East Gippsland Shire Council welcomes the introduction of Temporary Disaster Roaming arrangements, which provide an important additional layer of telecommunications communications resilience for communities during natural disasters.
Australia's major telecommunications providers (Telstra, Optus and TPG) activated Temporary Disaster Roaming (TDR) from 1 October 2026. When a natural disaster disrupts one network, customers may be able to connect to another available network for essential calls, texts and limited data services, subject to network availability and operational requirements.
TDR is intended for major natural disasters such as bushfires, floods and cyclones and provides access to voice calls, SMS, and limited data for essential services and emergency information. More information can be found on the Telstra website.
The service allows customers impacted by network outages during eligible disasters to access another available telecommunications network for essential communications when conditions permit.
Mayor Cr Jodie Ashworth said the development aligns with long-standing advocacy by Council for improved telecommunications resilience.
"Reliable telecommunications are an essential service that communities rely on every day, and especially during emergencies when access to information can be critical to people's safety and wellbeing,” Cr Ashworth said.
"Following major emergency events including the 2019-20 bushfires and the 2024 February storm event when telecommunications were lost, Council has consistently advocated for stronger telecommunications resilience. This has included emergency roaming arrangements, improved backup power, mandatory reliability standards and greater investment in regional communications infrastructure.”
Council has consistently called for:
"The introduction of disaster roaming is a positive step and demonstrates that the concerns raised by regional communities are being heard," Cr Ashworth said.
Learn more: Temporary Disaster Roaming