Amazon has announced that "Alexa Announcements has landed in Australia, meaning Aussies can now use their Alexa-enabled devices as a one-way intercom system to share quick, broad messages with the whole family".

We're told that you can simply say to your Alexa-enabled device, “Alexa, announce dinner is ready,” and “Dinner is ready” will be announced in your voice to all other compatible devices in your household.

Alternatively, saying, “Alexa, tell everyone…” and “Alexa, broadcast…” will also trigger Alexa Announcements.

You don't need to be at home to make use of this new feature, either.

For example, let the family know you’re on your way home, “Alexa, announce I’ll be home in five minutes.”

We are informed that Alexa Announcements also features fun sound effects for common household announcements, such as, “It’s bedtime,” which plays a twinkle twinkle effect, or “The movie is about to start” which plays a show tune followed by the announcement.

So, when will you get the feature?

Amazon says "Alexa Announcements is rolling out on supported Echo devices such as Echo, Echo Plus, Echo Dot, and Echo Spot as well as Sonos One and Sonos Beam.

"Millions of customers around the world already have more than one Echo device in their home, and Alexa Announcements offers a fun, practical way of combining the power of multiple Echo devices, complementing other multi-device features like Alexa Calling & Messaging, Drop In, and Multi-Room Music."

So, that means soon, if not already. If you have at least one Alexa, you can test it out with your phone's Alexa app, and if you have more than one, then give it a go now!

You can find out more on Echo and other Alexa-enabled devices here.