Find a Carer
If it is urgent, start here
Don't wait, and don't try to do it alone. Victoria has a hotline that runs 24 hours and a government tool that finds the registered carers closest to you. Here is where to start.
In Victoria
Three ways to get help, in the order we would use them.
1. Ring the emergency line
Wildlife Victoria's Emergency Response Service is staffed 24 hours a day. They take your details and send the right person.
Have your exact location ready — a street address, a road name and the nearest cross street, or a dropped pin. Tell them what the animal is, what you can see, and whether it is on a road.
2. Find a registered carer yourself
The Victorian Government's Help for Injured Wildlife tool searches by location and species, and gives you the registered shelters and foster carers closest to you with their contact details. It covers native wildlife in Victoria only.
3. Other Victorian numbers
- 136 186 — DEECA, general enquiries and wildlife emergencies
- 1300 136 017 — Whale and Dolphin Emergency Hotline
- 133 677 — National Relay Service, for callers who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment
For an introduced or domestic animal rather than native wildlife, contact your local council or a vet.
While you wait
General guidance only. Whatever the hotline or the carer tells you overrides anything on this page.
- Keep yourself safe first. Do not step onto a road, and leave snakes, bats, flying foxes, large kangaroos and birds of prey to a trained rescuer.
- Note the exact spot you found the animal. It usually needs to go back there.
- Keep it warm, dark and quiet — a towel in a ventilated box, away from people and pets.
- Do not offer food or water. The wrong food, or a mouthful of water, can kill a shocked animal.
- If you find a dead marsupial on the road and it is safe to stop, check the pouch. There is often a live joey in there.
Outside Victoria
The Victorian tool only covers Victoria. If you are in another state or territory, start with one of these.
On Ya Apparel is not a rescue service. Josh and the family look after the animals that come through their own sanctuary in Gippsland and cannot attend call-outs. Please use the numbers above so the animal gets help as fast as possible.
Interstate numbers come from the RSPCA Australia knowledgebase and were checked in November 2026. Services change — if a number does not answer, try the next one on the list or ring a local vet, as most will take in injured wildlife.