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If you are in danger now? Ring 000.13YARN 13 92 76 — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander crisis support, 24/7Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 — Any time, free, up to 25Lifeline 13 11 14 — 24/7

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Under 18 and police want to talk to you?

Ring one of these before you say anything. They are free. You do not need a parent to ring for you.

NSW1800 10 18 10Youth HotlineLegal Aid NSW, Children's Legal Service · up to 189am to midnight weekdays, all weekend from Friday 9am, and public holidays
QLD1800 527 527Youth Legal Aid HotlineLegal Aid Queensland · up to 18Monday to Thursday 8am to 9pm, Friday 8am through to Sunday 5pm
ACT1300 654 314Youth Law CentreLegal Aid ACT · up to 25Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 7pm, Friday to 5pm
WA(08) 9202 1688Youth Legal ServiceYouth Legal Service Inc · up to 25 · country callers 1800 199 006Hours not published
VIC(03) 9113 9500YouthlawYouthlaw, Victoria-wide · up to 25Monday to Friday 9am to 4.30pm
SA1300 366 424Free Legal Help LineLegal Services Commission of South Australia · up to 18Monday to Friday 9am to 4.30pm
TAS1300 366 611Tasmania Legal AidTasmania Legal Aid · up to 18Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm
NT1800 019 343Legal Aid HelplineNorthern Territory Legal Aid Commission · up to 18Business hours

2 of 8 answer on a Friday night.

NSW and QLD run into the evening and take the weekend. The rest stop at close of business, and police interviews do not keep office hours.

VALS1800 064 865Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service · Victoria, 24 hoursPolice must tell VALS within one hour of taking an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person into custody.
NAAJA1800 898 251North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency · Northern Territory. Hours not published.

Which means a child arrested at 9pm on a Friday in most of Australia has no youth legal line until Monday, unless they are Aboriginal. That is not a gap on this page. It is a gap in the country.

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Looking for what programs exist rather than a number to ring? Browse the catalogue. It is a record of what has been built around the country, not a referral list, and most entries carry no contact details.

Where these came from

Every number was read from the service’s own site. If one of these is wrong, it costs someone the call, so tell us and we will fix it the same day.