// Australia-wide custody notification system

If you get arrested,
who finds out?

One call. No internet. No memory required.
Your people get texted the moment you dial in — before any interview, from any police station phone.

// call this number
1800 BUSTED
GET PROTECTED → HOW IT WORKS

Three steps. Two minutes.

01 //

Sign up + add contacts

Add up to 10 people — family, friends, your lawyer. Register with your mobile and date of birth. Nothing new to memorise — you already know both.

02 //

If arrested, call 1800 BUSTED

Ask to make your phone call. Dial 1800 BUSTED from the station phone — it's free to call and police must let you make it.

03 //

Enter mobile + DOB, then speak

Key in your mobile and DOB. Then say where you're being held and leave a short message. Your contacts get all of it by SMS within seconds.

// what your contacts receive
URGENT: Jordan Smith has been detained and asked you to be notified. Location: Newtown Police Station. Time: 11:42 PM AEST. Their message: "I'm okay, call Pete." They cannot be reached. Legal help: contact Legal Aid in your state or call 1300 888 529 (NSW) · ALS 1800 765 767.
// location + voice message transcribed and delivered instantly to all contacts

If you already know the drill.

Activists have been writing a lawyer's number on their forearm in sharpie before a direct action for decades. That piece of paper handed out at rallies — legal support line, bail fund number — that's the original bust card. 1800 BUSTED is the digital version, built so it works even when your phone is confiscated and your memory has left the building.

Activists + protesters

Set this up before you leave the house. Your legal support and family get notified automatically — no sharpie required.

📋

People with a record

If you've had police contact before, your phone won't be in your hand when you need it. Plan ahead while you can.

⚖️

Criminal lawyers

Give clients a number as part of onboarding. Your after-hours line gets the first notification, automatically.

🏠

Anyone sensible

Takes two minutes to set up. Costs nothing to have waiting. You don't have to expect it to prepare for it.

Give every client a
digital bust card.

Create a lawyer account in 30 seconds. Share one link. Every client who signs up through it automatically has you as their first notification contact — your number fires before any police interview, even if they've lost your card and forgotten your number.

01 //

Create your lawyer account

Enter your name, firm and mobile. Takes 30 seconds.

02 //

Share one link with clients

You get a unique URL. Text or email it to clients during onboarding or at their first appointment.

03 //

You're pre-filled as contact #1

When a client signs up through your link, your mobile is locked in as their first contact. No data entry for them. No missed calls for you.

Built around how Australian custody actually works.

1800 = free to call

From a police station phone with no money. An 1800 number costs nothing to dial.

No smartphone needed

Works from any landline. Police can't unlock your phone anyway — this doesn't need it.

Fires before interview

You have the right to a call before questioning. That's exactly when this runs.

Nothing to memorise

Your mobile and your DOB. You already know both. There is nothing new to write down.

Legal resources in every SMS

Every alert includes your location, your voice message, and Legal Aid contacts for your state. Your people know exactly what to do.

Private by design

We don't record calls. We don't store conversations. Your data is for notification only.

Set it. Don't check in.
It fires itself.

A deadman switch is an automatic trigger. Set it before a protest, a raid, or anywhere you might not come back from easily. If you don't cancel it in time, it alerts your contacts automatically — no call required. You don't have to do anything when things go wrong. That's the point.

01 //

Set a timer

From your account, set a switch: "alert my contacts at 11pm if I haven't cancelled this." Add a preset location and message.

02 //

Check in to cancel

You get a cancel link by SMS. Tap it if you're safe. One second. That's it.

03 //

If you don't cancel — it fires

At the set time your contacts get the full alert: your name, location, preset message, and legal resources. Automatically.

// what contacts receive when a deadman fires
DEADMAN ALERT: Jordan Smith set an automatic check-in and did not cancel it. Location: Newtown. Triggered: 11:00 PM AEST. Their message: "I was at the blockade on King St." They may be in custody or need help. Legal help: Legal Aid in your state · ALS 1800 765 767.
// fires automatically — no call needed

Simple pricing.
No gotchas.

// free forever

BASIC

$0
No card required
  • Mobile + date of birth ID
  • Up to 3 contacts
  • Location + voice message
  • SMS with legal resources
  • Deadman switch
  • Unlimited contacts
GET STARTED FREE

Common questions.

Can police refuse to let me call 1800 BUSTED?
In every Australian state and territory you have the right to notify someone of your arrest and to contact a lawyer. In practice, custody managers have discretion about which numbers they'll dial. An automated service is a grey area — some officers will dial it, others may insist you call a person directly. If you get resistance, ask for Legal Aid or a duty lawyer first and let them contact your people. For planned actions, carry 1800 BUSTED and a backup human number. Know your state's rules: NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, ACT and NT all have slightly different custody rights legislation but the core notification right exists everywhere.
What exactly does the SMS say?
Your contacts receive something like: "URGENT: [Name] has been detained and asked you to be notified. Location: [where you said you are]. Time: [timestamp] AEST. Their message: '[what you said]'. They cannot be reached. Legal help: contact Legal Aid in your state or call 1300 888 529 (NSW) · ALS 1800 765 767." The location and voice message are transcribed from what you say during the call. If you skip them, they're left out.
Does this work if I'm sent to prison or remand?
1800 BUSTED is designed for the police station stage — the critical first few hours after arrest. Correctional centres across Australia use a separate Offender Telephone System that only allows pre-approved numbers. This doesn't work inside prison, but that's not when you need it. The notification happens at the station, before anything else.
Do my contacts need to sign up for anything?
No. They just receive an SMS from an unknown number. Tell them in advance that they might get a message like this, so they know to take it seriously and not dismiss it as spam.
What if I forget my date of birth?
You won't. But if something's wrong with your account you can update your details by logging in with your email.
Is this legal?
Yes. 1800 BUSTED is a notification relay service. It sends an SMS on your behalf, nothing more. We don't provide legal advice and we're not a legal service. The SMS contains publicly available numbers — we're just making sure your people have them at the right moment.