Businesses and residential lift owners who haven’t upgraded their emergency phones in lifts ahead of the national shutdown of the 3G network are reminded to do so immediately.
Emergency phones in lifts operating on the 3G network will cease to work from Monday, 28 October 2024.
Since 2019, Australia's mobile network operators have been preparing to switch off their 3G networks to boost the capacity, speed and reliability of their 4G and 5G networks.
3G account holders, including lift operators, have been repeatedly notified by their telecommunications providers about the network closure and their need to upgrade the phones.
Safety risks
- lift phones are critical to ensuring safety and communications in buildings, especially during lift malfunctions, fire alarm monitoring or medical emergencies
- if they haven’t already done so, businesses and residential lift owners should contact their lift technician to check what network the phone system uses and, if 3G, take immediate steps to upgrade.
SafeWork SA’s role
- SafeWork SA is writing to registered business and residential lift owners to remind them about the 3G shutdown and their responsibility to ensure the safe operation of lifts
- SafeWork SA Inspectors attending sites with lifts are continuing to remind owners about the need for working emergency communications.
Lifts must be registered with SafeWork SA and inspected every 12 months to ensure they are safe, including having a functioning emergency phone.
Previously, changes to systems for lift emergency phones were required during the rollout of the nbn network.
This involved lift phones or monitored fire alarms that were connected to the legacy copper network being migrated to the nbn before 22 November 2022.
More information
Contact SafeWork SA on 1300 365 255 or help.safework@sa.gov.au
For details about the 3G network switch off visit: Australian Government – Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and the Arts.