Information for Emergency Services

Learn how to respond to cardholders in an emergency situation.
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The National Assistance Card is a personalised communication tool to assist people with disability in a range of situations. The Card is available to Autistic people and people with brain injury in Australia.

The Card includes key information about the cardholder’s unique areas of difficulty, the assistance they may need, and their emergency contact person’s details.

Why is it important to know about the Card?

  • The information on the Card can help you decide how to manage the situation and best support the cardholder and ensure they are safe.​
  • The Card is a legitimate and reliable resource. Cardholders must provide documentation from a medical or allied health professional to verify their disability.

Are you National Assistance Card Aware?

Download the National Assistance Card flyer for emergency services to share with your team or display at your workplace.

Download

“The National Assistance Card helps emergency service personnel administer appropriate assistance should they attend a situation where a person with disability has become distressed or overwhelmed. The card allows the person to communicate their condition when they cannot otherwise do so.”

Inspector Toohey
Tasmania Police

Recognising the National Assistance Card

The Card has a distinct appearance:

  • a white background
  • a red border
  • the cardholder’s photo
  • the National Assistance Card logo.
The front of National Assistance Card

The front of the National Assistance Card has a white background with a red border. In the top left corner is the National Assistance Card logo, which features a stylised square icon in blue and red alongside the text "National Assistance Card" with a registered trademark symbol. The top left features the National Assistance Card logo. Large text reads, “Your understanding and assistance is appreciated.” Below, it shows “First Name Last Name” and pronouns. In the top right corner is braille spelling “NAC”. On the right side of the card is a portrait photo placeholder shown as a blue silhouette of a person inside a rounded rectangle outline. Below the photo, there is text appear in small black font: "DOB: 01/02/1990".

Front of the card
The back of National Assistance Card

The back of the National Assistance Card has a white background with a red border. The content is arranged in two columns. In the left column, the following text appears in bold black: "I live with brain injury." Below this in regular weight: "I also have other disabilities and/or conditions." A second bold heading reads: "I may need understanding or support with:" followed by a bulleted list of five items: coordination difficulties, communication difficulties, anger management difficulties, being non-speaking, and sensory overload (light, sound, smell, touch). Below the list, a bold heading reads: "My nominated contact person" followed by two lines in regular weight: "Full name" and "Phone number." At the bottom are “Police Assistance Line: 131 444” and the website www.nationalassistancecard.com.au In the right column, red text reads “Scan to understand my needs” above a QR code.

Back of the card

Learn how to respond

If someone shows you their National Assistance Card, you can:

  • acknowledge you recognise the Card
  • ask the cardholder how you can assist them
  • read the card
  • scan the QR code to find out more about the cardholder
  • call the cardholder’s contact person if requested or you need to.
An image of hand holding National Assistance Card

Apply for the National Assistance Card

Apply now →