What should you know about healthcare and emergencies in Perth?
Emergency number
000
Updated July 2026 · Sources cited: expatexchange.com, expatarrivals.com
Good to know
Good to Know
- In Perth (and everywhere in Australia), the number to remember is 000 — 911 simply does not work and will not connect you to help.
- If you don't speak English, you can still call 000 and say 'police', 'fire' or 'ambulance' — you'll be connected and an interpreter arranged once transferred.
- Download the Emergency+ app before you need it: it auto-detects your GPS coordinates, which is genuinely useful in Perth's sprawling suburbs or if you're out at places like Kings Park or the coast and aren't sure of the exact address.
- The Emergency WA app is worth having during WA's bushfire season (roughly November–April) for real-time warnings — set a 'watch zone' around wherever you're staying.
- 112 only works from a mobile phone and offers no advantage over dialling 000 directly — it's just a backup if 000 somehow fails to connect.
- For any life-threatening emergency in Perth, call 000 for an ambulance — this is the national emergency number, not a local one.
- Royal Perth Hospital treats adults only; if you have a child needing emergency care, Perth Children's Hospital (right next to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Nedlands) is the dedicated paediatric ED.
- Emergency departments in WA triage by severity, not order of arrival, so wait times for non-life-threatening issues can run well over an hour at busier hospitals like Royal Perth and Fiona Stanley.
- There are other public EDs further from the center (e.g. Joondalup Health Campus in the northern suburbs, St John of God Midland, and St John of God Murdoch next to Fiona Stanley) — worth knowing if you're staying outside the inner city, though they're not close enough to the center to be a first-choice option for most nomads based downtown.
Official Safety Apps
Emergency+
- Cost
- Free
- Purpose
- Lets you call 000 directly from the app and automatically displays your GPS latitude/longitude to give to the operator if you don't know your exact location; also has 'what3words' and drop-a-pin functions and CPR videos.
- Publisher
- Developed with support from Australian state/territory governments and emergency services (WA Police Force is a listed supporter)
Platforms
- iOS App Store
- Google Play
Emergency WA
- Cost
- Free
- Purpose
- Perth/WA's official real-time source for bushfire, cyclone, flood, storm and hazardous-material alerts and warnings; lets you set 'watch zones' (e.g. your Perth address) for push notifications, and includes emergency contact numbers and a bushfire emergency plan tool.
- Publisher
- Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES), on behalf of the Government of Western Australia
- Notes
- This app is for situational awareness/warnings, not for placing the 000 call itself — use Emergency+ or dial 000 directly for an active life-threatening emergency.
Platforms
- iOS App Store
- Google Play
Healthdirect App
- Cost
- Free
- Purpose
- Can also be used to call triple zero (000) from a smartphone, alongside general health advice.
- Publisher
- healthdirect Australia (Australian Government-funded service)
Platforms
- iOS App Store
- Google Play
Universal Emergency Number
- Number
- 000
- Cost
- Free from any phone, including mobile, landline, and payphones
- Name
- Triple Zero
- Notes
- Calling 911 will NOT direct you to the emergency services in Australia.
- Description
- Triple zero (000) is the emergency number for ambulance, police or fire services in Australia. Call 000 if the situation is serious and urgent.
Covers
- police
- fire
- ambulance
Hospitals
Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) — Emergency Department
- Hours
- Open 24 hours a day, every day of the year
- Address
- Wellington Street, Perth WA 6000 (entrance off Victoria Square)
- Trauma Designation
- WA's only accredited State Adult Major Trauma Unit; verified as a Level 1 trauma service by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Trauma Verification Program
- Distance From Center
- In the CBD
- Notes
- Adult-only hospital (450 beds) located right on the edge of the CBD. Handles the large majority of the state's major trauma cases and has a rooftop helipad.
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) — Emergency Department
- Hours
- Open 24 hours a day, every day of the year
- Address
- G Block, Hospital Avenue, Nedlands WA 6009
- Trauma Designation
- Major adult tertiary/teaching hospital; no specific state trauma-level designation was identified in available official sources (distinct from RPH's designated major trauma unit)
- Distance From Center
- Nedlands, roughly 10-15 minutes' drive from the CBD
- Notes
- Located on the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre site in Nedlands, a short drive from the CBD.
Perth Children's Hospital — Emergency Department
- Hours
- Open 24 hours a day, every day of the year
- Address
- Hospital Avenue, Nedlands WA 6009 (Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre site, adjacent to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital)
- Trauma Designation
- Dedicated paediatric emergency department; no separate trauma-level designation identified in available official sources
- Distance From Center
- Nedlands, roughly 10-15 minutes' drive from the CBD
- Notes
- The dedicated children's ED for the Perth metro area — RPH does not treat children, so this is the go-to for paediatric emergencies in this part of the city.
Fiona Stanley Hospital — Emergency Department
- Hours
- Open 24 hours a day, every day of the year
- Address
- 11 Robin Warren Drive, Murdoch WA 6150
- Trauma Designation
- Large adult and paediatric ED (72 beds) with its own State Burns Service; a major full-service hospital, though a specific state trauma-level rating was not confirmed in available sources
- Distance From Center
- Murdoch, about 15km south of the CBD — clearly outside the immediate city-center area
- Notes
- The main tertiary hospital serving Perth's southern suburbs.
Crime Stoppers
- Number
- 1800 333 000
- Use Case
- Anonymously reporting information about crime
Non Working Numbers
- 911
- Does not work in Australia and will not redirect to 000.
Poisons Information
- Number
- 13 11 26
- Name
- Poisons Information Centre
- Use Case
- National 24/7 advice line for poisoning or suspected poisoning
Non Emergency Police
- Number
- 131 444
- Name
- Police Assistance Line
- Use Case
- Non-urgent police matters (e.g. reporting a past theft, not an in-progress emergency)
Secondary Mobile Number
- Number
- 112
- Notes
- There is no advantage to dialling 112 over 000 — it does not get priority and cannot be used from a fixed landline.
- Description
- 112 is the international standard emergency number, which can only be dialled on a digital mobile phone, and redirects to the same Triple Zero (000) service.
State Emergency Service Ses
- Number
- 132 500
- Use Case
- Non-life-threatening flood, storm, or major weather-damage assistance (not for triple-zero-level emergencies)
Hearing Speech Impaired Number
- Number
- 106
- Notes
- You cannot contact emergency services in Australia via SMS text message.
- Description
- 106 is a text-based national relay service for people with a hearing or speech impairment, usable only via a teletypewriter (TTY) or device for the deaf.
Wa Bushfire Emergency Info Line
- Number
- 13 33 37 (13 DFES)
- Use Case
- WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) info line for current bushfire, cyclone, storm and flood warnings — not a substitute for 000 in a life-threatening situation.
Healthcare
- Facilities
- Perth has a large number of public and private healthcare facilities.
- Access Overview
- Healthcare services in Perth are of very high quality, with both public and private healthcare widely available.
- Cost Note
- Healthcare costs can quickly become expensive for uninsured foreigners.
Public Healthcare
- Coverage
- Medicare covers all treatment in public hospitals and includes complete or partial consultations from doctors.
- Eligibility
- Australian citizens and permanent residents are entitled to Medicare, though it is not accessible to expats with temporary visas.
- Registration Timeline
- Expats seeking to access Medicare need to register with their passport, travel documents, and permanent visa to procure a Medicare card, which can take anywhere between three weeks and a month.
Private Healthcare
- General
- Private health care is widely available and provides options at accredited private clinics and hospitals.
- Coverage Gaps
- Medicare does not cover the cost of prescription drugs, visits to the dentist, an ENT specialist, and physiotherapy.
- Visitor Options
- Expats or those who are temporary visa holders need to opt for an international private health insurance plan.
Pharmacies
- Availability
- In the larger cities of Australia, pharmacies are easy to find and remain open till late or round the clock.
- Medication Names
- Expats should be aware of the generic name of any chronic medication before arriving in the country since brand names vary from country to country.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this emergencies research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Perth
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.