Technical Support for the SMS to Triple Zero Proof of Concept

⁠⁠⁠Overview

The Triple Zero Custodian, part of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, is seeking a supplier to support the design, delivery and evaluation of key technical and operational work packages for a proof of concept for SMS direct access to Triple Zero in a simulated environment.

Purpose

The aim of the proof of concept is to provide sufficient evidence to assess whether SMS direct access could support message initiation, delivery, receipt, triage and handoff in an emergency response environment, and to identify key risks, dependencies, governance requirements, and implementation options and considerations. The work is intended to be designed to put public safety first, with no live impact to public access to Triple Zero or existing emergency service operations, and to be delivery model agnostic.

Scope

The proof of concept will be conducted in a non-production ‘sandbox’ environment using authorised participants only. The sandbox should, where possible, allow realistic simulation of key message workflows and operational handoff points without creating any impact across the live Triple Zero system. The work will analyse and test each stage within the Triple Zero system.

The scope includes:

• Advising on the design of the sandbox environment for the proof of concept
• Assisting in identifying suitable test scenarios
• Supporting technical analysis of message workflows and associated risks
• Evaluating findings that can inform future policy and implementation considerations
• Simulated end-to-end SMS workflows
• Message initiation, routing, receipt and handoff
• Latency and sequencing impacts
• Location information availability
• Interaction between the ECP and ESOs
• Operational process impacts
• Integration considerations with existing systems
• Identification of key risks, dependencies and implementation issues

Out of Scope

• Public rollout, live operational use or production deployment
• Any change to, or interaction with, live Triple Zero systems or the live emergency call service
• Public testing or community participation
• Simulation of the radio air interface or carrier core networks at protocol level
• Procurement or build of a production SMS access capability