There are some things you need to know and agree to before you join 111 TXT.
You must be deaf, hearing or speech impaired:
By accepting these rules, you have confirmed you are deaf, hearing or speech impaired.
Network delays:
You need to know that sometimes there are delays on the mobile phone network.
This means texts don’t get through straight away.
If this happens in an emergency and you don’t get a text back from Police in 2 minutes, you should contact 111 a different way.
Text from a phone you have registered on the Police website:
You must text 111 from a phone number you registered on the Police website, otherwise your text won't go through.
If you use a phone belonging to someone who hasn’t registered, the text won’t go through.
Police initiated text messages:
At times Police may initiate a text message (SMS) to registered users of the 111 TXT service for emergency or administrative reasons.
Police will endeavour to sign any TXT’s initiated by us as 'from NZ Police'.
Tell Police if you need to update your information:
If you change anything like your name, phone number or address, make sure you come back to www.police.govt.nz/111-txt, 'Change My Registration', and put in the new information.
This is very important because if you have an emergency, Police will have your new information and can help you.
Emergency Caller Location Information (ECLI):
If you text 111 from a smartphone and the phone number has been registered for the 111 TXT service, Emergency Services may be provided with the best available location information from that handset.
The ECLI service is not designed to replace the standard process of you providing details of the emergency location in the initial text message (SMS). In some circumstances ECLI enhances the process of verifying the emergency location by providing supplementary information.
It is important to note that the provision of location data for 111 TXT is not a guaranteed service as it is dependent on a number of factors including the phone make, model, software version, and updates installed.
The system is managed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and the process and system is regulated by the Privacy Commissioner under a Code of Practice (PDF 316KB). Police will only hold the ECLI for the purpose of responding to an emergency call/text and will keep a record of the information that was relied upon to respond to that emergency call/text.
To access more detailed information about ECLI please refer to the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment website.