Emergencies - who to call in a crisis

Emergency – ambulance, fire, police

Tel. Call triple zero (000)
Hours 24 hours, 7 days a week

In an emergency call triple zero (000) for an ambulance, the fire brigade or the police. The operator may be able to offer help over the phone until emergency service staff arrive.

People with a hearing or speech impediment can use the text-based emergency services network by dialing 106 on a teletypewriter (TTY). The 106 service does not accept voice calls.

Dialling from a mobile phone

If you are using a mobile phone, always call triple zero (000) first. This will connect you to an operator if you are within range of your normal mobile phone network.

Call 112 as a secondary emergency number when calling from your mobile phone in Australia. This will connect you directly to emergency services if you are within the range of another network, even if the phone keypad is locked. Note that 112 cannot be dialled from the fixed network.

When you are overseas you can also use 112 to be connected to local emergency services.

Other services

There are many organisations that provide telephone advice and counselling. As well as helping you in a crisis, telephone counsellors can provide you with information and a list of other organisations that may be able to help you.

Victorian Bushfire Information Line	Tel. 1800 240 667 Hours Trained operators are available 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Recorded information on specific topics are available 24 hours a day.
Red Cross Information Line	Tel. 1800 727 077
Victorian Poisons Information Centre	Tel. 131 126 Hours 24 hours, 7 days a week Website http://www.austin.org.au/poisons
Victorian State Emergency Service	Tel. 132 500 Hours 24 hours, 7 days a week Website http://www.ses.vic.gov.au
Worksafe Victoria – Emergency Response Line	Tel. 13 23 60 Hours 24 hours Website http://www.workcover.vic.gov.au
Energy Safe Victoria	Tel. 132 771 Hours 24 hours, 7 days a week Website http://www.esv.vic.gov.au/ForConsumers/Emergencies/tabid/66/Default.aspx
NURSE-ON-CALL	Tel. 1300 60 60 24 Hours 24 hours, 7 days a week Website http://www.health.vic.gov.au/nurseoncall/
Maternal and Child Health Line, Victoria	Tel. 132 229 Hours 24 hours, 7 days a week Website http://www.cyf.vic.gov.au/maternal-child-health/telephone
St Kilda Crisis Contact Centre	Tel. (03) 9536 7777, or toll free for country Victoria 1800 627 727 Hours 10am to 12 midnight, 7 days a week
Lifeline	Tel. 13 11 14 Hours 24 hours, 7 days a week Website http://www.lifeline.org.au
SuicideLine	Tel. 1300 651 251 Hours 24 hours, 7 days a week Website SuicideLine
Women's Information Referral Exchange (WIRE)	Tel. 1300 134 130 Hours 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday Website http://www.wire.org.au
Men’s Referral Service	Tel. (03) 9428 2899, 1800 065 973 Hours 12noon to 9pm, Monday to Friday Website http://www.mrs.org.au/
Parentline	Tel. 132 289 Hours 8am to midnight, Monday to Friday 10am to 10pm, Saturday and Sunday Website http://www.parentline.vic.gov.au
Kids Help Line	Tel. 1800 551 800 Hours 24 hours, 7 days a week Website http://www.kidshelp.com.au
Centre Against Sexual Assault (CASA) Counseling and Support	Tel. (03) 9635 3610 Hours 24 hours Website http://www.thewomens.org.au/SexualAssault
Gamblers Help	Tel. 1800 858 858, TTY 1800 777 706 Hours 24 hours, 7 days a week Website http://www.problemgambling.vic.gov.au/immediate-help
Bereavement Information and Referral Service	Tel. 1300 664 786 Hours Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm Website http://www.grief.org.au
Gay and Lesbian Switchboard Victoria	Tel. (03) 9663 2939, 1800 184 527 Hours 6–10pm every day except Wednesday 2–10pm Wednesday Website http://www.switchboard.org.au/

Victorian Poisons Information Centre

Call the Victorian Poisons Information Centre if someone is:
for advice about poisonings,, bites and stings, mistakes with medicines and poisoning prevention advice

• Poisoned
• Takes an overdose
• Bitten or stung by spiders, snakes, bees, wasps or other venomous creatures.
• The Centre does not give advice about poisoning in animals. You should ring your vet for this information.

Victorian Bushfire Information Line

The Bushfire Information Line provides the community with a wide range of information about bushfires. The service provides information and advice on:

• Major bushfires
• Bushfire safety messages
• Total Fire Bans and Fire Restrictions
• Emergency Relief Centre location details
• Bushfire recovery information
• DSE fuel reduction burns and other planned burns
• Community meeting information.

Victorian State Emergency Service

The Victorian State Emergency Service (VICSES) is a volunteer based emergency service. The service provides help and assistance to Victorians through:

• Planning and responding to floods, severe storms and earthquakes
• Road accident rescue
• Search and rescue
• Supporting other state emergency services such as the Victorian Police.

Worksafe Victoria – Emergency Response Line

Contact the Worksafe Victoria 24-hour emergency response line to report serious workplace emergencies.

Energy Safe Victoria

Call Energy Safe Victoria for concerns about gas leaks and for other gas emergency assistance and advice.

NURSE-ON-CALL

NURSE-ON-CALL is a telephone health line that provides Victorians with immediate, expert health advice and information from a registered nurse. You might call NURSE-ON-CALL when:

• You or someone you are caring for is unwell
• You are not sure if you should seek medical help or not
• You are away from home or are a long distance from medical help
• You want information or advice about a health concern or a health service in your area.

Maternal and Child Health Line, Victoria

This service is staffed by maternal and child health nurses who provide callers with information, support and advice about:

• Child health
• Maternal health
• Parenting issues.

St Kilda Crisis Contact Centre

This service provides Housing Information and Referral, and Transitional housing services to assist households in crisis as result of homelessness or impending homeless.

Lifeline

Lifeline provides confidential telephone counselling. The free service:

• Is staffed by trained volunteers who are supported by professional staff
• Provides advice on relationship problems and personal wellbeing
• Helps people who may be thinking about suicide.

Women's Information Referral Exchange (WIRE)

The Women’s Information Referral Exchange is a telephone service women can call to talk through their problems with trained women volunteers. The service provides:

• Advice, information and support for women
• Help with issues such as debt, domestic violence, sexual assault, housing, children and counselling.
• Women who have hearing loss should telephone the National Relay Service on 133 677.

Men’s Referral Service

Men worried by their behaviour can call the Men’s Referral Service. Women concerned about the behaviour of a partner, husband, relative or friend can also call the service. The service can provide:

• Telephone counselling and information to men concerned about their behaviour at home
• Advice and referral options to help men stop their violent or abusive behaviour
• An up-to-date listing of services available throughout Victoria.

Parentline

Parentline is a confidential telephone counselling service you can call to discuss any parenting issue.

Kids Help Line

This service is anonymous, confidential and especially for kids. Children and adolescents can email the site or ring to discuss issues such as:

• Child abuse, neglect and domestic violence
• Bullying
• Eating disorders
• Suicide prevention.

Centre Against Sexual Assault (CASA) Counseling and Support

CASA provides free, confidential 24-hour services to young people, women and men.

Gamblers Help

Gamblers Help (formerly G-Line) may be able to help if gambling is affecting your life. You can call for confidential:

• Crisis telephone counselling
• Referral to services such as financial counsellors and government funded specialist gambling services.

Gay and Lesbian Switchboard Victoria

The Gay and Lesbian Switchboard can provide:

• A peer counselling service – the trained volunteers are all gays or lesbians
• Names of gay and lesbian friendly contacts in some large mainstream organisations
• Advice for family and friends of gays and lesbians.

Things to remember

• Call triple zero (000) for ambulance, fire or police in an emergency.
• Look in the front of your local telephone book for more emergency help organisations.
• All these services provide confidential help.

You might also be interested in:

• Domestic violence - services for women.
  
• Drug overdose.
  
• Emergencies - calling triple zero 000.
  
• Emergencies - when to call an ambulance.
  
• Emergency department - what to expect.
  
• Fungi poisoning.
  

Want to know more?

Go to More information for support groups, related links and references.

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The Better Health Channel

Last reviewed: June 2011

Content on this website is provided for education and information purposes only. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not imply endorsement and is not intended to replace advice from your doctor or other registered health professional. Content has been prepared for Victorian residents and wider Australian audiences, and was accurate at the time of publication. Readers should note that, over time, currency and completeness of the information may change. All users are urged to always seek advice from a registered health care professional for diagnosis and answers to their medical questions.

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If you need advice in an emergency, or urgently need to speak to someone about a problem, there are several numbers you can call. For ambulance, fire or police services call triple zero (000). Some other helpful numbers are listed here that can help with poisons, bushfires, suicide prevention, counselling, domestic violence and other serious situations.

Content on this website is provided for education and information purposes only. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not imply endorsement and is not intended to replace advice from your qualified health professional. Content has been prepared for Victorian residence and wider Australian audiences, and was accurate at the time of publication. Readers should note that over time currency and completeness of the information may change. All users are urged to always seek advice from a qualified health care professional for diagnosis and answers to their medical questions.

For the latest updates and more information, visit www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au

Copyight © 1999/2012  State of Victoria. Reproduced from the Better Health Channel (www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au) at no cost with permission of the Victorian Minister for Health. Unauthorised reproduction and other uses comprised in the copyright are prohibited without permission.