user account. 
  3. Select ‘Reset Password’.
  4. Check your email for the verification code – it could be in your spam/junk inbox.
  5. Enter a new password.
  6. Enter the verification code sent to your email.
  7. Select ‘Rest Password’.

If you have a user account, then you can log into another device to view your watch zones.

To log in to a user account in the TasALERT App:

  1. Open the menu on the home screen.
  2. Scroll down to the bottom of the menu and select ‘Login’.
  3. You can log in through your Facebook, Google or Apple account.
  4. Or you can log in by entering your email address. Select ‘Sign in with Email’.
  5. Enter your email and password.
  6. Select ‘Sign in’.

To log out of a user account in the TasALERT App:

  1. Open the menu on the home screen.
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the menu and select ‘Login’.
  3. You can log in though Facebook, Google or Apple. Select your favourite option and follow the instructions.
  4. Or you can log in by entering your email address. Select ‘Sign in with Email’.
  5. Enter your email and create a password.
  6. Select ‘Sign in’.

If you want to use the GPS/location feature on the TasALERT App, you will need to turn your device location. The App will encourage you to turn this feature on. 

Yes, you will need to allow your device to send you push notifications. The App will encourage you to turn this feature on.  

You can only delete your profile if you made a user account.

To delete your profile:

  1. Make sure you are logged in to your user account on the App.
  2. Open the menu on the home screen.
  3. Scroll down to the bottom of the menu and select ‘Settings’.
  4. Under the notifications section, select ‘Delete Account’.
  5. A message will appear asking to confirm that you want to delete your account.
  6. Select ‘Delete Account’.

Yes, you can get email notifications when you create a user account and log in. If you do not have a user account, you can only get push notifications.

Yes, the app is an extension of the website. All information, warnings and incidents will show on the app. You can also access all sections of the TasALERT website on the app in the menu.

If you create a user account and log in to the app, you will need to give the App your email address and a password. This is so the App can create an account for you. You can create an account directly through your Google account, Apple account or Facebook account. If you don’t want to create an account through Google, Apple of Facebook then you can enter an email address and password directly. This is the only personal details you will need to give the App. 

If you do not want to give the App your email address, that is ok. You can still use the app without a user account, but you will not be able to get email notifications without a user account.

You can share a warning or incident with you friends or family.

To share a warning or incident:

  1. Select the warning or incident you want to share.
  2. Select ‘share incident’.
  3. Select which way you want to share your warning and follow the instructions. 

Apple devices

You can download the TasALERT app from Apple’s App Store.

Search for TasALERT in the App Store or download the App from the App Store now.

Make sure you turn on notifications on your device. This will mean notifications from TasALERT will appear on your device.

Once downloaded, you must create a watch zone to receive location specific notifications when warnings are issued or incidents occur.

The app is also available on Android devices.

The TasALERT App supports the latest version of iOS.

You need to make sure that notifications are turned on for the TasALERT App:

  1. Open your device’s ‘Settings’ app.
  2. Select ‘Notifications’.
  3. Scroll down and select ‘TasALERT’.
  4. Turn on ‘Allow notifications’.

Open the device’s ‘Settings’ app, select ‘Privacy’, then ‘Location’ Services.

Make sure ‘Location Services’ is switched on and then scroll down the list of apps, select TasALERT, and then select 'While Using the App'.

Android devices

You can download the TasALERT app from the Google Play Store.

Search for TasALERT in the Google Play Store or download the app from the Google Play Store now.

Make sure you turn on notifications on your device. This will mean notifications from TasALERT will appear on your device.

Once downloaded, you must create a watch zone to receive location specific notifications when warnings are issued or incidents occur.

The app is also available on iOS devices.

The TasALERT App supports Android operating systems that receive 'security support'.

The TasALERT app needs your device to connect and register for push notifications.

You need to make sure that notifications are turned on for the TasALERT app:

  1. Open your device’s ‘Settings’ app.
  2. Select ‘Applications’.
  3. Select ‘Manage Applications’.
  4. Choose ‘TasALERT’ from the list.
  5. Ensure ‘Show Notifications’ is ticked.

For some devices, you may need to delete the app, reinstall it and then restart your device.

  1. Open Settings
  2. Select location.
  3. Turn 'Use location' on.

Make sure ‘Location Services’ is switched on for TasALERT.

Google Play Services is included in all supported Android versions.