Migration of monitored fire alarms and lift phones

As the NBN rolls out across Australia, it is progressively replacing most of the existing landline networks used for fixed line phone and internet services. Monitored fire alarms and lift phones operating solely over these landline networks will no longer work once the network is disconnected.

You will need to migrate these services to the NBN or an alternative operating platform before the fixed line disconnection date in a rollout area.

Migration does not happen automatically. Action needs to be taken:

• Identify each phone service over which a monitored fire alarm and/or lift emergency phone operates (tips for how to do this can be found here).
• Register the relevant phone service(s) on nbn's Fire and Lift Register or call 1800 687 626.
• Talk to your service provider about migration options.

Further information can be found in the Migration of monitored fire alarm and lift phone services good practice guide.

No. Migrating regular phone and internet services does not mean that services operating over the top of phone lines, such as monitored fire alarms and/or lift phones, will be automatically migrated – you will still need to take action to migrate these services and ensure they are working normally after the migration.

The rollout of the NBN will involve new technologies and some existing devices may not be compatible at all times.

Your monitored fire alarm and/or lift service provider can advise whether your device will work when connected to the NBN and, if necessary, what alternative solutions are available.

Services provided over the NBN will not work during a power outage. If you are planning to migrate your monitored fire alarm and/or lift phone service to the NBN, you will need to ensure that you have an alternative communication pathway available. Your monitored fire alarm and/or lift phone provider can advise on the most appropriate solution to keep your service working in the event of a power outage.

You can find more information on nbn’s Emergencies and Outages page.

The building owner or manager who is responsible for purchasing the phone line over which the service operates is also responsible for registering the service with nbn and for taking action to migrate the service.

Monitored fire alarms and lift phones are safety-critical services. There are serious risks to public safety, personal injury and property damage if these services fail to operate in an emergency situation.

In recognition of this, the Government, nbn, Telstra and the monitored fire alarm and lift phone industries have developed a framework to support the migration and continued operation of monitored fire alarm and lift phone services.

Under the framework, the disconnection date for identified and registered monitored fire alarm and lift phone services (in areas that will reach the disconnection date prior to 30 June 2017 or have already reached the disconnection date) has been deferred until 30 June 2017.

A service is protected by this disconnection temporary deferral arrangement if it is:

1. Registered on nbn’s Fire and Lift Register  including the service phone number;
2. The phone number is subsequently notified to Telstra by nbn, which allows Telstra to identify the phone service in its systems as a monitored fire alarm or lift phone service.

Other monitored fire alarm and lift phone services in areas that are not yet ready for service or will not reach the disconnection date until after 30 June 2017 will be disconnected under business‑as‑usual arrangements.

The monitored fire alarm and lift service industries, the telecommunications industry, and peak bodies representing the building owner and strata communities are working together to develop migration solutions and communicate the need to migrate these services.

You can register your service’s details online on nbn’s Fire and Lift Register (www.nbn.com.au/fireandlift) or by calling nbn on 1800 687 626.

Migration does not happen automatically, so it is important that you take action early to migrate your monitored fire alarm and/or lift phone service.

The steps below outline the process for migrating these services:

1. Talk to your monitored fire alarm and/or lift service provider about what migration options are available.
   Your telecommunications service provider may also be able to explain any alternative services available.
2. Register your monitored fire alarm and lift phone service on nbn's Fire and Lift Register or by calling nbn on 1800 687 626.
   You will need to provide the full national number (ten digit area code and phone number) associated with the service into order to register it. Information on how to identify the phone number can be found at the next Frequently Asked Question.
   Only registered and identified monitored fire alarm and lift phone services are able to have their disconnection date deferred until 30 June 2017. By registering your service, its transition can be supported through the relevant processes.
3. Once a migration solution has been identified, you will need to work with your monitored fire alarm and/or lift service provider and telecommunications service provider to migrate your service onto the NBN, or an alternative operating platform if your provider advises this is more appropriate.
4. Cabling work may be required to migrate your service. Check with your monitored fire alarm, lift, or telecommunication service provider to see if they are able to arrange this cabling work. If not, you may need to arrange for a registered cabler to undertake this work. The Registered Cablers website has details of registered cablers.
5. When you have been advised that your service has been migrated, you should contact your monitored fire alarm and/or lift service provider to check everything is working correctly.
6. Once a successful migration has been confirmed, you should request that your service provider notify nbn that the service has been migrated.

Further information can be found in the Migration of monitored fire alarm and lift phone services good practice guide.

There are a number of methods you can follow to try and identify the phone number (10 digits including area code) of your monitored fire alarm and/or lift phone.

Your fire alarm monitoring and/or lift phone service provider may be able to assist with some of these methods.

• Check your bill or invoice from your telecommunications retail service provider to identify the phone number.
  • If there are multiple phone services listed on the phone bill, you may need to dial each phone number to identify the correct number for each lift phone and/or fire alarm.
• Refer to building owner records to identify the phone number.
  • If there are multiple phone services listed in the records, you may need to dial each phone number to identify the correct number for each lift phone and/or fire alarm.
• Lift phone with keypad.
  • Use the keypad to call a mobile device or local phone with a call number display to identify the phone number—please note, this option may not be available if mobile calling has been blocked and/or for silent numbers.
  • Depending on the telecommunications retail service provider, it may be possible to dial a number and have the phone number read back (excluding silent numbers).
    • For Telstra dial 12722 123.
    • For Optus dial 1800 652 456.

If you are unable to identify the phone number using the above methods, then you should contact your telecommunications retail service provider, who may be able to assist you.

You should register your monitored fire alarm and lift phone services as soon as possible to take advantage of the temporarily deferred disconnection period. Any service that is not registered risks being included in the business-as-usual disconnection process.

Only registered services are eligible for the temporarily deferred disconnection arrangements.  

nbn’s Fire and Lift Register is designed to help support the safe migration of monitored fire alarms and lift phones from certain existing fixed line networks. nbn needs to be made aware of the presence of lift phones and fire alarms, including their service details, via their registration on the nbn Fire and Lift Register, so that they can be notified to Telstra in order to have the disconnection deferral applied.

The Fire and Lift Register will also enable nbn to access important information about these services and contact you about migrating your services, if you have not already taken action to do so. 

Remember, it is the building owners’ responsibility to migrate building services.

Any service that is not registered will be included in the standard business as usual disconnection process. This means the service may stop working after the fixed line disconnection date for its rollout area, if it has not been migrated.

Monitored fire alarm and/or lift phone services that are not migrated to the nbn or an alternative communications platform, such as mobile, may stop working after the fixed line disconnection date for its rollout area.

There are serious risks to public safety, personal injury and property damage if one or more of these services fails to operate in an emergency situation.

There may also be other considerations for building owners/managers if a monitored fire alarm and/or lift phone is inoperable. For example, failure to maintain monitored fire alarm and lift phone services may be a serious breach of obligations under relevant federal, state or territory regulations, building codes, and/or Australian Standards.

Some monitored fire alarms or lift phones currently have two telecommunications paths to meet requirements in relevant standards. If a telecommunications path that runs over existing fixed line networks is not migrated, it will stop working after the fixed line disconnection date for its rollout area, leaving only one working telecommunications path. This may mean that the fire alarm and or lift phone will continue to work, but it may not be compliant with relevant standards or regulations.

nbn will only collect information that is necessary to help you successfully migrate these services.

This information includes:

1. The phone number(s) of the monitored fire alarm and/or lift phone
2. The address of these services
3. The contact details of the submitter
4. The contact details of the building manager

The Fire and Lift Register has been carefully designed to comply with Australian privacy law. nbn's Privacy Policy is available on its privacy page.  

Registering services on the nbn Fire and Lift Register is free of charge.

Building managers/owners who are responsible for migrating a service are also responsible for arranging for and covering the costs associated with any additional upgrading of wiring or equipment that may be required to migrate the service(s).

Yes, you should still register your monitored fire alarm and/or lift phone numbers with nbn as there may be two telecommunications paths—one with a mobile number and one with a landline phone number.

Yes, any lift phone that uses a phone line will need to be migrated.

You should also contact your lift service provider and your phone service provider to discuss the options for migrating your lift phone.

The rollout of the nbn will involve new technologies and some existing devices may not be compatible.

Your monitored fire alarm provider or lift service provider can advise whether your monitored fire alarm or lift phone will work when connected to the NBN and/or, if necessary, what alternative solutions are available.

Yes, the Fire and Lift Register is a separate process from any other registration of your building with nbn. This is because it captures data specific to the phone services supporting your building’s monitored fire alarms and lift phones.

The building owner/manager or body corporate is generally responsible for purchasing the phone line(s) over which these services operate and for organising their migration. They are best placed to provide you with updates about the migration of these services in your building.

If you live/work in a building with a monitored fire alarm and/or lift phone service, you are encouraged to contact your building owner or manager to ensure that the services are migrated and registered on nbn's Fire and Lift Register.

You can check if the National Broadband Network (NBN) is available in your area by visiting NBN Co Limited's (nbn's) website (www.nbn.com.au) and entering your address in the 'check your address' box on the main landing page.

Homes and businesses in the nbn fixed line footprint have a 'migration window' of 18 months to move to the new network. The migration window starts when nbn declares an area to be Ready For Service. The managed disconnection of the existing landline networks (copper and HFC networks) will commence at the end of the migration window. The date at which managed disconnection starts is known as the disconnection date.

To reduce the risk of disruption to your services, you should contact your preferred internet or phone service provider to order a NBN service as early as possible in the migration window.

After a fixed line area passes its disconnection date, the existing landline networks will be switched off. Any fixed line phone and internet services that you do not migrate before this date will stop working, unless they are subject to a specific exemption (such as the temporary deferral of eligible monitored fire alarms and lift phones).

If you choose not to connect to the NBN you will need to consider using an alternative communications platform, such as a mobile network.

More information about migrating services can be found on the main migration page.

If you have a query that isn’t answered on this page, you can contact the Department of Communications and the Arts' migration [at] communications.gov.au (NBN Migration team) (migration [at] communications.gov.au).