IMPROVING 000 CALL HANDLING

7 April 2004
40/04

New call handling arrangements for the 000 emergency service will connect callers to the State Emergency Service (SES) in their State or Territory more quickly and reduce potential delays in handling genuine 000 calls.

From today, callers who phone 000 for SES assistance will be forwarded to a recorded voice announcement telling them how to contact the SES in their State or Territory.

This is a joint initiative of the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) and Telstra.

I requested the ACA to investigate call handling arrangements in response to claims that significant delays were experienced in public access to the 000 service during storms in Melbourne in December last year.

The proposal to use a recorded voice announcement was one of a number of recommendations contained in the ACA's report to me in February 2004.

The ACA's investigation found that a significant proportion of calls to 000 during the storms were from people trying to contact their local SES for assistance in dealing with water damage to their homes.

The emergency call service is an operator-assisted service that connects a caller, free of charge, to police, fire or ambulance in a life threatening or time critical situation.

The introduction of the recorded voice announcement telling callers how to contact their SES aims to reduce potential delays in handling genuine 000 calls.

The Australian Government is strongly committed to ensuring the efficient operation of the Telstra 000 emergency call service.

The final ACA report is available from the 'Publications' link on the Telecommunications home page at www.dcita.gov.au


Media Contact: Carina Tan-Van Baren (02) 6277 7480 or 0439 425 373