Life Support

We're here to protect you

If you or someone living at your property depends on life support equipment, it's important to register with us as soon as possible. Once registered, you'll receive a range of additional protections to help keep your supply as reliable as possible — and to make sure you have time to prepare when an interruption is unavoidable.

How to Register

To register as a life support customer, contact us and let us know that someone at your property requires life support equipment. You can do this by:

Calling us on 1300 647 888 (Monday to Friday, 8am–6pm AEST)
Emailing us at support@microgridpower.com.au

Once you've let us know, we'll send you a Medical Confirmation Form within 5 business days. You'll need to have this completed and signed by a registered medical practitioner and return it to us by email or post.

You have a minimum of 50 business days to provide your medical confirmation. If you need more time, contact us and we can arrange an extension.

Medical confirmation

To finalise your registration, you need to provide us with medical confirmation from a registered medical practitioner. This can be:

The Medical Confirmation Form we provide — completed and signed by your doctor
A medical certificate from your doctor, as long as it is signed, dated, and specifies the type of life support equipment required

Your medical confirmation must be no more than 4 years old and must be legible.

Switching from another retailer or distributor? You may be able to reuse medical confirmation you have already provided to a previous energy retailer or distributor — you don't necessarily need to visit your doctor again. The confirmation must still meet the requirements above. If you were a previous customer of another retailer and left within the last 110 business days, you can request a copy of your prior medical confirmation from them.

Download our Medical Confirmation Form.

Download our Medical Confirmation Form (for Victoria only).

What equipment qualifies?

The following types of equipment qualify for life support registration under the National Energy Retail Rules and the Victorian Energy Retail Code of Practice:

Oxygen concentrator
Intermittent peritoneal dialysis machine
Kidney dialysis machine (home haemodialysis)
Chronic positive airways pressure (CPAP) respirator
Crigler-Najjar syndrome phototherapy equipment
Ventilator for life support
Heart/lung machine
External cardiac pacemaker
Blood warmer
Enteral feeding pump
Infusion pump (for medication or nutrition)
Phototherapy equipment for neonatal jaundice
Suction pump (medically required)
Any other equipment that a registered medical practitioner certifies is required for life support at your property

Not sure if your equipment qualifies? Contact us on 1300 647 888 — if your doctor certifies it is required for life support, it qualifies regardless of whether it appears on the list above.

Your protections as a registered customer

Once your registration is in place, you receive the following protections:

No disconnection for non-payment We will not disconnect your electricity supply for non-payment while your premises are registered as a life support customer.
Advance notice of planned outages If a planned interruption to your supply is necessary — for example, for network maintenance or upgrades — we or your network distributor will notify you in writing at least 4 business days before the interruption. The notice will include the expected date, time, and duration. Where possible, we will seek your agreement before scheduling any interruption.
Distributor notification We'll share your life support registration details with your network distributor within one business day. Your distributor will also apply protections at the network level and will contact you in the event of a planned interruption on their side.
Emergency contact numbers You'll receive emergency contact numbers for both Microgrid Power and your network distributor as part of your registration confirmation.
Ongoing updates If your circumstances change — for example, if the life support equipment is no longer needed, or if you move to a new address — please let us know promptly so we can update your registration.

Rebates and concessions

Government rebates or concessions may be available to eligible life support customers in some states and territories. Eligibility and the amounts available vary depending on your state and the type of equipment you use. Once your registration is confirmed, we'll help you find out what may apply to your situation and we may be able to assist with your application.

Be prepared for outages

Registration provides important protections, but it does not guarantee that your supply will never be interrupted. Unplanned outages can occur due to storms, accidents, or unexpected equipment failure on the network.

We strongly encourage all life support customers to have an emergency management plan in place. Your plan should cover what you will do if your supply is interrupted without warning.

Some steps to consider:

Talk to your doctor or medical care provider about how long your equipment can safely operate without power, and what your backup options are
Consider a UPS (uninterruptible power supply), battery backup, or generator to keep your equipment running during a short outage
Keep your equipment's own backup battery fully charged at all times
Write down the emergency contact numbers for Microgrid Power (1300 647 888), your network distributor, and your medical provider — and keep them somewhere accessible, not just on your phone
Know where your electrical switchboard is and how to check the main switch
Keep your medical supplies stocked and easy to reach

In a life-threatening emergency, always call 000.

The Energy Charter's Check. Plan. Do. website (checkplando.com.au) offers free outage planning resources in multiple languages, specifically for life support customers.

Moving house or switching retailer

Moving to a new address Your life support registration is linked to your current address. If you move, you'll need to re-register at your new address. Please contact us before you move so we can ensure there is no gap in your protection.

Switching to a new energy retailer If you switch to another retailer, your registration with Microgrid Power will cease. You'll need to register with your new retailer as soon as possible. You can ask us to return your medical confirmation to you — contact us within 110 business days of leaving and we'll send it back within 15 business days, so you can provide it to your new retailer without an additional doctor visit.

Renewing your registration

Medical confirmation is valid for 4 years. We'll contact you before your registration expires to remind you that renewal is required. If your circumstances change before the 4-year period is up — for example, if the equipment is no longer needed — please notify us as soon as possible.