1) Emergency Numbers
Australia’s primary emergency call service number is Triple Zero (000), which can be dialled from any fixed or mobile phone, pay phones and certain Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.
-> There are also two secondary emergency call service numbers—112 and 106.
112 is available from most mobile phones. 106 connects to the text-based relay service for people who have a hearing or speech impairment. All calls to the emergency numbers, whether from fixed, mobile, pay phones or VoIP services are free-of-charge.
106—Text Emergency Relay Service
If you have a hearing or speech impairment and your life or property is in danger, you can contact police, fire or ambulance on 106 directly through a TTY (also known as a teletypewriter or textphone). It is not possible to contact emergency services using the Short Message Service (SMS) on your mobile telephone.
112—International standard emergency number
112 is an international standard emergency number which can only be dialled on a digital mobile phone. It is accepted as a secondary international emergency number in some parts of the world, including Australia, and can be dialled in areas of GSM network coverage with the call automatically translated to that country’s emergency number. It does not require a simcard or pin number to make the call, however phone coverage must be available (any carrier) for the call to proceed.
There is no advantage to dialling 112 over Triple Zero (000). Calls to 112 do not go to the head of the queue for emergency services, and it is not true that it is the only number that will work on a mobile phone.
Dialling 112 from a fixed line telephone in Australia (including payphones) will not connect you to the emergency call service as it is only available from digital mobile phones.
2) Emergency App
Emergency +
This app is a free app developed by the government and the Australian emergency service agency. This APP uses the built-in GPS function of the smartphone to help Triple Zero (000) callers provide detailed information on key locations needed to mobilize emergency services.