SES (State Emergency Services)

Call the NSW SES on 132 500 if you have experienced damage from storms, wind, hail or a fallen tree and if a tree branch is threatening your property or a person’s safety.

In an emergency, call 000.

The State Emergency Service (SES) is an emergency and rescue service dedicated to assisting the community. They are a volunteer-based organisation that provide emergency assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

While their major responsibilities are for flood and storm emergencies, SES also provides the majority of general rescue effort in the rural parts of the state.

This includes:

• Road accident rescue
• Vertical rescue
• Bush search and rescue
• Evidence searches (both metropolitan and rural) and other forms of specialist rescue that may be required due to local threats.

Volunteers in a number of isolated communities have been trained as Community First Responders by the Ambulance Service of NSW. The organisations trained rescuers also support the full-time emergency services during major disasters.

NSW SES also assists other emergency services when they are performing major operations. These services include the NSW Police Force, the NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue NSW and the Ambulance Service of NSW.