ESTA provides 3 key services to the Victorian community and our Emergency Service Partners:
- Emergency Communication Services (ECS)
- Emergency Communication Information Services (ECIS)
- Emergency management services, in conjunction with Emergency Management Victoria.
ESTA also manages emergency markers that can be found in locations without set addresses, such as beaches, parks and trails.
Emergency Communication Services
ESTA’s dedicated workforce of specialist emergency call-takers and dispatchers are ready to help Victorians when they need it the most.
Triple zero (000) is enabled by ESTA’s Emergency Communication Services (ECS), with dedicated teams of call-takers and dispatchers operating 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. ECS engages the Victorian community via a range of channels to receive and manage requests for emergency help.
ESTA works with Ambulance Victoria, Fire Rescue Victoria, the Country Fire Authority, Victoria Police and Victoria State Emergency Service to respond to sensitive, time-critical and life-dependent emergencies, providing resources and assistance.
ESTA also provides call-taking and dispatch for non-life-threatening emergencies involving storm or flood, and additionally manages non-emergency operational matters and services such as non-emergency patient transfers.
Non-emergency patient transport
ESTA manages call-taking and dispatch for Ambulance Victoria, including non-emergency patient transport. This patient transport service helps ensure more emergency ambulances are available to respond to genuine, time-critical medical emergencies. In 2021–22, ESTA booked and dispatched almost 200,000 of these events.
This is done using contracted non-emergency patient transport (NEPT) partners as well as Ambulance Victoria's in-house clinic car and stretcher services. It is in compliance with the NEPT regulations that stemmed from the Non-Emergency Patient Transport Act 2003.
Further information is located on the Ambulance Victoria website under Non-Emergency Patient
Emergency Communication Information Services
ESTA provides community safety through 24/7 Emergency Communication Information Services (ECIS), which support emergency services organisations as they respond to Victorians’ needs.
ECIS provides the expertise and technology that maintains and improves ESTA’s innovative technology-based services and digital channels, with a key focus on data management and intelligence.
ESTA’s secure intelligence information and communication channels are used in real-time and as a strategic tool, informing and improving community safety and health, and supporting tens of thousands of emergency field responders.
ECIS also operates a complex, state-wide radio infrastructure which supports a broad set of communications channels and intelligence systems. In 2021–22 this infrastructure enabled over 2.8 million calls for assistance, 23 million radio calls, 570,000 data transactions, tens of thousands of fire alarms and 1.4 million emergency alert messages.
Emergency Services Partner Communications
ESTA manages the contracts for operational communications service agreements with Victoria’s law enforcement and public safety organisations, as well as service leadership and delivery with Emergency Management Victoria.
These communications services support the Metropolitan Mobile Radio Service (MMR) and Regional Mobile Radio (RMR) service; the Mobile Data Network (MDN) and the state-wide Emergency Alerting System (EAS).
Metropolitan Mobile Radio (MMR)
The MMR network is a digital radio system providing secure, high-quality voice communications for Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria, VICSES, Corrections Victoria, Life Saving Victoria (LSV) and Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) over the greater Melbourne region. The network also forms an important part of ESTA’s Call-taking and Dispatch (CTD) operations and some 15,000 fixed, portable and mobile (vehicle-based) radio terminals.
Regional Mobile Radio (RMR)
The RMR network provides high quality, reliable and secure radio communications across regional and rural Victoria. Originally designed to provide the CFA with direct communications with incident dispatchers, the network now provides a range of critical communication services for the CFA, Victoria Police, FRV, Victoria State Emergency Service, Corrections Victoria and LSV.
Mobile Data Network (MDN)
The MDN is a secure digital data system integrated with ESTA’s Call-taking and Dispatch (CTD) system. It enables the communication and transmission of essential dispatch information, status and location data for Ambulance Victoria resources, with an operational fleet of in-vehicle mobile data terminals, tablet devices and data-supported radio terminals across the greater Melbourne region.
Emergency Alerting System (EAS)
The EAS is a state-wide dedicated messaging system which enables the CFA, VICSES and Ambulance Victoria staff and volunteers to be alerted simultaneously to incidents and provided with text messages through pagers.
Managed Device Service (MDS)
The Managed Device Service is vendor-neutral purchasing, asset management and support service for radio terminal equipment operating on the MMR and RMR radio networks (see above). Designed to contribute towards a common operating platform for emergency services radio devices, the MDS is used by Corrections Victoria, LSV, Victoria Police and VICSES.
Co-locations
ESTA manages 60 telecommunications sites on behalf of the state of Victoria. If you require information about becoming a tenant, please:
- Review the co-location guide
- Complete the application form
Alterntively, you can email your questions to Co-Locations@esta.vic.gov.au or phone ESTA on 03 8656 1200 and ask for the Manager of Managed Services.
Emergency management
ESTA, in conjunction with Emergency Management Victoria and private industry, provides critical communications capabilities, intelligence and data across federal, state and local governments. We communicate as one to resolve both localised and large-scale emergency events for Victorians and our interstate counterparts on the New South Wales and South Australian borders. Leveraging a vast range of experiences and capabilities, we provide timely and precise provision of community intelligence, field responder intelligence and communications capabilities, in partnership with Emergency Management Victoria.
Emergency management focuses on business preparedness, response and recovery. This service concentrates on our pandemic response, prepares ESTA for the bushfire season and other significant areas that require a planned and coordinated response.
Emergency markers
Emergency markers are designed to pinpoint your exact location in public open spaces or an area that may otherwise be hard to define. They are located in public areas such as national parks, cycling tracks, river trails, reserves, gardens and racecourses.
ESTA now has more than 3,220 emergency markers that call-takers can use to specify a caller's location in an emergency.
For further information on the emergency markers program, please email the team at emergencymarkers@rapidmap.com or call (03) 9466 5200.
Emergency markers can also be incorporated into other types of signage, within specific guidelines.
Reviewed 16 March 2023