• Other emergency numbers
• Location information
• What it costs

Other emergency numbers

Text Emergency Call - 106 text emergency call. You can call from teletypewriters. Tell us which service you need and where to come to.

Storm and flood assistance – call 132 500

Fire – other than in an emergency, contact your state or territory service.

Emergencyplus – Download and read about the emergencyplus application.

Police – call 131 444 for police other than in an emergency

Crime Stoppers – call 1800 333 000 to help solve a crime

Poisons Information Centre – call 13 11 26

There's more information about emergency calls on the federal government's triple zero website.

Advances in technology have improved the range of accessible services for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment. For more information, check out Access Hub.

If you dial 112 while you're in a coverage area overseas, you'll be connected to the emergency service for that location. You can also check Smartraveller for details on the destination you are visiting too, as they will have their own Emergency Service Numbers.

In Australia emergency calls to Triple Zero can be made with or without an active SIM in your phone.

If your phone does not have access to the TPG network you may still be able to make an emergency call on another mobile network, which is why you may see 'Emergency calls only' or similar on the screen.

Emergency calls can be made wherever your phone can see any mobile telecommunications network, however if you are travelling in a rural or remote area you should not rely upon your mobile phone to make an emergency call as there may be no mobile telecommunications network available, instead you should have other means of communications such as a satellite phone and for emergencies, carry an emergency beacon.

When calling an emergency call number, information such as your number, name and service location (where available) will be disclosed to the emergency call person (the operator) and the emergency service organisations, regardless of your caller ID settings.

Using a device other than an approved device may impact your ability to call emergency services.

Location information

Location information is critical in providing emergency services to provide the necessary service. In particular, the ability to provide enhanced location information is important where the caller may be unable to identify their location.

In the event of making an emergency call we will supply relevant location information to the emergency call person and the relevant emergency service organisation (police, fire or ambulance) to enable them to corroborate your location. We use a range of technical solutions to do this and they are constantly being reviewed and improved.

These include:

• Push Mobile Location Information (MoLI). MoLI is the location of the cell site from which a mobile call to Triple Zero is made. This is supplied to emergency services for all emergency calls.
   
• Advanced Mobile Location (AML). AML is technology that allows mobile devices to send a location estimate when a call is made to Triple Zero. This improved outcomes for mobile callers in Australia and has the potential to save lives, as it is doing in the countries in which it has already been deployed.

For more information about AML, head to the federal government's triple zero website.

What it costs

There is no charge for calls made to emergency services regardless of whether your service is active or inactive.

• Protecting yourself and your personal information
• Tips to help keep your information secure
• What is Phishing?
• How to tell whether a call you’ve received is legitimate
• Frequently asked questions
• What is TPG doing to ensure the safety of my personal information and data?
• What information of mine do you have in your system?
• Who can see my personal information and data?
• I am no longer an TPG customer, can you delete my personal information and data?
• What can I do to protect myself against fraud?
• I transfered my Optus mobile number to TPG and now want to change my number. Will this affect my credit file?
• Can I make my service non-transferable and ban SIM swaps?
• Can you make sure that no additional services or connections are created in my name?
• How do I know if it’s safe to send my photo ID through to TPG?

Protecting yourself and your personal information

TPG is continuing to take important measures to protect your information, but there are also tactics you can use to protect yourself and reduce your risk of becoming a victim by understanding how to spot a suspicious email, call or SMS.

Tips to help keep your information secure

• Do not provide your password, or one-time passcodes to someone who called you.
• Don’t hesitate to question the legitimacy of a caller. If you ever receive a call claiming to be TPG and you are unsure of the legitimacy, hang up and call us on 13 14 23.
• Double check the sender of an email before responding or clicking on any links.
• Please ensure all of the details in an order confirmation SMS are correct before responding. Decline even if there is a slight discrepancy.
• When chatting to us on social media, always look out for the blue tick.
• While on our website, you may receive a pop up asking you to chat with us, please ensure you are always using the official TPG website.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is a method used by criminals to obtain your sensitive information such as your mobile number, date of birth, passwords, and security codes.

Different methods include:

• SMS and emails posing as having come from legitimate companies asking you to click on links & fill out your security, personal or payment details.
• Scammers may call you posing as your telecommunications provider offering a free phone or a sizeable discount on a device. They will phish for your personal details such as your PIN, your password, or your one-time passcodes. This enables the scammers to impersonate you or gain access to your online accounts to phish for additional private information or to process orders on your behalf. If successful, the scammer may call you again posing as TPG requesting your credit card details to provide a refund or compensation for the fraud.
• Online browser pop up scams that entice customers with the possibility of winning a prize.
• Calls pretending to be from various reputable organisations like a government agency, bank, or energy company, that either threaten action against you or offer heavily discounted or free products to scare or entice customers into voluntarily disclosing their security, personal or payment details.

How to tell whether a call you’ve received is legitimate

• When we call you, we will not ask for a one-time passcode sent to your mobile or email, to verify you.
• We will never call you and ask for your credit card details for refunds, reimbursements, or compensation.
• Any refunds or reimbursements will only be provisioned through your original method of payment.
• We will never call you from a private number.
• If you order a device over the phone or online, we will send you a confirmation SMS with the details of your order including your preferred delivery address.
• We will never proactively reach out to you on social media, we will only ever respond to you, if you contact us.

 

Frequently asked questions

What is TPG doing to ensure the safety of my personal information and data?

We take cybersecurity extremely seriously at TPG and continue to make significant investments to help protect our customers and their personal information. Our Cyber Defence and Response Centre provides around-the-clock event monitoring, threat protection and intelligence, to help protect customer’s data and our services against online security threats.

TPG has processes and procedures in place to manage the security of its customer data and help protect it from unauthorised use, access, modification or disclosure. These include a range of physical and electronic security measures. We also use multi-factor authentication for complex and more involved customer service transactions which you can read about in our support article.

What information of mine do you have in your system?

There are requirements under the Privacy Act, and other legislation, about what information we are required to keep. You can see more information regarding our Privacy Policy on our Privacy Policy page. If you wish to request a copy of your information listed with us, you can complete the Personal Information Request form via the above link.

Who can see my personal information and data?

Our customer’s privacy is extremely important to us.  Customer personal information can only be seen and used by staff who need it to do their jobs and provide services to you.

I am no longer an TPG customer, can you delete my personal information and data?

If we no longer need personal information for the purpose for which it was collected, and if Australian law does not require us to retain that personal information, we are required to destroy or de-identify the information in line with the Privacy Act.

We have strict measures in place to ensure that your personal information can only be seen and used by staff who need it to do their jobs. You can see more information regarding our Privacy Policy on our Privacy Policy page.

What can I do to protect myself against fraud?

Watch out for suspicious calls, SMS and emails asking for your personal information. It is always best to contact the legitimate company if you’re unsure. If you suspect you’ve been a victim of fraud, you should immediately contact your financial service provider. We also have tips on how to keep your personal details safe in our Security Information article.

You can also find valuable information on how to protect yourself from fraud at the websites for the Office of the Australian Privacy Commissioner and Scamwatch.

I transfered my Optus mobile number to TPG and now want to change my number. Will this affect my credit file?

We can assist you with changing your mobile number. Simply changing your mobile number will not affect your credit file. However, we will need to place an enquiry on your credit file if you have requested a new service and a credit check is applicable. To change your number, please contact us on 13 14 23.

Can I make my service non-transferable and ban SIM swaps?

All service providers have obligations before accepting a transfer request. If someone requests your number to be transferred to us, a 2-way SMS is sent to the number that is being transferred. The transfer will only proceed if the SMS is responded to with the correct code. If you receive a message to transfer your service to another provider that you did not request, please do not respond to the message, and contact your provider as soon as possible. If you receive a message from another provider and you’re with us, contact the provider to request the transfer request is cancelled and let us know.

Keep in mind we are held to industry regulations which don’t allow us to stop numbers being transferred away from us. We are required to give customers freedom of choice for their mobile provider and are not permitted to stop a request to transfer a number out from our network.

SIM swaps can only be processed either through a secure link sent directly to your mobile number. If you receive a link to log in to My Account that you didn’t request, please let us know. It’s important be on the look-out for calls or messages requesting information, if this happens, please do not provide your personal information or any links.

Can you make sure that no additional services or connections are created in my name?

We have multi-factor-authentication (MFA) in place for the more involved or complex service requests, to protect your account and information. Before you can add an additional service to your account, we will send you a one-time code before allowing the transaction to proceed. You can read more about MFA in our article.

How do I know if it’s safe to send my photo ID through to TPG?

Sometimes if we’re unable to verify you and you can’t visit a store, or you’re activating a new service, we may need you to provide documentation so that we can verify you to assist with account queries. We have strict requirements about the use and protection of your details. We have strict measures in place to ensure that your personal information can only be seen and used by those who need it to do their jobs.

• Important information about emergency calls to Triple Zero (000)
• We have switched off our 3G network
• Try our new SMS device checker tool
• Frequently asked questions
• What do I need to do?
• Why did the 3G network close?
• What devices are affected by the 3G closure?
• I have a 3G phone, how does this affect me?
• Will 4G/5G network coverage differ from 3G coverage?
• Does this only affect phones? 
• What is VoLTE and how do I switch it on?
• What should I do with my old 3G device?
• I have a TPG mobile plan that uses the Optus network – what do I need to do?

We have switched off our 3G network

TPG switched off its 3G network on 15 December 2023 to focus on our 4G network that now covers more than 24 million Australians and our state-of-the-art 5G network that is stronger than ever.

Starting end of October 2024, 3G network users may not be able to make an emergency call to Triple Zero (000). You may opt for an upgrade to a 4G and 5G compatible device or check if your current device will be affected by this change.

Try our new SMS device checker tool

Some devices may not be able to make emergency calls to Triple Zero (000) once all 3G networks in Australia close (expected to be October 2024). Depending on the device, you may need to upgrade your device to a compatible 4G or 5G approved device or update your device software.

To find out if your device is impacted by the 3G shutdown, use our SMS device checker tool. Just text the number 3 to 3498.

For more information about this industry-wide change, The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) has launched www.3Gclosure.com.au to provide Australians with the key facts and information they need to prepare for the upcoming 3G network closures.

Frequently asked questions

What do I need to do?

The vast majority of our customers do not have to do anything at all and will continue accessing our 4G and 5G networks as they do today.

A very small number of our customers have 3G-only handsets, tablets and connected devices and they will need to upgrade those devices before December 2023.

Some 4G handsets may also need settings changes to be able to continue to make and receive voice calls using our 4G network.

Why did the 3G network close?

Mobile carriers around the world are closing down their 3G networks as more advanced 4G and 5G network services become widespread. Our 4G and 5G networks are more efficient at delivering greater speed and capacity, which means better service and experience for customers.

Similar shutdowns have happened before. All Australian mobile networks switched off their 2G networks a few years ago when they upgraded to 4G. 

TPG's licence to access the 3G spectrum (the invisible electromagnetic frequencies that transmit mobile data) is set to expire in mid-2024.  Although most customers rarely need to access 3G, we want to make sure customers have the appropriate notice and offer support to those who need assistance.

What devices are affected by the 3G closure?

To check if your phone will be affected, you can text “3” to 3498 for free and an automatic reply will tell you if your device is 4G/5G compatible.

Can’t send a text on your device? Please check the manufacturer’s website for info about your device’s capabilities.

All phones, tablets and mobile broadband devices must be 4G/5G compatible and have VoLTE turned on in the settings to continue using our service after the 3G shutdown.

Some older 4G phones that don’t have a feature called “VoLTE” won’t be able to make and receive voice calls after the 3G shutdown.

I have a 3G phone, how does this affect me?

If you have a 3G-only phone then you will no longer be able to make calls, send texts or access the internet on your phone when the 3G network switches off. 

You will still be able to make emergency 000 calls on other 3G networks when in coverage.

WiFi internet access is still possible.  

We recommend you upgrade your phone to a 4G or 5G compatible device to continue having mobile service. 

Will 4G/5G network coverage differ from 3G coverage?

Our 4G coverage is similar in size and reach to our 3G coverage and our 5G coverage is growing every day. Check our 4G and 5G coverage maps.

Does this only affect phones? 

No. Other devices like tablets, mobile broadband modems, smart watches, some home security systems, and other connected devices might also be using 3G services.

Please contact your device manufacturer if you are unsure of your device’s specific capabilities.

What is VoLTE and how do I switch it on?

Voice over LTE (VoLTE) is a feature that allows you to make voice calls using our 4G network. 

You might need to turn the VoLTE setting ON. Please check your device manufacturer’s support website if you are unsure of your device’s specific capabilities.

Android devices

If you have a Samsung device, Voice over LTE should automatically be enabled. If you’ve previously disabled VoLTE and want to re-enable it, or would like to check if it’s enabled on your Android device, please go to your Settings > Mobile Networks.

Apple devices

If you have an Apple device iPhone 6 or later, Voice over LTE should be automatically enabled. To check this or manually enable it, please go to the settings in your iPhone – Settings > Mobile > Mobile Data options > Voice and Data.

What should I do with my old 3G device?

The best way to recycle your old device is with Mobile Muster, the Australian mobile industry's official recycling scheme. Alternatively, please consider eWaste recycling facilities which may be offered by your local council.

I have a TPG mobile plan that uses the Optus network – what do I need to do?

If you got your TPG mobile plan before 12 July 2021, see our Optus 3G Network Closure FAQ for TPG customers.