Safety & help: emergencies, scams, free interpreting and voting

In Australia, if someone is seriously injured, life or property is in danger, or you have just seen a serious accident or crime, call 000 (Triple Zero). When the call connects, say whether you need police, fire or ambulance. The call is free. From a mobile you can also dial 112, which reaches the same service. People who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment use a TTY to call 106. Do not tie up 000 with non-urgent matters: the police non-emergency number is 131 444, storm and flood help is SES 132 500, health questions go to healthdirect 1800 022 222, and poisoning to 13 11 26.

Australia has compulsory enrolment and compulsory voting. If you are an Australian citizen aged 18 or over and have lived at your current address for 1 month, the law requires you to enrol with the AEC and to vote in federal, state or territory and local elections. After your citizenship ceremony, enrol once online at aec.gov.au/enrol; this covers all three levels of elections. You can use your citizenship certificate number, Australian driver licence, Australian passport or Medicare card. If you do not vote in a federal election you receive a notice: you either give a valid reason or pay a A$20 administrative penalty. Permanent residents and temporary visa holders cannot enrol.

The most common scams in Australia include callers pretending to be police, an embassy or a courier from your home country (for example the 'Chinese authority' scam), callers pretending to be a government department or debt collector who threaten arrest or deportation, investment and cryptocurrency scams, and fake jobs and fake rental listings. Scamwatch's rule is simple: any call that threatens arrest or deportation is a scam, so hang up. Ignore anyone who asks you to pay by gift card, wire transfer or Bitcoin. If you have been scammed, contact your bank first, then call IDCARE (1800 595 160) and report it to Scamwatch; if you lost money, report it to the police through ReportCyber. Scamwatch also publishes scam information in languages other than English.