- Call Triple Zero (000) for police, fire, or ambulance services in an emergency.
- Poisons Information Centre—13 11 26.
What Is An Emergency
An emergency is classified as a serious, unexpected, often dangerous, life-threatening situation or incident requiring immediate action from a First Aid responder to prevent a fatality or assist someone in a state of medical distress.
This link will take you to the Australian Resuscitation Guidelines for the current Australian-approved management of emergency guidelines.
Mobile Phone Emergency Calls
Dial 000 in Australia
When you dial 000 or 112 in Australia calling for help from mobile phones, the first person you speak to is a Telstra Triple Zero Emergency Call Operator. The operator will send your call to the appropriate emergency service; police, fire brigade, or an ambulance, depending on what service needs to attend. It’s essential not to use this number for non-emergency situations as it is punishable by law and can result in criminal charges and prosecution.
Can You Text Emergency Services
For the average person, the answer is no. You cannot send a text message to the emergency services at the time of writing this article.
HOWEVER
In Australia, you can send a text message to the Emergency Services on 106 if you have a TYY device.
Using a TTY device for the deaf or speech impaired will alert emergency services to required assistance. This is not via a direct mobile phone SMS message. The 106 number is solely the number for people who are deaf or have registered clinical hearing or speech impairments.
What If I Call 000 And Can’t Talk
If you call 000 and don’t speak when the operator asks you the initial question: “Emergency. Police? Fire? Ambulance?” an interactive voice response unit will step in to direct your call. If three requests to enter a number are ignored, your call will be disconnected. If you cannot speak due to injury or a life-threatening situation, you can push buttons on the keypad in response to the operators’ questions by using long and short depressions of the number to indicate yes and no answers. Human operators are trained to recognise potential situations that fall outside of the normal operating format and procedure guidelines.
What Happens If You Call 911 In Australia
911 is only for use in the USA and is not an emergency line number in Australia.
However, some mobile handsets are pre-programmed to recognise emergency numbers like 911, 112 and 999. The phone recognises the emergency number, automatically redirecting the call to the emergency services operator of the country from which the phone is registering the transmission.
Not all phones have this function. Newer phones have an SOS function that automatically connects you to the country’s emergency service operator and alerts your (ICE) emergency contacts list.
911 does NOT work as an emergency number to request help in Australia from landlines.
Do You Have To Stop And Report An Emergency If You Witness An Accident In Australia
Except for the Northern Territory, there is no legislation forcing or requiring a person to stop, call for help, or render assistance in a crisis or emergency, even if it is within their physical or mental capacity to do so. However, not doing so would make you a truly despicable human being.
Good Samaritan legislation is in place in all Australian states and territories. This legislation ensures that people who choose to provide emergency medical assistance are not held legally liable for their actions, provided they acted in good faith and intended to render help and First Aid, not cause intentional harm.
Is It A Crime To Not Help Someone In Danger
The duty to rescue is a subject of legal study and debate. Generally, the common law imposes an affirmative moral obligation (but not a legally binding one) on all persons to come to the aid or assistance of another person in peril – that is, at substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury. Individuals owe it to others, not only because they may otherwise suffer, but because there is always some level of personal culpability involved when one knowingly creates or ignores danger that is life-threatening for someone else and willingly chooses not to take action to correct the situation.
