Life support
Setting you up for energy life support
What is life support?
- Oxygen concentrators
- Intermittent peritoneal dialysis machines
- Kidney dialysis machines
- Continuous positive airways pressure respirators
- Crigler Najjar syndrome phototherapy equipment
- Ventilators for life support
- Any other equipment that a registered medical practitioner certifies is needed for life support.
Get in touch
To register your property for life support and request a medical confirmation form, call 13 22 00 and say “Energy” to speak directly to our energy support team or email lifesupport@team.telstra.com
For interpreter or translation services call 1800 241 600.
Protecting you in an outage
There’s a few things you’ll need to do to register your life support equipment with us. Once we have your registration, we’ll let your distributor know so they can contact you about outages. If we ever need to interrupt your supply (to replace your meter, for example) we’ll let you know about the planned outage.
Tell us you need life support
You can easily phone or email us to let us know. We will register your property for life support within one business day.
Complete the form
You’ll need to submit a new medical confirmation form, or supply the medical confirmation form from your previous energy retailer, when we’re allowed to use it. You’ll need to fill out a separate form for each property if you have more than one.
We’ll notify you
We’ll let you know when your life support registration is activated. If we initiate a planned outage, we’ll notify you in writing at least four business days before the interruption. Your distributor will contact you about all other outages.
How we’ll support you
It’s important to let us know when you or someone in your house depends on life support equipment. When you notify us, we'll register your property for life support within one business day and send you a life support information kit with emergency numbers and outage information.
When there’s an outage
For planned maintenance, we’ll notify you at least four business days in advance so you can plan for the outage. The notice will include the date, time and expected duration of the outage.
Alternatively, we may ask for your consent for the planned interruption to occur on a certain date. Advance notice gives you time to prepare back up energy for your life support equipment.
Unplanned outage tips
During a weather event or an unplanned outage, there’s no time to prepare. You should have a plan ready in case this happens. Some things to consider:
- Make sure that everyone in your house knows about the plan of action.
- Include all important contact details in your plan of action including doctors, energy distributor, energy retailer and any emergency contacts.
- Ensure any back up batteries or power sources for your life support equipment are charged and ready to go at any time.
- Talk to your medical practitioner about any other precautions you could take for your situation.
Important information
Frequently asked questions
Still looking for more information about life support, check out the frequently asked questions.
Life support details
There are circumstances where your distributor or Telstra will need to interrupt your power supply to carry out planned maintenance and repairs. If your property is registered as requiring life support equipment, you will be notified in advance.
For planned interruptions, we’ll notify you at least four business days in advance so you can plan for the outage. The notice will include the date, time and expected duration of the outage. The notice could be from us or from your distributor.
There are also situations where your power supply is interrupted due to an unplanned event, such as extreme weather conditions or emergency maintenance or repairs. You will not receive any prior notice for an unplanned interruption.
You should prepare a plan of action in the case of an interruption to your energy supply. Keep the emergency telephone contact numbers for your distributor and Telstra (13 22 00) somewhere easy to find. We will provide you with information to assist preparing your plan of action.
Yes, you can register multiple properties for life support.
Victorian customers will need to complete a separate medical confirmation form for each property that requires life support.
New South Wales, Queensland or South Australian customers can use a single form but will need to complete the user and premises details section for each property you need registered.
Registration information
If you or someone who lives, or intends to live, at your property requires life support equipment, it is important that you notify us as soon as possible.
You can notify us and request a medical confirmation form via phone on 13 22 00 or email at lifesupport@team.telstra.com. We will send you in writing (by post or email) an information pack about your life support equipment registration.
You will need to provide us with a completed medical confirmation form.
If you are in Victoria, medical confirmation is a completed medical confirmation form.
If you are in New South Wales, Queensland or South Australia, medical confirmation can be any of the following:
- A completed medical confirmation form including the medical practitioner review section of the form.
- A medical certificate from your registered medical practitioner confirming that you (or someone living with you) requires life support equipment and a medical confirmation form except the medical practitioner review section of the form.
- Either of the above which you previously provided to another retailer or distributor if it is legible, signed and dated no more than 4 years old from when you advised that you require life support equipment at your premises. You can ask your previous retailer or distributor to provide you with the medical confirmation you previously submitted.
Please provide medical confirmation to us within 50 business days of receiving the medical confirmation form. You can provide medical confirmation to us via email or post.
- Email: lifesupport@team.telstra.com
- Post: Care of Life Support Officer, Level 33, 242 Exhibition St, Melbourne, 3000
Please contact us if you need extra time to return the completed medical confirmation form.
For interpreter services, you can contact Telstra’s Multicultural Service Centre (Translating and Interpreting Services): 1800 241 600.
If you do not provide medical confirmation within 50 business days of receiving the medical confirmation form, we may commence the process to de-register your property for life support equipment, which means that you will no longer receive protections under the law for properties registered for life support equipment. You can ask for multiple extensions up to 25 business days each, if 50 days is not enough time.
You can choose to nominate a Life Support Contact, who can manage your life support requirements on your behalf. This may be useful to you if you are not the person residing at your premises who requires life support equipment, or if the person who requires life support equipment needs help to manage their affairs.
If you nominate a Life Support Contact, they will be able to:
- Complete the medical confirmation process.
- Receive notifications and act as the contact point for any planned outages.
- Update details about your life support registration (such as a change in equipment or fuel requirements).
The person you nominate as your Life Support Contact can be an existing account authority, or a dedicated Life Support Contact (i.e. someone who can only manage your life support and has no other access to your account).
If you choose an existing account authority, Telstra will use the contact details listed on the account to communicate with them (or ask you for those details if they aren’t already listed on the account). They’ll need to consent to receiving electronic communications if they haven’t already.
If you choose to nominate a dedicated Life Support Contact, we will ask you for their contact details, and you must consent to us communicating with them electronically via the email address you provide.
When you nominate a Life Support Contact, the following terms apply:
- Telstra will communicate with your Life Support Contact using the email address you provide to manage your life support registration.
- Telstra and your energy distributor will communicate primarily with your nominated contact. Updates around changes, outages, or any other notifications regarding your life support may not be communicated to you directly.
- We will not send marketing material to your nominated Life Support Contact UNLESS you choose an existing Authorised Contact on your account who has already opted in for marketing.
- The person you nominate as your Life Support Contact can speak to us on your behalf around life support matters, including submitting your medical confirmation form, and accepting or rejecting consents on your behalf.
- If your nominated Life Support Contact declines to be registered as your contact, or removes themselves from your account, we will default all communication about life support to you as the account owner, unless you tell us otherwise.
- Your nominated life support contact cannot take any other action on your account. If you want them to be able to manage other affairs on your account you should nominate them as an Authorised Contact on your account.
- You or your nominated Life Support Contact can remove themselves from your account at any point in time. If this happens, we will default all Life Support communication to yourself as the account owner. You may nominate a new Life Support contact when this happens.
- Life Support Contacts may update their own phone number or email address on your account, but not their name.
- Life Support Contacts cannot nominate new Life Support Contacts.
As the account holder, you can register the property for life support. The person requiring life support can also notify us, but the account holder will need to confirm the registration.
The registered energy account holder (or their nominated life support contact) will need to provide medical confirmation. Any medical confirmation provided by the registered medical practitioner will be in relation to the person who requires the life support equipment.
In New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, the name of the person requiring life support equipment needs to match the user and premises details on the medical confirmation form.
Other supports provided
You may be eligible for concessions, rebates or government assistance depending on the state you live in and the type of life support equipment you require.
Victoria - Life support concession
| Eligibility criteria | An electricity or water* account holder who:
Approved machines are those that use at least 1,880 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. Machines already approved are:
Applications for other machines must be approved by the department. Most continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) machines do not meet the 1,880 kilowatt hour threshold. *Note – Telstra is not a water retailer and so it is not possible to apply for this rebate through Telstra in relation to water. You should speak to your water retailer for further information about this. |
| Eligible concession cards |
|
| Rebate value/calculation | The electricity discount is the cost of 1,880 kilowatt hours (470 kilowatt hours per quarter) of electricity each year, calculated using the general domestic tariff of your retailer. The water discount for haemodialysis users is the cost of 168 kilolitres (42 kilolitres per quarter) of water each year. |
| Energy type | Electricity |
| How to apply |
|
| More information | Visit the Victorian government site for details about the Life support concession. |
New South Wales - Life support energy rebate
| Eligibility criteria | You can apply if you or someone living at the address is:
|
| Eligible concession cards | No card required |
| Rebate value/calculation | The amount of the rebate depends on the machine and the number of days in the billing period. |
| Energy type | Electricity |
| How to apply |
|
| More information | Visit the Services NSW site for details about the Life support energy rebate. If you're an on supply customer and are billed for your energy use by the strata manager or community/village operator, please apply for the Life support energy rebate (on supply customers). |
Queensland - Electricity life support
| Eligibility | Oxygen concentrators You must comply with three criteria:
Kidney dialysis machines
Note: full eligibility requirements for the concession are outlined on the application form. |
| Eligible concession cards | Must have a valid card:
|
| Rebate value/calculation | $694.18 per year or $57.85 per month ($173.55 per quarter) for each oxygen concentrator OR $464.88 per year or $38.74 per month ($116.22 per quarter) for each kidney dialysis machine you use The concession is calculated monthly and paid quarterly. |
| Energy type | Electricity |
How to apply
|
Oxygen concentrator
Kidney dialysis You'll need to complete the Electricity life support concession application form that will be provided to you from the Renal Unit at Queensland Health hospitals.
For help completing the application, phone Concession Services on 13 QGOV (13 74 68). Incomplete or inaccurate applications may delay your concession payment. |
| More information | Visit the QLD Government site for details about the Electricity life support concession. |
South Australia
There are currently no applicable concessions or rebates for life support equipment in South Australia.
For more information generally on concessions and government assistance, you can go to our concessions and rebates for South Australia.
If you are experiencing a power outage and a life-threatening situation, please call 000 immediately.
If the situation is non-life threatening or an ambulance is not required, please call your energy distributor’s phone line for faults, emergencies and/or outages. Use our distributor look up tool to find contact details for your distributor. Your distributor’s name and emergency phone number can be found below and on the first page of your bill.
Who to call during an outage
| Electricity Distributors | |
| SA Power Networks | 131 366 |
| Endeavour Energy | 131 003 |
| Essential Energy | 132 080 |
| Ausgrid | 131 388 |
| Citipower | 131 280 |
| Jemena | 1300 131 871 |
| Powercor Australia | 132 412 |
| AusNet Services | 131 799 |
| United Energy Distribution | 132 099 |
| Energex | 131 962 |
| Ergon Energy | 132 296 |
| Gas Distributors | |
| Central Ranges System | 132 771 |
| Jemena Gas Networks (NSW) | 131 909 |
| Australian Gas Networks | 1800 427 5325 (1800 GAS LEAK) |
| Multinet Gas | 132 691 |
| AusNet Services | 136 6707 |
| Allgas Energy | 1300 763 106 |
Priority Assistance is only available to customers with a landline telephone service with Telstra – it does not apply to your energy service. If you (or someone who lives with you) has a life threatening medical condition and rely on a landline telephone service, you should consider applying for Priority Assistance.
Customers with Priority Assistance:
- Will have access to 24/7 fault support and prioritised fault repairs and connections in relation to your landline telephone service only.
- Be eligible for a battery back-up for your phone service and an alternative voice service device to ensure you have access to a working voice service during a network or power outage.
You can find more information on Priority Assistance by calling 13 22 00 and saying “Priority Assistance”
The application process for Priority Assistance (which applies to your landline telephone service) is separate to the process for registering your property as having life support equipment (which applies to your energy supply).
For more information on life support, you can contact us by one of the methods below:
You can call us on 13 22 00 and say “Energy” or email us at lifesupport@team.telstra.com
For interpreter services, you can contact Telstra’s Multicultural Service Centre (Translating and Interpreting Services): 1800 241 600.
Moving and cancelling
Victorian customers will need to complete a new medical confirmation form when moving house.
For customers in New South Wales, Queensland or South Australia, if the medical confirmation you previously submitted to us is less than 4 years old and legible, you do not need to provide new medical confirmation unless details other than your address have changed or we let you know that you need to provide new medical confirmation.
Please call us on 13 22 00 and say “Energy” if you or someone at your property no longer requires life support equipment, or the person requiring life support equipment is no longer residing at your property. We will update your account with us, send you a letter to confirm that you no longer require registration of life support equipment at the property and the date on which your property will be deregistered, and remove your property from our life support register.