In Australia, the central phone number for calling police, ambulance and firefighters is "000". This number can be dialled from the whole country and is free of charge. On the other hand, GSM international standard emergency number, "112", can be called only from the digital phones. It also reaches the same emergency service. Let yourself informed if you have a CDMA mobile phone since it may be that "112" is not available on it.

Once you have made your call, an operator will answer asking if you need police or ambulance or fire department. If you need more than one, simply request the most urgent one. Following this, the operator will hand you over to the organization you need. Keep in mind that it is vital to answer the further questions precisely to get the most effective help!

By the way, if you are hearing impaired, remember that Australia is the first country in the world with a national text-based emergency service. Call "106" using your TTY or computer to call police or ambulance in urgent cases.

If you ever need to contact the embassy or consulate of your home country, you can get the list of "representatives of international organizations in Australia" from the address below:

www.info.dfat.gov.au/protocol