Mobile towers in disaster zones would need backup power
When bushfires and floods hit, mobile phone service often dies. That is just when people need it most. This bill aims to keep country towns connected.
Official name: Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Strengthening Communications in Natural Disasters) Bill 2026
- Key mobile towers in areas at high risk of disaster would need a minimum level of power, including backup power.
- The minister could make rules so your phone can use another company's network if yours goes down in a disaster.
- The government could pay for things like mobile towers on wheels and town wifi for disasters.
- It is a private bill, meaning it did not come from the government. It is from Dr Helen Haines, the independent MP for Indi in country Victoria. It has not been debated.
Who it affects
- People in areas hit by bushfires, floods and storms: Your mobile service would be more likely to keep working when the power goes out.
- Mobile phone users during a disaster: If your network fails, you could use another company's network for a short time.
- Mobile phone companies: You would need backup power at key sites in high-risk areas. You might have to share your network in emergencies.
- Country towns and local groups: You could get grants for emergency wifi, satellite internet in halls, and towers on wheels.
Mobile towers fail in disasters
In bushfires, floods and big storms, mobile networks often fail. The power goes out. Towers stop working when their batteries run flat. Damage to equipment can cut service for days.
That can stop people calling triple zero, the emergency number, getting warnings, or checking on family. The notes on the bill say this hits country areas hardest. There is often no other way to stay in touch there.
Dr Helen Haines, the member for Indi, brought this bill. Her notes say many reviews have called for backup power rules and disaster roaming. But the government has not made them law. The bill makes three changes.
Backup power at towers
Part 1 of the bill would make the media and phone watchdog write a new set of rules for phone companies. The watchdog's full name is the Australian Communications and Media Authority. It oversees phones and the internet.
The rules must name areas at high risk from natural disasters or wild weather. They must name the key mobile equipment in those areas that keeps service running. Then they must set power rules for that equipment, including backup power.
The watchdog would have to ask mobile companies, governments and other watchdogs what they think. The bill does not set how many hours of backup are needed. The notes say that should change over time as technology gets better.
Say a fire cuts power to a valley for two days. Under these rules, the main tower for the valley would need enough backup power to keep running.
Roaming in a disaster
Part 2 would let the Minister for Communications make rules for short-term disaster roaming. Roaming means your phone uses a different company's network.
Say a disaster knocks out one mobile network, but another still works. Phone companies would have to let customers in that area use the working network for a set time.
The rules could say what counts as a hit area and an emergency time. They could cover how fast roaming must start and stop, and the lowest level of service. They could also cover sharing facts between companies, deals between companies, and keeping records.
This would not force roaming all the time. Parliament could reject the minister's rules, like other rules made by ministers. This part would only start after another law starts. That law is the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation Act 2026, a separate law about mobile coverage outdoors.
Disaster communications grants
The law already lets the government give grants for some public phone services. These include payphones, the National Relay Service for people who are deaf, and the emergency call service.
The bill adds a new use. It is keeping phone and internet services going during natural disasters. That could include cells on wheels and town wifi. A cell on wheels is a mobile tower on a truck or trailer that can be moved.
The notes say this gives the government clear power, for good, to pay for things like emergency wifi. It could also pay for satellite internet in local halls.
Privacy
The roaming rules might let phone companies share some facts about people to make roaming work. The notes say any effect on privacy would be small. They say privacy law would still apply.
Start date
The backup power and grants changes would start the day after the bill becomes law. The roaming part would start once the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation Act 2026 starts.
Dr Haines brought the bill to the House of Representatives, Parliament's main house, on 25 May 2026. It has not been debated since. It would need to pass both the House and the Senate, Parliament's second house, to become law. Most private bills never reach a vote.
Its journey through Parliament
| 25 May 2026 | House of Representatives: Introduced and read a first time |
| 25 May 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading moved |