The Wonderful World of Technology

The Emergency+ app

An injured woman was rescued from the Porongurup National Park with the help of an Australian-designed emergency smartphone app.

The Emergency+ app was launched in late 2013 by the Federal Government’s Triple Zero Awareness Working Group.

Police have encouraged everyone to install it so help can be sent as quickly and accurately as possible in an emergency.

The free app allows callers to pinpoint their location for emergency operators. It is not hard to download and would be useful to have on everyone’s phone

Police App

Police are trained in how to manage a crisis, but they are not taught how to manage their own mental health. A mobile phone app developed by Victorian police for officers and their families aims to change that.

The wellbeing app was the brainchild of Police Association secretary Ron Iddles, who launched it on Tuesday with Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton and Police Minister Lisa Neville as part of efforts to improve police mental health.

Mr Iddles said 1000 serving and former police officers had already downloaded

The app was developed by Phoenix Australia, aaffiliated with Melbourne University, created a similar device for defence personnel with PTSD, but it is the first of its kind for police in Australia.

Defence app trial program to protect soldiers against future injuries

Army uses smartphone app as part of program seeking to protect solders against future injures. Using a smartphone app, senior officers can keep track of the mental and physical wellbeing of soldiers and allow them to tailor their training programs.

The senior officers have not just been keeping an eye on the soldiers’ physical fitness — between 2014-2015, 813 Defence personnel were treated for mental health issues.

If successful, the Army said it planned to roll out the program across the country.