Emergencies

Emergency situations, either natural such as: bushfires, heat-waves, severe storms, floods and cyclones or human caused such as: industrial fire or explosion, train, plane or bus accident, chemical spills are a regular feature of life in Australia.

Australia has sound and well-practised emergency management arrangements and agencies in all states and territories to deal with these situations. These agencies have their own plans, arrangements and support organisations dedicated to dealing with all emergencies.

The state and territory emergency management agencies use well trained staff and volunteers to respond to emergencies. Many community organisations also provide trained staff and volunteers to assist these agencies.

There are basic things you can do to promote your own safety and reduce the risk of injury to yourself, your family and your property.

Preparation is the key to better outcomes in emergencies.

You may live or work in an area which experiences natural emergencies and already be familiar with the sorts of things you can do to prepare yourself.

Different threats and hazards need different sorts of preparation. You can help yourself by finding out about the survival preparations necessary for natural and human caused emergencies.

Emergency Management Australia (EMA), the national emergency management agency which works closely with all of the state and territory agencies, has produced useful guidelines to assist everyone to prepare for these situations.

Home Emergency Plan

For your home, it is important to spend a little time and attention doing your own emergency plan and making sure that all family members are familiar with it. An emergency survival kit is also a good idea for all households. Guidelines for this planning are shown in the EMA booklet Community Safety Resources.

EMA has also produced a good booklet Preparing for the Unexpected which talks about what you should do if you are involved in an emergency.

Local public awareness information

It is also important to find out about the emergency services and arrangements available in your local area from the state and territory emergency management agencies and get copies of their public awareness information. If public or information meetings are being held in your area try to attend them. These agencies have several offices in most of the larger states and territories. For details on your state/territory agency see the contact list and websites below.

Contacts for State and Territory Emergency Management agencies

The phone numbers given are capital city general contact numbers only - not emergency numbers.

State or Territory	Phone
Australian Capital Territory Emergency Services Authority	02 6207 8444
New South Wales State Emergency Service	1800 201 000 or 02 4226 2444
Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services	08 8922 3344
Queensland State Emergency Service and Volunteer Marine Rescue	07 4287 8530
Security and Emergency Management in South Australia	08 8463 4171
State Emergency Service of Tasmania	03 6230 2700
Victoria State Emergency Service	03 9684 6666
Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia	08 9323 9300