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Emergency Location Information
Emergency services benefit from using location information to quickly and accurately find people during emergencies. Location information has become a key part of how emergency services respond and help people in need.
The Emergency Caller Location Information (ECLI) service helps 111 call takers get automatically receive geographical location information when someone calls 111 from a mobile phone on a cellular network. This helps confirm where the caller is more quickly, so emergency services can respond faster. The ECLI service improves public safety and can help save lives by reducing the time it takes to find and dispatch help.
The Device Location Information (DLI) service builds on the existing Emergency Caller Location Information service (ECLI). DLI allows emergency services to request a phone’s location if:
- There hasn’t been a 111 call from the device, or where a 111 call has ended unexpectedly, and
- There’s a situation deemed to be a serious threat to a person’s life or health as reported by someone else, for example, a friend or family member.
Many calls to 111 are made by people concerned about others who are not with them, for example, someone who is lost, missing, or threatening self-harm. DLI helps emergency services respond faster and more effectively in these situations.
Emergency Caller Location Information (ECLI)
The ECLI informs Police, Fire and Ambulance of your location when you call 111 from a mobile device. You still need to tell the emergency call taker where you are or as much information about your location as you can. The system helps emergency services find you faster, even if you’re not sure of your exact location.
ECLI works with all mobile phones and you don’t need to do anything different when you call 111, even if your phone’s location services are turned off. Your data is protected and your location is only provided when you call 111.
The ECLI service is also supported by registered Android devices using the 111 TXT service. Learn about the 111 TXT service
More information about how the ECLI system operates is available on the Next Generation Critical Communications website. Go to NGCC website
Who's involved
The ECLI Service is a collaboration between Next Generation Critical Communications (NGCC), emergency service providers and mobile network operators (like Spark).
Spark shares network cell site data to an Emergency Location Information (ELI) system managed by NGCC. The ELI system processes this data, then sends it to the relevant authorised emergency service provider.
Authorised emergency service providers, New Zealand Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, St John and Wellington Free Ambulance, can use location information to help them confirm where you are calling from, so they can respond to the emergency as quickly as possible.
The information Spark provides to the NGCC
The ECLI Service is a collaboration between Next Generation Critical Communications (NGCC), emergency service providers and mobile network operators (like Spark).
Spark provides network cell site data to a Emergency Location Information (ELI) system operated by NGCC. The ELI system receives and processes ECLI, then sends it to the relevant authorised emergency service provider.
Authorised emergency service providers — New Zealand Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, St John and Wellington Free Ambulance — can use this location information to help them verify where you are calling from, so they can respond to the emergency as quickly as possible.
Privacy of mobile callers
The Privacy Commissioner has authorised the Emergency Caller Location Information system via Schedule 4 of the Telecommunications Information Privacy Code which was updated in 2020. View the privacy code
Device Location Information (DLI)
The Device Location Information (DLI) service uses network based location estimates to provide the general location of the mobile device. This helps emergency services call takers and dispatchers see the device's likely location on a map, including if it moves.
The DLI service makes things faster. In the past, emergency service providers had to manually request location data from mobile network operators, which could take some time. In an emergency, every second counts.
Who's involved
Device Location Information (DLI) can be used by the following services:
- Fire and Emergency New Zealand
- Wellington Free Ambulance
- New Zealand Police
- Hato Hone St John
Maritime New Zealand can also request DLI through the New Zealand Police. They play an important role in responding to emergency situations.
When an emergency call taker assesses that a person’s life or health is at serious risk or threatened, they send a DLI request to an authorised commander within New Zealand Police. The commander must consider the reasons given, and the request can only be approved when they agree there is a significant threat to a person’s life or health.
The information Spark provides
- Mobile number
- Location estimate
Information will only be used for the purpose of helping emergency service providers to identify the location of callers to 111 to respond to their request for assistance or to help locate people for whom there is otherwise considered to be a serious threat to their life or health.
The information is retained by Spark, along with records of its delivery to the Emergency Location Information System (ELIS), for three months for monitoring and troubleshooting purposes.
Privacy of mobile callers
DLI is enabled through amendments to Schedule 4 of the Telecommunications Information Privacy Code 2020, following public consultation by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
Emergency Services follow a strict process for reviewing and authorising requests for DLI, to unsure make sure location data is only used for the intended purpose.
The Code requires collection of DLI to be disclosed. If your location is collected during an emergency, you'll get a follow-up text to the device that was searched for, letting you know when it was collected and why, only if it's safe to do so.
This enables individuals to query the collection of their mobile device’s location information if they believe it to have been unnecessary. If the emergency services consider sending the text would likely prejudice the physical or mental health of the individual concerned or another individual, then the text may be delayed for seven days or not sent.
Anonymised data about the use of DLI gets collected by Next Generation Critical Communications (NGCC) and reported to the emergency services as part of their own internal monitoring and auditing processes.
A log of DLI use will be recorded and regularly reported to the Privacy Commissioner.
Requesting your information
You can ask to access any of your information that Spark holds. For how to do this, see Ask about your personal information
If you've received a text about your location information being collected and you want more information, please email Next Generation Critical Communications via their website. Go to the NGCC website
You can also request access to the record of your 111 calls from the emergency service providers at the links listed below:
Making a complaint
If you'd like to make a privacy complaint, there are a few different ways you can do this. View Spark's privacy complaints process
If you'd like to complain or enquire about the ECLI or DLI system, please visit the Next Generation Critical Communications website for more information. Go to the NGCC website
Complaints about Emergency Service Providers should be made to the relevant organisation.