Call 000 for police, fire or ambulance services in an emergency.
How to call
- Dial 000 from a landline, pay phone, mobile or satellite phone within Australia
- You can also dial 112 from a mobile phone in Australia.
Important – if there is no mobile coverage on any network, you will not be able to reach Triple Zero from your mobile phone.
When you call
- Stay calm and call from a safe place
- Tell the operator which service you need – police, fire or ambulance
- If asked, provide your suburb, town and state
- Your call will be connected to the service you requested
- Stay on the line, speak slowly and clearly, and answer questions
- Do not hang up until told to do so.
Providing your location
You will be asked where you are.
Try to give:
- street number and street name
- nearest cross street or landmark
- suburb, town or area.
If you are in a rural area:
- give the full address
- include distances from landmarks, roads, and property names.
If calling from a mobile or satellite phone:
- you may be asked for additional location information.
If you are in a moving vehicle:
- provide the direction you are travelling
- provide the last exit, town or landmark you passed.
Follow the operator’s instructions
The operator is trained to help you stay safe. They may ask you to wait at a pre-arranged meeting point to assist emergency services to locate you.
Things to remember
- Only call Triple Zero in an emergency
- Stay on the line until the operator tells you to hang up
- If you do not know the exact address, describe your location as best you can.
In an emergency, can you be found?
When you call Triple Zero (000) from a landline, help may be sent to the address linked to your phone service if you aren't able to provide this information.
By law, phone companies are required to provide your address to a secure database called the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND).
When you call Triple Zero (000):
- Your stored address may automatically appear on the operator’s screen
- This information is passed on to the emergency service (police, fire or ambulance).
Important: Make sure your phone provider has your correct address details so emergency services can find you quickly.
When you call Triple Zero (000) or 112 from a mobile phone, Advanced Mobile Location can help emergency services work out where you are.
On many smartphones, Advanced Mobile Location automatically turns on location services during an emergency call, if they are not already on. Your phone estimates your location and sends it to the emergency call service by SMS.
You should still tell the operator your location if you can, as this helps emergency services find you quickly.
Having trouble connecting to Triple Zero?
In an emergency, every second matters. That's why all Australian mobile network operators work behind the scenes to help your Triple Zero (000) call connect. Even when you are outside your mobile service provider’s network coverage, a 000 call can still be made if another mobile network is available.
What happens when you call 000?
When you call 000 from a mobile phone, it will first try to connect using your mobile service provider’s network. If your network isn't available, your phone will try to connect to another mobile network, if available. This is known as ‘emergency camp-on’.
What is ‘emergency camp-on’?
If your network is unavailable, your phone looks for another available mobile network and temporarily connects to call 000. You don't need to change any settings or do anything yourself. It works automatically at no cost, even without an active SIM in your phone.
What to do if your 000 call doesn't seem to be connecting?
The ‘emergency camp-on’ process can take time to connect to another network. Generally, there will be silence on the line while this happens.
- If your initial call doesn’t connect in around 5 seconds, hang up and try again immediately.
- On subsequent attempts, stay on the line for up to 60 seconds to give your phone the best chance to connect via another network.
All phones are different; if ‘emergency camp-on’ is available, iPhone will show ‘SOS’ or ‘SOS only’ depending on the iOS version. Android will show ‘Emergency calls only’, ‘No service – emergency calls only’, or a small SOS icon. If your phone shows ‘No service’, there is no mobile network coverage available where you are and you will not be able to call 000 using a mobile network.
If you can’t connect
‘Emergency camp-on’ won’t work if you are outside the coverage range of all mobile networks.
In this situation:
- use a landline phone or public phone, if available
- connect to Wi-Fi and use Wi‑Fi calling on your device (for more information, contact your mobile service provider).
If you cannot connect to Triple Zero, keep yourself safe, move away from danger if possible, help others where safe to do so, and seek help from people nearby or use any available means to contact emergency services.
Other languages and text-based services
- If you are deaf or have a hearing and/or speech communication difficulty, you can use a TTY (teletypewriter or textphone) to call 106 which contacts the National Relay Service (NRS).
- If you do not speak English:
- call Triple Zero (000) from a landline
- ask for 'police', 'fire', or 'ambulance'
- stay on the line – a translator will be arranged to assist you.
Find out more
For more information, explore the other emergency numbers page.