Life support

What is Life Support?

If anyone at the property has life support equipment, please contact us to register the details as soon as possible. Registering your home or business as requiring life support is important so we can apply life support protections.

By registering the life support equipment, we’ll make sure you’re kept up-to-date on any retailer planned energy supply interruptions. That means you’ll receive life support protections, including at least four business days’ prior written notice of retailer or distributor planned outages  If you’ve already registered with your distributor, they’ll let us know. Otherwise, follow the steps below.

How to register?

To register:

1. Please call us on 1800 462 668 (Monday-Friday, 8am-7pm AEST)
2. We will provide you with key information on the medical confirmation process, including the life support equipment medical confirmation form.
3. You will need to return your medical confirmation form to us by post or email.

Email: lifesupport@powershop.com.au

Fax: 1800 881 158

Post:   Powershop Australia
GPO Box 1639
Melbourne, Vic, 3001

Eligibility

To be eligible for life support protection and to be registered as a life support customer with us, you or someone at your property must rely on at least one of the following:

• oxygen concentrator
• intermittent peritoneal dialysis machine
• kidney dialysis machine
• chronic positive airway pressure respirator
• Crigler-Najjar syndrome phototherapy equipment
• a ventilator for life support (also known as a respirator)
• any other equipment (fuelled by electricity or gas) that a registered medical practitioner certifies is required for life support

Questions

If you have any questions about life support equipment, please get in touch by emailing us at lifesupport@powershop.com.au or calling us on 1800 462 668, Monday-Friday, 8am-7pm AEST.

Planned/Unplanned power outages

There can be situations when a planned power outage is necessary for maintenance or upgrades. If you’ve let us know that someone at the property requires life support equipment, your distributor or us will inform you in writing ahead of any planned outage.

Preparing for a power outage

Whether an outage is planned or unplanned, we recommend that you’re always ready with an action plan to ensure your life support machine operates normally.

Here’s a list of some practical advice:

1. Keep a source of a backup power system ready for your life support machine, such as a battery or a generator.
2. Regularly check the back-up battery of your life support equipment to ensure it is fully charged.
3. Make sure you have important and up-to-date information on hand such as; your doctor’s name and contact details, friends and family contact details, nearest hospital, and the name and contact details of your emergency contact person(s).
4. Have a clear plan of what you would do if you lose energy supply for an extended period.

Don't know your distributor?

Click here for the postcode lookup tool to find your distributor

Life support equipment concessions

You may also be eligible for concessions or rebates depending on state-based policy arrangements and the type of life support equipment you use.