Do AFF'ers register with Smart Traveller?

[ajd]

My understanding is that if there is a terriorist attack (ie, Bombing) phone networks are shut down to prevent bombs being detonated by mobile signal, and I believe that the consulates would have better information to inform people of what's happening as soon as systems come back up again.

In that kind of situation, phone networks often fall over simply due to overload + infrastructure damage, even without the authorities doing anything. Emergency responders and senior officials in most countries have equipment to grant them priority on communications networks simply so they can get their job done.

 

[RooFlyer]

I have never registered.

Don't see the point. It adds a layer that does not need to be there. My family know exactly where I am at any point in time.

So if someone in your situation is lying injured after an earthquake, say in Turkey or somewhere, what would their family exactly do about it?

Call DFAT and give them all your details, 8 hours after the event?

 

[Moopere]

... and the others relying on family etc.

Can I suggest a reason (and I'm talking about serious events where the traveller is actually involved .. not just in the area).

If you or communications are incapacitated in some crisis (earthquake, crash, attack etc) and its overnight in Australia (as is likely) then your family and friends may not hear about it for many hours after the event. If things happen as they should (and I will grant that this may not occur but I hear things are getting regrettably efficient nowadays) then I would want somebody looking out for me in the immediate aftermath and not just after F&F make enquiries.

Also, say your F&F were aware of your likely predicament (but they can't contact you, you are injured, major earthquake zone) ... what are they going to do about it? Call the government and ask for help, right? Why not save time and give your itinerary direct? Who knows, by the time F&F wake up in the morning and realise something has happened, DFAT may have already identified which hospital you are in.

Trouble is that Australia has a pretty rotten record of helping australians overseas when in trouble. Occasionally, if the trouble is a natural disaster and large enough and gathers enough media attention then they will do the right thing and have done a pretty decent job - but if its small scale and/or doesn't grab the nations attention you're stuffed. I'd feel a _lot_ more comfortable with someone I can trust going to bat for me I'm sorry to say.

 

[RooFlyer]

I'm not sure of any disaster / event these days involving Australians that doesn't get quite a lot of attention, even if its from F&F in Australia saying 'Wah, we've been abandoned by DFAT!'. And if someone is in trouble, and DFAT doesn't know anything about their where-abouts, how exactly are they meant to help?

Without wanting to be argumentative , as anyone's opinion on this is fair enough, but to those who say they are OK with relying on family and friends, or some-one they trust 'going into bat for them' how exactly does that work when the poo hits the fan? Say if there is an earthquake and you are directly caught up in it; or an attack etc. Do you expect those F&F, trusted people etc to jump on a plane and come and find you and help you? How would they go getting to Nepal after the earthquake there?

We all know what those F&F etc would actually do so I ask the question again - why wouldn't you register on line with DFAT (Smarttraveller), get hours head start and relieve the F&F of some stress ?

 

[Moopere]

I'm not sure of any disaster / event these days involving Australians that doesn't get quite a lot of attention, even if its from F&F in Australia saying 'Wah, we've been abandoned by DFAT!'. And if someone is in trouble, and DFAT doesn't know anything about their where-abouts, how exactly are they meant to help?

For the big stuff, sure, all participants are generally on the same page so it can't hurt and if enough Australians are involved then the government, through DFAT and other branches can bring some serious assets into play to rescue you and others.

For the individual disaster, like a disappearance (ie, likely kidnapping) its my view that one needs to take care in letting DFAT take a lead role. If one wants to let the government know out of courtesy thats fine and an individual choice - but our government has a pretty woeful track record in these sorts of cases. We do not, historically, react in the same way to protection of citizens as some other governments do (many european, usa, etc, etc).

Without wanting to be argumentative , as anyone's opinion on this is fair enough

Yes, agree, and its certainly an individual choice. Also depends a lot of who your F&F are and what life experiences they might have that can usefully be brought to bear. My elderly Mum and Dad for example couldn't do much except make the call to DFAT

but to those who say they are OK with relying on family and friends, or some-one they trust 'going into bat for them' how exactly does that work when the poo hits the fan?

Depends on the nature of the poo hehe. If I were kidnapped in Western Nigeria, or southern Thailand, or north eastern Malaysia, or Western China, for example, I'd rather have a private contracting company leading the recovery.

Say if there is an earthquake and you are directly caught up in it; or an attack etc. Do you expect those F&F, trusted people etc to jump on a plane and come and find you and help you? How would they go getting to Nepal after the earthquake there?

Yes, sure - for the big stuff, no problem, get DFAT involved.

 

[JohnK]

So if someone in your situation is lying injured after an earthquake, say in Turkey or somewhere, what would their family exactly do about it?

Call DFAT and give them all your details, 8 hours after the event?

Point taken.

And what would Smart Traveller do? Get me out there and into a hospital? I have my phone with me. Home is one of the numbers in my contacts. I talk to mum daily and if cannot talk I send them sms to let them know all OK. I have my wallet with me with drivers licence and also a laminated copy of my passport page.

My family know where I am at all times. I am not comfortable anyone else knowing my whereabouts other than what I provide on the outbound immigration form. No silly apps on my phone able to be tracked other than the phone itself.

 

[robd]

Every time. Costs me nothing and in the unlikely event, hopefully my family back home will be advised.

 

[coyote25]

maybe we could ask DFAT if we could just share our Tripit with them

Mostly yes, but there is a limit of number of places you can list which is a pain on long trips. When that happens I list this that I think if something went wrong I'd need the most help.

 

[JohnM]

Mostly yes, but there is a limit of number of places you can list which is a pain on long trips. When that happens I list this that I think if something went wrong I'd need the most help.

It is just that that put me off registering for a DONEx - I ran out of fields. I'll check it out again and maybe just put in the more 'iffy' ones if it hasn't changed since I last tried it.

 

[footy99]

I've never done it.

I think it would be worthwhile if you were travelling to a country on the "Do Not Travel" list, but I haven't done that yet (at least while the country was on the list).

 

[doctau]

I usually do for personal trips, but haven't bothered for work trips. Mostly because I forget, but my company knows where I should be anyway.

 

[Moopere]

I am not comfortable anyone else knowing my whereabouts other than what I provide on the outbound immigration form

This, 100% this.

In the mid nineties I backpacked through northern Jordan and a lot of Syria. Part way through my travels the Israelis started bombing Lebanon. No particular problem for me, I wasn't up to anything nefarious, and neither Jordan nor Syria were directly involved, but I was within 100km of what was technically a war zone - the political climate was different then ... but if it happened now, with the arbitrary stance our government seems inclined to take (and its been this way through several government changes so I'm not making a partisan inference) one could conceivably find oneself in a world of trouble... you know ... young man on an adventure who happens to have a military background and is currently in a none too friendly country (Syria at the time) within spitting distance of a war zone ...

 

[Hvr]

As others have mentioned it is a very complex form that is too hard to complete especially if you change locations frequently.

 

[RooFlyer]

As others have mentioned it is a very complex form that is too hard to complete especially if you change locations frequently.

Could I suggest its not 'complex' but can be lengthy if you have multiple destinations; for my recent Sth American trip I had 11 destinations and it took me about 10 minutes to complete, with my itinerary in front of me. The view I take is compared to the length of a trip, and the potential benefits of having some-one know where I am# and getting an offer of assistance or actual assistance in a crisis easily outweigh the inconvenience of filling out the on-line form.

And personally, I don't understand the 'change of location' issue. You give them a location (hotel, other address) and e-mail and phone numbers at that place and the option of those details being your own or the locations. You will only be at that location overnight, most likely. Personally I travel up to a hundred km away from my hotel on any one day or might be several hundred km away if I'm taking a long drive between destinations.

Everyone knows its imperfect. But it gives authorities a head start at helping you if you need help. #I don't mind if the gov'mint knows my every move; and I don't mind if most shun Smarttraveller. I'll be OK, Jake.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

If I am travelling for work I'm covered by our emergency services provider who I am confident will assist me more quickly than the government.
If I am not travelling for work I usually don't have my itinerary planned in advance so it wouldn't be possible to share it with anyone.
However I always have travel insurance which includes an emergency assistance service.

 

[RooFlyer]

If I am travelling for work I'm covered by our emergency services provider who I am confident will assist me more quickly than the government.
If I am not travelling for work I usually don't have my itinerary planned in advance so it wouldn't be possible to share it with anyone.
However I always have travel insurance which includes an emergency assistance service.

Fair enough. But I do wonder when someone in the same situation, lying under the rubble after a bomb attack on the hotel you are staying at, how exactly does their travel insurer emergency assistance help? For instance, do they need a claim to begin work? Who is able to submit a claim - anyone else but the policy holder, I wonder ? As I've mentioned before, even if notified and asked for help, I reckon the emergency assistance service provider will, as their first thing, notify DFAT and ask for their help. And then ... well, I've said it all before. Sorry; stuck record.

I'm not suggesting that the government is going to rush in and start clearing debris, but as I understand it, if you have registered in (say) Amsterdam, and there is some 'event' there, and you have details on Smarttraveller, they will try to contact you ASAP. If they succeed, OK. If not, they will put you on the list of people to find and liaise with local consular and other authorities to find you.

Apologies .. I an NOT a secret agent for the gov'mint trying to get everyone to enlist in a GPS tracking program (you don't actually enlist for that ... OOPS! ). I simply don't understand the attitude of many here. I am talking about the peak crisis of one's travelling lives ... when hours may count in trying to find you when or even before folks back home are totally stressed about one's well being (let alone the traveller!). At the end of the day in these scenarios where things are locked down .. government to government communications count.

YMMV

 

[esseeeayeenn]

If I'm lying under rubble somewhere I'm going to be initially reliant on local emergency services no matter who I've told. DFAT don't have boots on the ground, as you acknowledge.
I guess it's a fundamental question about your approach to risk. I view it as so unlikely as to be only marginally worth planning for. Perhaps being professionally risk-averse means I relax a bit when I'm off the leash.

 

[footy99]

I figure the chances of something so extreme happening that it would be on the government radar but not the insurance/family radar and be something that they could make a serious and timely difference with over local authorities by knowing my whereabouts before being contacted by me or others is too small to worry about. Spend the hour I would have spent on this going for a walk instead - it's way more likely to save my life.

The exception might be "Do Not Travel" countries - where the odds of that scenario might get shorter than a million to one, but I haven't been down that road yet.

 

[VA777]

Interface is awful but always do.

 

[Bindibuys]

I have in the past, but when I started to do this for the last trip (lots of destinations) I gave up.
Love the idea of "sharing" my Kayak/tripit details, as all the info is already in place.