Australia

1. Call for help

000 Police, fire or ambulance1

• Calls to 000 are free from any landline, mobile or satellite phone.
• From a mobile you can also call 112. It reaches the same service. It does not work from a landline or satellite phone.
• If you use a TTY, call 106 through the National Relay Service.
• You cannot send a text message to 000.
• If there is no mobile coverage from any network, your mobile cannot reach 000.

When the call is answered

1. Say which service you need: police, fire or ambulance.
2. Stay calm and speak slowly and clearly.
3. Give the exact address or location.

Other national numbers

State Emergency Service (SES), for floods, storms and tsunamis that are not life-threatening	132 5001
Police Assistance Line, for non-urgent police help	131 4441
Crime Stoppers	1800 333 0001
Poisons Information Centre	13 11 262
healthdirect, advice from a registered nurse at any time	1800 022 2223
Lifeline crisis support at any time. You can also text 0477 13 11 14.	13 11 144
Search and rescue at sea or in the air (JRCC Australia)	1800 641 7925
National Relay Service, for people who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment	1800 555 6776
Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National)	13 14 506

State and territory numbers

These numbers work only in the state or territory shown. Gaps are marked "Not yet added".

New South Wales (NSW)
NSW RFS Bush Fire Information Line	1800 679 7377
NSW Mental Health Line	1800 011 5118
Royal Flying Doctor Service, only if you have no access to local hospital services	1800 377 3599
Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
Royal Flying Doctor Service, only if you have no access to local hospital services	1800 377 3599
Fire and emergency hotline	Not yet added
Victoria (Vic)
VicEmergency Hotline	1800 226 22610
Nurse advice (healthdirect is called NURSE-ON-CALL in Victoria)	1800 022 2223
Queensland (Qld)
13 HEALTH, health advice	13 43 25 846
Community Recovery Hotline	1800 173 3496
Road conditions	13 19 406
Electrical emergencies, Energex area	13 19 626
Electrical emergencies, Ergon area	13 16 706
Bureau of Meteorology Cyclone Warning Line	1300 659 21011
Royal Flying Doctor Service, 24-hour medical and emergency help	1300 69 73379
South Australia (SA)
Royal Flying Doctor Service, only if you have no access to local hospital services (outback)	1800 733 7729
Fire and emergency hotline	Not yet added
Western Australia (WA)
Royal Flying Doctor Service, only if you have no access to local hospital services	1800 625 8009
Fire and emergency hotline	Not yet added
Tasmania (Tas)
Royal Flying Doctor Service	No emergency service. Call 000.9
Fire and emergency hotline	Not yet added
Northern Territory (NT)
Royal Flying Doctor Service	Call 000.9
Fire and emergency hotline	Not yet added

The Royal Flying Doctor Service numbers are for people in remote areas without local hospital services. Everyone else should call 000.9

2. First aid steps

These steps follow the national ANZCOR first aid guidelines.

Someone has collapsed: DRSABCD

1. Danger. Check for danger to yourself, bystanders and the person.
2. Response. Check whether the person responds.
3. Send for help. Call 000.
4. Airway. Open the airway.
5. Breathing. Check for normal breathing.
6. CPR. If the person is unresponsive and not breathing normally, start CPR.
7. Defibrillation. Attach an AED as soon as one is available and follow its prompts.

CPR

1. Give 30 chest compressions, then 2 breaths. This is the same for adults, children and infants.
2. Push at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute.
3. Keep going until the person responds or starts breathing normally, a health professional takes over, or you are too exhausted to continue.

Source: ANZCOR Guideline 8.12

Severe bleeding

1. Lie the person down and call 000.
2. Press firmly on or around the wound. Life-threatening bleeding comes before airway and breathing.
3. If pressure does not stop life-threatening bleeding from an arm or leg, apply a tourniquet above the wound, if you have one and are trained to use it.
4. Do not pull out an object stuck in the wound. Pad around it instead.

Raising the limb does not help.13

Snake bite

1. Call 000.
2. Keep the person still and calm, and watch them closely.
3. Apply a pressure immobilisation bandage (see below).
4. If the person becomes unresponsive and is not breathing normally, start CPR.

Do not cut, wash or suck the bite. Do not use a tourniquet. Do not try to kill the snake.

A snake bite may be painless and may not leave a visible mark.14

Pressure immobilisation bandage

1. Put a broad bandage over the bite. An elastic bandage 10 to 15 cm wide is best.
2. Then bandage from the fingers or toes up the whole limb.
3. Make it firm enough that you cannot easily slide a finger under it.
4. Splint the limb and keep the person still.
5. Leave the bandage on until the person reaches hospital.

Use it for bites from snakes (including sea snakes), funnel-web spiders, blue-ringed octopus and cone shells. Do not use it for redback spider bites, jellyfish stings or fish stings.15

Funnel-web spider bite

1. Call 000. Serious effects can start within 10 minutes.
2. Apply a pressure immobilisation bandage and keep the person still.
3. Do not try to catch the spider. Take a photo only if it does not delay first aid.

Treat a bite from a large, dark spider (a "big black spider") as a funnel-web bite. This matters most in Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the central, northern and southern highlands and south coast of NSW, and south-east Queensland.16

Redback and other spider bites

1. For a redback bite, do not use a pressure bandage.
2. Put an ice pack or cold compress on the bite for pain, for no more than 20 minutes at a time.
3. For a redback bite, get the person to medical care, preferably by ambulance, if they are a young child, if they collapse or if the pain is severe.
4. For other spiders, get medical care if the person becomes unwell.

A redback bite may threaten the life of a child but is rarely serious for adults.16

Jellyfish and other marine stings

1. Call 000. Get the person out of the water and stay with them. Start CPR if needed.
2. If the sting could be from a box jellyfish or Irukandji, pour vinegar on it for 30 seconds, then pick off any tentacles. Tropical waters
3. Do not use vinegar on bluebottle stings.
4. If you have no vinegar, pick off the tentacles and rinse with seawater, not fresh water.
5. For bluebottle, stonefish or stingray, put the stung area in hot water (45°C) for 20 minutes. For other stings, use a cold pack for pain.
6. For blue-ringed octopus, cone shell or sea snake, apply a pressure immobilisation bandage.

Life-threatening jellyfish are found mainly in tropical waters, from Bundaberg in Queensland, across the north, and down to Geraldton in Western Australia. Irukandji symptoms start 5 to 40 minutes after what may seem like a minor sting. They include severe pain, sweating, vomiting and difficulty breathing. Get urgent medical care.17

Burns

1. Move the person away from danger, if it is safe to do so.
2. Hold the burn under cool running water for at least 20 minutes, as soon as possible. Cooling can still help up to 3 hours after the burn.
3. Remove jewellery and any clothing that is not stuck to the skin.
4. Cover the burn loosely with cling film. Do not wrap it around a limb. Keep the person warm.
5. Call 000 for a large or serious burn.

Do not use ice or creams. Do not peel off clothing that is stuck to the burn.

For a chemical burn, rinse with plenty of water and call the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26.18

Heat illness

1. Call 000 early.
2. Move the person into the shade and loosen their clothing.
3. Wet their skin with cool water and fan them continuously.
4. Put ice packs on the groin, armpits, cheeks, palms and soles of the feet.
5. If they are fully conscious and can swallow, give them cool water to drink.

Danger signs: confusion, becoming less alert, seizures or pale skin.

Source: ANZCOR Guideline 9.3.4.19

3. Warnings and fire danger

Warning levels

The same three levels are used across Australia for bushfires, floods, storms, cyclones and extreme heat.20

• Advice An incident has started. There is no immediate danger. Stay up to date in case the situation changes.
• Watch and Act There is a heightened level of threat. Conditions are changing, and you need to start taking action now to protect you and your family.
• Emergency Warning This is the highest level. You may be in danger and need to take action immediately. Any delay now puts your life at risk.

Fire danger ratings

A rating tells you how bad a fire would be if one started. It does not tell you how likely a fire is.2122

• Moderate: Plan and prepare.
• High: Be ready to act.
• Extreme: Take action now to protect your life and property.
• Catastrophic: For your survival, leave bush fire risk areas.

Total fire bans, burning permits and fire hotlines are different in each state. Check the state table above and your state's guides below.

4. Radio

Emergency channels National

UHF CB radio, emergency use only	Channels 5 and 35 476.525 and 477.275 MHz23
27 MHz CB radio, emergency use only	Channel 9 27.065 MHz23
Marine VHF radio, for distress, safety and calling	Channel 16 156.800 MHz24
Marine VHF radio, backup to channel 16	Channel 67 156.375 MHz24
Marine HF radio, distress	4125, 6215, 8291, 12290 and 16420 kHz5

In an emergency you may use any CB channel to get attention.23 Volunteers and state agencies listen on VHF channel 16, but not everywhere along the coast.5

NSW only The NSW marine guide also lists 27 MHz marine channel 88.25

Common UHF CB channels Custom, not law

Roads and trucks, except the Pacific Highway and M1	Channel 4026
Pacific Highway and M1	Channel 2926
Caravans and tourists	Channel 1826
4WD clubs and convoys	Channel 1026

These are habits listed by a volunteer group, Radio Rescue. They are not official rules.

Making a distress call from a boat NSW guide

1. Use "Mayday" when the boat and the people on it are in immediate danger. Use "Pan Pan" when the boat is in trouble but not in immediate danger.
2. Say "Mayday" three times.
3. Say "This is", then the name of your boat, three times.
4. Describe your boat. Then say where you are, what has happened and how many people are involved.
5. End with "Over".
6. If nobody answers, repeat the call on other channels.

Source: NSW guide to alerting rescue services.25

ABC Local Radio in capital cities

The ABC describes itself as the emergency broadcaster. Tune in for warnings and updates.27

Sydney	702 AM
Canberra	666 AM
Melbourne	774 AM
Brisbane	612 AM
Adelaide	891 AM
Perth	720 AM
Hobart	936 AM
Darwin	105.7 FM

Frequencies are as at 30 June 2024.28 For regional towns, see the ABC frequency guides in the Radio documents below.

5. Water, kits and costs

Boil-water alert Qld guide

1. Bring the water to the boil. An electric kettle is the safest way to boil it.
2. Let it cool, then store it in a clean, covered container.
3. Use boiled water for drinking, baby formula, washing hands, preparing food, brushing teeth, bathing babies and making ice.
4. You do not need boiled water to flush toilets or wash clothes.

Source: Queensland Health.29

Emergency kit Qld checklist

• Water for at least five days, with at least 10 litres of drinking water per person.
• Food for five days.
• A battery-powered radio and a torch, with spare batteries.
• Medicines for at least a week.
• Important documents, a first aid kit and some cash.

The NSW SES checklists are similar.30

What emergency care costs

• Medicare covers treatment in a public hospital emergency department.31
• Medicare does not cover ambulance trips. Ambulance trips are free in Queensland and Tasmania. In other states you pay unless you have ambulance insurance or a subscription.32