Information services

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This page outlines the key services and organisations that provide official warnings, road closure updates, weather information and public safety advice to help Victorian communities stay informed and make safe decisions.

Summary

Key Victorian emergency information sources include VicEmergency for warnings, incidents and planned burns, and VicTraffic for road closures and traffic alerts.
Emergency Alert sends location-based warning messages to landlines and mobile phones during emergencies.
Agencies such as Victoria Police, SES, Ambulance Victoria and DEECA provide emergency management and public safety support.
Weather warnings and forecasts are provided by the Bureau of Meteorology.
Emergency updates can also be broadcast via official radio and television emergency broadcasters during major incidents.

Key information services

Emergency service	Description
VicEmergency (Warnings, incidents and planned burns) www.emergency.vic.gov.au	Warnings, incidents and planned burns are all displayed on the VicEmergency website - the single location for all emergency information in Victoria.
VicTraffic (Road closures) traffic.transport.vic.gov.au	On this website you will find information about unplanned (emergency) road closures and traffic alerts. It is Victoria's official source of information about roads and traffic during incidents and emergencies that may impact road users.
Emergency Alert (Telephone warnings) www.emergencyalert.gov.au	Emergency Alert is the national telephone warning system used by emergency services to send voice messages to landlines and text messages to mobile phones within a defined area about potential emergencies.
Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) www.deeca.vic.gov.au	DEECA brings together Victoria’s energy, environment, water, agriculture, forestry, resources, climate action, and emergency management functions into a single department to maximise connections between the environment, community, industry and economy.
Parks Victoria www.parks.vic.gov.au	This site includes information about closures to roads, tracks, visitor sites and picnic areas.
Victoria Police www.police.vic.gov.au	Access during road closures for motorists travelling in a bush fire environment. Note: The term 'roadblock' or 'road block' is no longer in use. Instead the correct term is 'road closure'.
Know your council www.vic.gov.au/know-your-council	Find your local council or information about Victoria's 79 councils.
Bureau of Meteorology www.bom.gov.au/vic/forecasts/melbourne.shtml	Victorian weather and warnings.
Wildlife Victoria / Help for Wildlife www.wildlifevictoria.org.au	Wildlife rescue teams are on stand-by to assist in fire-affected areas to treat wildlife in need of help. For those close to fire affected areas, surviving wildlife will be disorientated, smoke affected, very likely suffering burns to some degree, hungry and severely dehydrated.
Department of Health www.health.vic.gov.au/environmental-health/bushfires-and-public-health	Information on bushfires and public health.
Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR) www.vic.gov.au/bushfire-risk-register-barr	Information on the BARR, including a list of the schools, kindergartens and child care facilities assessed to be most at risk of bushfire.
State Emergency Service (SES) www.ses.vic.gov.au	Floods, severe storms, earthquakes, road accident rescue, search and rescue and other emergency support.
Ambulance Victoria www.ambulance.vic.gov.au	Official portal for emergency and non-emergency ambulance services in Victoria, Australia. It also provides key information on health and safety, community programs, and career opportunities.
Australian Red Cross www.redcross.org.au	Includes information about relief centres, registering and comforting evacuees and first aid care.
Energy Safe Victoria www.esv.vic.gov.au	Includes information on electricity and gas safety advice during fires and incidents.
Emergency Management Victoria www.emv.vic.gov.au	Find out about emergency management in Victoria.

Emergency broadcasters

During significant fires in Victoria, stay tuned to your emergency broadcasters to hear fire updates, community alerts and other important messages.

Emergency broadcasters include:

ABC Local Radio
UGFM – Radio Murrindindi
Stereo 974
Plenty Valley FM
Commercial radio stations across Victoria
SkyNews television

A complete list of official emergency broadcasters can be downloaded from the Emergency Management Victoria website.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment contact the VicEmergency Hotline through the National Relay Service.

Make sure you have access to a battery powered radio to use because the power may fail.
Alternatively you can call the VicEmergency Hotline on 1800 226 226 (free call).

Other Australian fire services

Organisation	Website Address	State or Territory
ACT Rural Fire Service	www.esa.act.gov.au	Australian Capital Territory
NSW Fire Brigades	www.fire.nsw.gov.au	New South Wales
NSW Rural Fire Service	www.rfs.nsw.gov.au	New South Wales
Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service	www.fire.nt.gov.au	Northern Territory
Queensland Fire Department	https://www.fire.qld.gov.au/	Queensland
Rural Fire Service Queensland	https://www.fire.qld.gov.au/about-us/frontline-services/rural-fire-service-queensland	Queensland
Country Fire Service	https://www.cfs.sa.gov.au/home/	South Australia
South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service	www.mfs.sa.gov.au	South Australia
Fire Rescue Victoria	www.frv.vic.gov.au	Victoria
Tasmania Fire Service	www.fire.tas.gov.au	Tasmania
Department of Fire & Emergency Services	www.dfes.wa.gov.au	Western Australia