Combined On-Call Scheduling release notes for upgrades from Zurich to Australia

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated August 11, 2026
  • 5 minutes to read
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    Summary of Combined On-Call Scheduling Release Notes for Upgrades from Zurich to Australia

    This consolidated guide assists ServiceNow customers in preparing for upgrades of the On-Call Scheduling product from the Zurich release to Australia. It covers key changes, new features, and important upgrade considerations to ensure a smooth transition and optimal use of the On-Call Scheduling capabilities.

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    Important Upgrade Information

    • From Zurich onwards, On-Call Scheduling transitioned from workflows to subflows; existing workflows remain supported for Zurich users but new instances use subflows exclusively.
    • Customers must migrate custom workflows to subflows using Workflow Studio to maintain and build on-call scheduling processes.
    • No new updates were introduced in Australia specifically related to subflows beyond Zurich’s changes.

    New Features

    • Zurich Release:
      • Add custom on-call notification channels by configuring service providers in the On-call communication channel configuration table, applicable only after subflows are implemented.
      • Customize on-call notification messages and response keywords tailored to users and groups via the communication channel configuration.
      • Send on-call escalation notifications triggered by changes to configured record fields, supporting both group-level and global trigger rules.
    • Australia Release:
      • Introduce monthly roster rotation for on-call schedules (available only with the 2024 schedule engine) to simplify shift management.
      • Implement a granular role (snoncalladmin) for managing on-call schedule configurations with specific read/write permissions.

    Changes

    • Zurich Release:
      • Performance improvements in subflows include simultaneous notifications across multiple channels and faster processing of high-priority notifications via Flow runner queues.
      • On-call trigger rules enhanced to support execution of specific subflows when triggered.
    • Australia Release: No changes reported.

    Removals and Deprecations

    No features or functionalities were removed or deprecated between Zurich and Australia releases.

    Activation

    • On-Call Scheduling is activated via the ServiceNow AI Platform On-Call Scheduling plugin (com.snc.oncallrotation).
    • Activating this plugin also enables third-party libraries FullCalendar and DHTMLX scheduler.
    • Note: This plugin is enabled by default for zBoot customers in both releases.

    Additional Information

    • No additional requirements, browser compatibility changes, accessibility updates, or localization considerations were introduced from Zurich to Australia.
    • The Australia release adopts the Coral theme as the default for Next Experience and Core UI.

    Practical Impact for ServiceNow Customers

    • Upgrade planning should include transitioning to subflows to align with the modern architecture and leverage enhanced notification capabilities.
    • Customizing communication channels and messages enables more flexible and targeted on-call notifications.
    • New roster management features in Australia facilitate easier shift rotations, improving operational efficiency.
    • Granular administrative roles improve security and governance around on-call schedule configurations.

    Consolidated page of all release notes for On-Call Scheduling from Zurich to Australia.

    How to use this page

    To help you prepare for your upgrade, we have combined the cross-family On-Call Scheduling release notes onto one page. Read this summary of the new features, changes, and updated information for your product from Zurich to Australia.

    Tip:
    If there were no updates for a release notes section in a certain family release, we included a short note for your reference. For example, if a product did not have any updates in Tokyo, the row says "No updates for this release."

    Important information for upgrading On-Call Scheduling to Australia

    Before you upgrade to Australia, review these pre- and post-upgrade tasks and complete the tasks as needed.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    Starting from the Zurich release, On-Call Scheduling uses subflows, not workflows. You must transition from workflows to subflows, because the workflows are considered as legacy workflows. For existing users in Zurich, your current workflows continue to be supported. However, for new users, the On-Call Scheduling plugin installations on Zurich and later instances only use subflows.

    Maintain, build, and modify your own custom on-call scheduling flows in Workflow Studio with subflows for new instances. The following subflows are available for configuration:

    Australia

    		 No updates for this release.

    New features

    Between your current release family and Australia, new features were introduced for On-Call Scheduling.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich
    Add custom on-call notification channels
    Increase the flexibility in communication by adding and configuring service providers as on-call notification channels. You must configure the communication channel by using the On-call communication channel configuration [on_call_comunication_channel_config] table. After you configure the channel, you can select the new channel. This feature is applicable only after the subflows are configured and used.
    Customize the on-call notification message and keywords
    Customize an on-call notification message and response keywords that are sent to the user and user groups as per your preferences. You can customize the message and keywords by using the On-call communication channel configuration [on_call_communication_channel_config] tables.
    Send the on-call escalation notifications when the configured record fields are modified
    Send the on-call escalation notifications when the configured record fields are modified. On-call trigger rules have the following enhancements:
    • Configure the changes to fields as a triggering condition to run trigger rules. For example, changes to the Priority field for an incident can be configured as a trigger condition.
    • Configure the group or team level trigger rules, or you can configure the global trigger rules that aren’t associated with a user group.
    • If the assignment group is auto-populated when an incident is created, you can still configure the on-call trigger rules to run and send the escalation notifications.

    Australia
    Monthly roster rotation for an on-call schedule
    Simplify shift management by configuring a monthly roster rotation for an on-call schedule. This option is available only for the 2024 schedule engine.
    Granular role for on-call schedule configurations
    Configure on-call schedule features using the granular and specific role, sn_on_call_admin. It contains sn_trigger_table_cfg_read and sn_trigger_table_cfg_write roles.

    Changes

    Between your current release family and Australia, some changes were made to existing On-Call Scheduling features.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich
    Performance improvements in subflows for on-call notifications
    The following performance enhancements are available for on-call notifications when subflows are used:
    • On-call notifications are sent to multiple channels such as SMS or email simultaneously instead of sending it sequentially.
    • When the com.snc.on_call_rotation.new_trigger_engine property is set to true, the on-call subflows are processed via the Flow runner queue. The on-call subflows that are marked as High priority are processed faster via a Flow runner queue especially when multiple events are triggered at the same time and are in the process queue.
    • Reminder notifications are also sent to users when the instance is upgrading.
    Enhanced on-call trigger rules to support subflows
    The on-call trigger rules form is enhanced to trigger a subflow when the trigger rule is executed. You can enable and select a specific subflow for a trigger rule.

    Australia

    		 No updates for this release.

    Removed

    Between your current release family and Australia, some On-Call Scheduling features or functionality were removed.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Australia

    		 No updates for this release.

    Deprecations

    Between your current release family and Australia, some On-Call Scheduling features or functionality were deprecated.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Australia

    		 No updates for this release.

    Activation information

    Review information on how to activate On-Call Scheduling.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich
    On-Call Scheduling is available with activation of the ServiceNow AI Platform On-Call Scheduling plugin (com.snc.on_call_rotation). For details, see Activate On-Call Scheduling. Activating this plugin activates the following third-party libraries:
    • FullCalendar library
    • DHTMLX scheduler
    Note:
    The On-Call Scheduling (com.snc.on_call_rotation) plugin is active by default for zBoot customers.

    Australia
    On-Call Scheduling is available with activation of the ServiceNow AI Platform On-Call Scheduling plugin (com.snc.on_call_rotation). For details, see Activate On-Call Scheduling. Activating this plugin activates the following third-party libraries:
    • FullCalendar library
    • DHTMLX scheduler
    Note:
    The On-Call Scheduling (com.snc.on_call_rotation) plugin is active by default for zBoot customers.

    Additional requirements

    If any additional requirements were introduced or changed for On-Call Scheduling we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Australia

    		 No updates for this release.

    Browser requirements

    If any specific browser requirements were introduced or changed for On-Call Scheduling we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Australia

    		 No updates for this release.

    Accessibility information

    Review details on accessibility information for On-Call Scheduling, such as specific requirements or compliance levels.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    Australia

    		 No updates for this release.

    Localization information

    If there are specific localization considerations for On-Call Scheduling we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Australia

    		 No updates for this release.

    Highlight information

    If there are specific highlight considerations for On-Call Scheduling we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich
    • Build on-call escalation notification configurable flows by using subflows that are available by default in new instances.
    • Add new custom providers as channels for on-call escalation notifications.
    • Configure the on-call notification message and response keywords to send the escalation notifications to the stakeholders.
    • Send the on-call escalations notifications to all the stakeholders when any of the configured record fields are modified.
    • Use Coral, which is the new default theme for Next Experience and Core UI.

    See On-Call Scheduling for more information.

    Australia
    • Configure on-call schedule features using granular roles.
    • Configure a monthly roster rotation for an on-call schedule to simplify shift management.

    See On-Call Scheduling for more information.