Who to contact when something goes wrong
Half the difficulty of dealing with an Australian institution is working out which one it is. Tax is federal; tenancy is state. Consumer law is national; enforcement is not. This page maps the problem to the body that can actually do something about it — and says plainly what each one cannot do.
Short answer
For anything life-threatening, call 000. For non-urgent police, 131 444. For tax, 13 28 61; for Medicare, 132 011; for Centrelink, 132 850. For underpayment at work, Fair Work on 13 13 94. For a bank, insurer or super fund, AFCA on 1800 931 678. For a scam, call your bank first, then report to Scamwatch.
The order that works
Step 1
Go to the business or agency first
Almost every ombudsman and tribunal will refuse a case that has not been put to the other side first. Put it in writing, keep the reference number, and give them a deadline.
Step 2
Escalate to the free ombudsman or regulator
Ombudsmen are free to you and cost the business a case fee. That asymmetry is why a complaint that went nowhere for months gets resolved in days once it is lodged.
Step 3
Only then, the tribunal
State civil and administrative tribunals (NCAT, VCAT, QCAT and their equivalents) are cheap and lawyer-optional, but they are a formal legal step with filing fees and deadlines.
Emergency and urgent help
If life or property is in immediate danger, none of the rest of this page matters. Triple Zero is free from any phone, including a locked mobile with no credit and no SIM.
Police, fire or ambulance when someone is in danger, a crime is happening now, or a fire has started. Ask for the service you need; the operator will connect you.
24/7
Emergency contact for people who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment, via a TTY or teletypewriter. 112 also reaches emergency services from any GSM mobile.
24/7
Crimes that have already happened and are not in progress — a stolen car, a break-in discovered later, property damage. In most states this is the number instead of 000.
24/7
Storm and flood damage, fallen trees, a roof that has come off. Not for fires; not for anything life-threatening.
24/7
Something swallowed, inhaled, splashed in an eye, or a suspected overdose. One number covers the whole country.
24/7
Free nurse triage when you are not sure whether it needs a GP, an after-hours clinic or an emergency department.
24/7
Mental health, crisis and family violence
These lines are free, confidential and staffed by trained counsellors. You do not need a referral, a Medicare card or a visa to call any of them.
Anxiety, depression and general mental wellbeing support, plus a large library of self-help material.
24/7
National sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service — for people experiencing it, and for people worried about someone else.
24/7
Telephone and online counselling for men with family and relationship concerns, including support to change violent behaviour.
24/7
Federal government services
Payments, Medicare, tax, passports and visas are Commonwealth matters, so the same number works wherever you live in Australia.
Enrolment, cards, claims, safety net and the Australian Immunisation Register.
Mon–Fri, business hours
JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, Age Pension, family payments and student support. Different payment types have different numbers; this is the employment-services one.
Mon–Fri, business hours
Sign-in problems, linking codes, lost access to a myGov account, Digital ID questions.
Mon–Fri, extended hours
Tax file numbers, tax returns, notices of assessment, payment plans, and superannuation held by the ATO.
Mon–Fri, business hours
Visas, citizenship, visa conditions and work rights. Immigration and citizenship enquiries.
Mon–Fri, business hours
Free interpreter to talk to most government agencies and many services, in over 150 languages.
24/7
Phone access for people who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment, in place of a standard voice call.
24/7
Work, money and debt
Free, independent and — importantly — able to make binding decisions in your favour. Complaining to an ombudsman costs you nothing and costs the business a case fee, which is why it works.
Underpayment, unpaid entitlements, wrong classification, unlawful deductions, sham contracting. Also runs the Pay and Conditions Tool for checking award rates.
Mon–Fri, business hours
Unfair dismissal, general protections and bullying applications. Strict time limits — 21 days from dismissal.
Mon–Fri, business hours
Free external dispute resolution for banks, insurers, super funds, brokers and financial advisers once the firm's own complaints process has failed.
Mon–Fri, business hours
Free, independent financial counselling. Counsellors can negotiate with creditors, stop harassment and explain hardship options.
Mon–Fri, 9:30am–4:30pm
Company registration, director IDs, and reporting misconduct by financial firms. Runs the Moneysmart consumer site.
Mon–Fri, business hours
Bankruptcy, debt agreements and personal insolvency — the register and the official process.
Mon–Fri, business hours
Consumer problems and complaints
Consumer guarantees are federal law, but they are enforced by state and territory fair-trading agencies. Start with the trader, then the ombudsman or fair-trading body, then the tribunal.
The national consumer law and its guarantees. The ACCC does not resolve individual disputes but publishes what your rights are and takes systemic action.
Mon–Fri, business hours
Consumer complaints, rental bonds, tradespeople and licensing in New South Wales.
Consumer complaints, residential tenancies, motor car traders and licensing in Victoria.
Consumer complaints and licensing in Queensland, via the 13 QGOV line.
Consumer complaints, tenancy and licensing in Western Australia.
Consumer complaints, tenancy bonds and occupational licensing in South Australia.
Phone, mobile and internet complaints — billing, faults, connections, contract disputes — after the provider has had a chance to fix it.
Mon–Fri, business hours
Unresolved complaints about participating Australian airlines, including delays, cancellations and baggage.
Scams, fraud and identity theft
Speed matters more than anything else. Call your bank first — before reporting anywhere else — because a payment recalled in the first hours is the one you get back.
The first call, always. Ask them to attempt a recall or trace on the payment and to freeze the account. The number is on the back of your card and in your banking app.
24/7 at every major bank
Report a scam so it feeds national disruption work. Reporting here does not recover money — it builds the intelligence picture and triggers takedowns.
The police reporting channel for cybercrime, online fraud and identity crime. Generates a report reference your bank or insurer may ask for.
Free, government-funded identity and cyber support service. Builds you a personal response plan when your identity documents have been compromised.
Mon–Fri, business hours
Privacy complaints and notifiable data breaches — when an organisation has leaked or misused your personal information.
Mon–Fri, business hours
Legal help
Legal Aid commissions and community legal centres give free initial advice regardless of income for many matters, and full representation subject to means tests.
Free legal information, advice and referral in New South Wales — the front door to Legal Aid NSW.
Free legal information and advice, and representation in eligible criminal, family and civil matters.
Free legal information and advice line for Queensland residents.
Directory of the ~160 independent community legal centres, many of which specialise (tenancy, employment, welfare rights, women's legal services).
Complaints about discrimination and harassment under federal law — race, sex, disability, age.
Mon–Fri, business hours
Sources & provenance
Facts verified
- 1.Triple Zero — when to call 000 OfficialAustralian GovernmentUsed for: Emergency call numbers and when each applies
- 2.Services Australia — phone us OfficialServices AustraliaUsed for: Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support line numbers
- 3.ATO — contact us OfficialAustralian Taxation OfficeUsed for: Individual and business enquiry numbers
- 4.Fair Work Ombudsman — contact RegulatorFair Work OmbudsmanUsed for: Infoline number and hours
- 5.Australian Financial Complaints Authority RegulatorAFCAUsed for: External dispute resolution scope and contact
- 6.Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman RegulatorTIOUsed for: Telecommunications complaint pathway
- 7.Scamwatch — report a scam OfficialNational Anti-Scam Centre, ACCCUsed for: Scam reporting channel and what reporting does
- 8.IDCARE OfficialIDCAREUsed for: Identity compromise support service and number
- 9.healthdirect OfficialHealthdirect AustraliaUsed for: Nurse triage line and coverage
- 10.Lifeline Australia OfficialLifelineUsed for: Crisis line number and channels
Not a source — AI-assisted analysis on this page
- AI-assisted analysis — which body to try first, and in what order — The ordering advice on this page (bank before Scamwatch; trader before ombudsman before tribunal; ombudsman rather than court for consumer disputes) is our reasoning about how these processes interact in practice. It is not a rule published by any of the agencies listed, and it does not override any specific instruction an agency gives you.
Phone numbers and scope descriptions on this page come from each organisation's own contact page, listed above. Numbers change occasionally and hours change often; the link beside each entry goes to the page that publishes the current details. The escalation order — business, then ombudsman, then tribunal — is our own framing of how these bodies interact, not a procedure any single agency publishes.
Facts on this page are taken from the sources listed above — Australian government departments, regulators, statutory bodies and official statistical releases. Comparisons, judgements and "which option suits whom" conclusions are AI-assisted analysis written over those sources; they are marked in the text and listed as an AI-analysis entry in the sources, not attributed to any authority. Rates, thresholds, fees and processing times change, often at the start of a financial year; figures are current as at the review date shown and should be confirmed with the responsible agency before you rely on them for money or legal decisions.
Looking for the step-by-step rather than the phone number? Browse the guides →