Life support
If you, or anyone at your home or business premises is dependent on life support equipment, it is important for this to be registered on your account as soon as possible.
This will enable us to give you information you need to plan for potential gas or electricity interruptions and we and your distributor can apply extra protections with your energy supply.
Life Support Eligibility
Who is considered to be dependent on electricity or gas for life support equipment?
Any person residing at your premise requiring equipment that relies on uninterrupted power supply to sustain life or that a medical practitioner certifies is required for a medical condition, is considered dependent on electricity or gas.
This equipment can include, but is not limited to:
Oxygen concentrators
Intermittent peritoneal dialysis machines
Kidney dialysis machines
Chronic positive airways pressure respirators
Crigler Najjar syndrome phototherapy equipment
Ventilators for life support
Other - Any other equipment that a registered medical practitioner certifies is required for life support or a medical condition which requires continued supply of electricity and or gas.
Please consult with your medical practitioner if you are unsure.
Why register your life support requirement?
Registering your home or business as life support dependent means that you will receive important information to prepare for power outages and additional protections, such as advance notice of any planned outage.
If you have already registered with your distributor, they will let us know. Otherwise, follow the steps below.
How do you register?
To register:
Please call us on 1800 462 668 (Monday-Friday, 8am-7pm AEST)
We will provide you with key information on the medical confirmation process, including the life support equipment medical confirmation form to be certified by a registered medical practitioner.
You will need to return your medical confirmation form to us by post or email.
Email: | |
Fax: | 1800 881 158 |
Post: | Powershop Australia |
Applicable to customers in NSW, QLD & SA only.
As a life support customer, you are allowed to re-use the medical confirmation that was submitted to your previous retailer(s) or distributor for the purpose of providing medical confirmation to Powershop. The medical confirmation must not be more than 4 years old and must be legible.
If you are a previous Powershop customer who ended your account with us in the last 110 business days, you can request Powershop send you your previously submitted medical confirmation. You can do this by sending an email to lifesupport@powershop.com.au or by calling on 1800 462 668. We will send your medical confirmation back to you within 15 business days.
How do you plan for power outages?
Planned outages: There can be situations when a planned power outage is necessary for maintenance or upgrades. If you have let us know that someone at the property requires life support equipment, your distributor or our representative will inform you in writing ahead of any planned outage.
Unplanned outages: There can also be situations when supply of electricity and gas to your property may be interrupted by incidents outside our and your distributor’s control such as severe weather or line damage resulting in unplanned outages.
Preparing for a power outage
Whether an outage is planned or unplanned, we recommend that you are always ready with an action plan to ensure your life support machine operates normally.
Some practical things you could do include:
Keep a backup source of power ready for your life support machine, such as a battery or a generator.
Regularly check the back-up battery of your life support equipment to ensure it is fully charged.
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) and your local network distributor.
Have a clear plan of what you would do if you lost energy supply for an extended period.
What if there is a Power Outage?
If you are a life support customer experiencing a gas or electricity outage and the situation is life threatening, please call 000 immediately and request an ambulance.
If the situation is non-life threatening or an ambulance is not required, you can call your local network distributor’s Faults and Outages line immediately. See contact details for your state below:
Are you eligible for life support equipment concessions?
You may also be eligible for life support concessions or rebates depending on state-based policy arrangements and the type of life support equipment you use.
Click here for further information.
Do not know your distributor?
Click here for the postcode lookup tool to find your distributor.
Do you have any other questions?
If you have any questions about life support, please get in touch by calling us on 1800 462 668, Monday-Friday, 8am-7pm AEST.