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A national telephone warning system designed to send emergency bushfire alerts could be expanded to warn of mass shootings and major police incidents.

With final testing completed last week, the $15-million system can send thousands of text and voice messages a minute to residents in a specific area anywhere in the country.

The system was developed to overcome communication blunders on Black Saturday where 173 people lost their lives. But police agencies across the country have also been examining how the system could be utilised, Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland said on Friday.

"There is that potential," he told reporters in Melbourne.

He said police have discussed major incidents like Tasmania's 1996 Port Arthur massacre, where 35 people were killed, as an example where instant warnings sent to mobile phones in a pin-pointed location could be beneficial.

"But again in the context that you're not giving information to the perpetrator of the offence is the challenge," Mr McClelland said. "But these things are certainly within contemplation."

Sgt David Spencer, a spokesman for Victoria Police, said the warning system would only be used when an officer believes there is a life-threatening incident. It wouldn't be used to appeal for witnesses to crime, but could be called upon during mass shootings.

"We don't want to overuse the system and reduce its impact," he said.

Warnings can be carried via 1000 voice messages a minute and around 300 text messages a second, even relaying evacuation routes, during disasters like floods, cyclones and tsunamis.

Emergency Services Minister Bob Cameron said the system, called Emergency Alert, will make a major difference during bushfire season.

"As people understand how it will work and people know that when they get a message it's a call for action, we believe that it will save lives," he said.

Officially launched at Victoria's state control centre on Friday, the Telstra-operated system sends messages to landlines and mobile phones based on billing addresses.

Alerts will be expanded next year to include all mobile phones in an specific area so even holidaymakers and visitors can receive them.

Each voice message will begin with a siren and the words "Emergency! Emergency!" spoken by a computer-generated voice system in a simulated voice.

During the public trial more than 50,000 messages were sent to phones across four regions in Victoria.

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