The short answer

Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Strengthening Communications in Natural Disasters) Bill 2026: temporary roaming, backup power and grant changes explained

The Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Strengthening Communications in Natural Disasters) Bill 2026 is a private member's bill introduced by independent MP Helen Haines on 25 May 2026. The bill would amend the Telecommunications Act 1997 and the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 to address communications failures during natural disasters. It would require the Australian Communications and Media Authority to mandate minimum power backup requirements at high-risk mobile sites, enable the minister to make rules requiring temporary disaster roaming so affected communities can access any available network, and provide that the provision of telecommunications services during natural disasters is an eligible purpose for public interest telecommunications grants. The bill is before the House of Representatives.

This is a federal system guide. State constitutions, parliaments and local-government laws can allocate comparable functions differently.

The useful question is not only “what is the rule?” but also “who administers it, which document controls it, and when might it change?” That distinction prevents an accurate general explanation from becoming wrong advice in a particular election, chamber or policy setting.

Evidence review

The problem the bill addresses

Telecommunications outages during natural disasters have been a recurring problem in Australia, particularly in regional and rural areas where mobile towers may be the sole communications link. When power is lost at a tower site and backup batteries are depleted — often within hours — communities can be cut off from emergency information, the ability to call for help, and contact with family. Floods, bushfires and cyclones have each exposed vulnerabilities in the existing framework, where network operators are not uniformly required to maintain minimum backup power at sites identified as high-risk for natural disasters.

Evidence review

Three amendment areas

The bill amends two principal Acts across three areas. First, it amends the Telecommunications Act 1997 to require ACMA to make a service provider determination setting minimum power requirements at high-risk sites. This would create a regulatory obligation on carriers and carriage service providers to ensure telecommunications infrastructure in disaster-prone areas has adequate backup power.

Second, it amends the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 to enable the minister to make rules requiring temporary disaster roaming. This means that during declared natural disasters, mobile users in affected areas could connect to any available mobile network regardless of their ordinary service provider — addressing situations where one carrier's infrastructure survives a disaster while another's fails.

Third, it amends the same Act to provide that the provision of telecommunications services during natural disasters is an eligible purpose for which public interest telecommunications grants may be made. This opens a potential funding pathway for disaster-resilience infrastructure.

Evidence review

Temporary disaster roaming: how it would work

Temporary disaster roaming is modelled on similar arrangements in other jurisdictions, including the United States and New Zealand. The concept is that when a natural disaster is declared and telecommunications infrastructure is damaged or without power, a ministerially-made rule would require network operators to allow devices from other networks to connect to their towers. A Telstra customer could make calls and send texts via an Optus or Vodafone tower if those networks remain operational in the affected area. The roaming would be temporary — limited to the duration of the declared emergency — and would not affect normal commercial arrangements between carriers outside disaster periods.

Evidence review

The sponsor: Helen Haines

Helen Haines is the independent member for Indi, a regional Victorian electorate that stretches from the Murray River to the Victorian Alps and encompasses towns including Wangaratta, Wodonga, Beechworth and Bright. The electorate has experienced significant bushfire events, including the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires that affected more than 250,000 hectares in the region and caused damage to homes, businesses and critical infrastructure.

Haines's legislative record includes a sustained focus on regional resilience and disaster preparedness, reflecting the lived experience of her constituents. She has previously advocated for improved telecommunications infrastructure in regional areas, stronger building standards in bushfire-prone zones, and better coordination between federal, state and local emergency management agencies. The bill draws on recommendations from multiple inquiries into the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, including the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, which repeatedly identified telecommunications failures as a critical gap in Australia's disaster response capability.

Evidence review

Current status and prospects

The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on 25 May 2026 and is at the second reading stage. As a private member's bill, it requires support from the government or a majority of the House to proceed. No government response had been tabled as at 17 July 2026. The bill has not been referred to a parliamentary committee. Similar proposals for mandatory backup power and temporary disaster roaming have been raised in previous parliamentary inquiries but have not previously been enacted into Commonwealth legislation.

Evidence review

Evidence from recent disasters

The bill draws on recommendations from multiple inquiries into the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, which repeatedly identified telecommunications failures as a critical gap in Australia's disaster response capability. The Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements found that telecommunications outages during bushfires left many communities unable to receive emergency warnings or contact family members. Subsequent flooding events in northern New South Wales and Queensland in 2022 further highlighted the vulnerability of telecommunications infrastructure to extreme weather events.

Under current arrangements, individual carriers determine their own backup power requirements and disaster preparedness measures. There is no uniform Commonwealth standard for how long mobile towers in high-risk areas must remain operational after mains power is lost. The bill addresses this gap by tasking ACMA with developing and enforcing minimum standards based on objective risk assessments of each site's exposure to natural disaster hazards.

Common questions

Before you rely on the answer

Would temporary disaster roaming cost consumers extra?

The bill does not specify charging arrangements. The concept is that roaming would be enabled by ministerial rule during declared emergencies. Whether consumers would face additional charges would depend on the terms of the rules made under the Act and any commercial arrangements put in place by carriers and the minister.

Which mobile towers would need backup power?

The bill requires ACMA to make a determination specifying which sites are high risk and what minimum power requirements apply. The determination would be a legislative instrument subject to parliamentary scrutiny. The specific criteria would be set during the regulatory rule-making process.

Has this been tried anywhere else?

Yes. Temporary emergency roaming has been implemented in the United States, New Zealand and parts of Europe. In the US, the Federal Communications Commission has rules requiring wireless providers to allow roaming during emergencies. New Zealand introduced similar measures following the Christchurch earthquakes.

What natural disasters would trigger temporary roaming?

The bill enables the minister to make rules requiring temporary disaster roaming in certain circumstances. The specific trigger events — whether a declared state of emergency, a particular disaster type, or a geographic threshold — would be set through the rule-making process. This allows the framework to be adapted to different types of disasters including bushfires, floods, cyclones and other events that disrupt telecommunications infrastructure.

Source spine

Primary material used for this guide

Review trigger: Bill passes, is amended, lapses or is withdrawn

Archive note: This article reviews a bill before Parliament as at 17 July 2026. It does not describe enacted law.

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