Device Location Information Service

Available for eligible organisations

Helping emergency services to locate and help a person at risk, who didn’t call 111.

Service
Location Information Services
Delivered by
SafetyNet
Overview

When emergency services locate your device

Around one in five calls to 111 are people calling about someone else rather than needing help themselves, for example reporting someone who is missing or considered to be in danger.

In situations like this emergency services can, in some circumstances, locate a person’s mobile phone, even if they haven’t called 111, through the Device Location Information Service (DLI). This might include a call transferred from a non-emergency number (eg Health Line, *555).

This helps emergency services to more quickly locate and help a person who’s at risk.

DLI can only be used:  

  • At the request of an emergency service provider; and 

  • When the emergency services consider there is a serious threat to a person’s life or health  

CALL 111 IF YOU NEED TO REPORT SOMEONE LOST OR MISSING OR NEED IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE 

  • 2m+

    Calls made to emergency services every year.

  • 1 in 5 calls

    To emergency services are reporting a risk or threat to someone other than the caller.

How it works
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Infographic

Infographic showing how the Device Location Information system works [PNG, 274 KB] 

Privacy & requesting information

How your information and privacy is protected

The key steps to safeguard your privacy are:  

  1. A robust authorisation process 

  2. Transparency – notifying you when your information has been collected, provided it’s safe to do so 

  3. Monitoring and reporting on how DLI is used . 

Read the Privacy Statement here

Read the Privacy Commissioner's blog post on the Device Location Information service(external link)

1. Authorisation

Emergency services have to go through a robust authorisation process prior to requesting device information, to ensure they are complying with the Code. 

2. Notification 

When location information is collected from a mobile device, a follow-up text notifying the individual concerned will be sent as soon as possible, provided it is safe to do so, from the emergency service provider. 

The text message will include the date, time, duration of the information collection and categorise the purpose of collection, for example a search and rescue event.   

The follow-up text can be delayed for up to seven days, or not sent at all, in situations where the safety or physical or mental health of a person may be compromised.   

People who get a text can challenge the collection of their location information if they believe it to have been unnecessary. Find out how to get more information or make an enquiry here

3. Monitoring and reporting 

SafetyNet must maintain a log of all disclosures of device location information and provide this to the Privacy Commissioner on a quarterly basis. The disclosure log requires reporting on the purpose relied upon to obtain the location information, the grounds for the belief that it was necessary, the date and duration of disclosure, and whether the person concerned was notified.  

SafetyNet and the emergency services will also monitor the use of the service through their internal assurance processes.  


Benefits of DLI
DLI is faster and more streamlined than the previous approach of having to make a manual request to mobile network operators to collect location information from a device. 

It provides an approximate geographical location, and the frequency that location information is collected can be updated as needed, making it easier for emergency service providers to continue checking for a location.   
In an emergency, every second counts. 


Accuracy of DLI 
While you can choose to share the location of your mobile handset, it is not possible for anyone else to enable, or ‘turn on’ high precision location capabilities such as GPS, unless you have called 111. This is because manufacturers have set the system up to protect location settings unless you make an emergency call.   

This means DLI can only use network-based positioning and as a result, locations returned will span a larger geographical area when compared to handset positioning. While there is a high level of confidence that the device will be in this larger area, it is less precise than handset positioning.   


Contact us
Find out how to get more information or make an enquiry here