If you find yourself in an emergency which is either life threatening or where time is critical, you can use one of these services.

106 TTY emergency service

The 106 TTY emergency relay service is the world's first national text-based emergency service. It provides access for TTY users to fire, police and ambulance and is available 24 hours a day, every day. If you rely on a TTY to make calls, you can dial 106 in an emergency. 106 calls are given priority over other other NRS calls.

How 106 works

• Simply dial 106. This is a toll-free number.

• You will be asked if you want police (type PPP), fire (type FFF) or ambulance (type AAA). Note: Speak and Read (or voice carry over) users just need to say "police", "fire" or "ambulance" to the relay officer.

• The relay officer will dial the correct service and stay on line to relay your conversation with the emergency service.

• Because a TTY is connected to a fixed line, the emergency service can locate where you care calling from - you will be asked to confirm your address.

• The 106 service can only be dialled from a TTY. It cannot be accessed by:

  • an ordinary phone
  • text message (SMS) on a mobile phone, or
  • internet relay (see below).

Speak and Listen callers

There is a separate emergency call procedure for Speak and Listen (speech-to-speech relay) callers who use an ordinary phone or mobile rather than a TTY.

How it works

• Dial 1800 555 727 and then ask for Triple Zero (000). These are toll-free numbers. Note that calls to this number are given priority over other NRS calls.
• You will be asked if you want police, fire or ambulance.
• The relay officer will dial the correct service and stay on the line to help you, if necessary, communicate with the emergency service.

If you make the call from a landline, the emergency service can trace your location (which may be important, for example, if you pass out before confirming your address). If you ring from a mobile and can't provide your location, the emergency service may not be able to find you.

Note: You can of course ring 000 directly if you feel confident that you can be understood by emergency services.

Emergency calls via internet relay

If you are using internet relay, you can ask the relay officer to connect you to Triple Zero (000) - the voice emergency service.

Note that an internet relay call (unlike a call to 1800 555 727 or to 106):

• cannot be identified as an emergency call and can't be given any priority until you have been connected to a relay officer
• cannot provide your location so if you can't identify where you are (for example, if you pass out while making the call) the emergency service may not be able to find you.

Tips for emergency calls

• Always ask for the service you need - police, fire or ambulance.
• Be ready to explain the emergency.
• You will need to state or confirm your location. This will help route the call to the closest emergency services operator as quickly as possible.
• Do not hang up. Wait for a reply from the emergency service.
• The relay officer will stay on the line to relay your conversation. The emergency service will ask you questions and decide on the best way to help you.

Your privacy

The NRS respects your privacy (see more) and treats all calls with confidentiality. However, all 106 and 000 emergency calls are recorded so that emergency services such as the police can track events if necessary.