Life support services

What is life support?

If you or someone in your household uses any of the life support equipment listed below, you may be eligible for protection under the life support energy regulations.

This means your address is registered with your local distributor and they will advise you in advance of any electricity or gas outages so you can plan accordingly.

It also means in the event of a power outage your property will be on the priority list for re-connection of supply.

What is classed as life support equipment?

• External heart pumps
• Respirators (iron lung)
• Suction pumps (respiratory or gastric)
• Feeding pumps (kangaroo pump, or total parenteral nutrition)
• Insulin pumps
• Airbed vibrator
• Hot water
• Nebuliser, humidifiers, or vaporisers
• Apnoea monitors
• Medically required heating and air conditioning
• Medically required refrigeration
• Powered wheelchair
• Any other equipment that a doctor says you need for life support.

If you have any questions about the equipment you or someone in your home uses and whether it is life support equipment, please talk to your doctor.

Am I eligible for life support concession?

Visit our concessions page to see what concessions you may qualify for and eligibility criteria.

What to do if the power goes out?

Your power can go out without warning. It is important that you have a plan if this happens. Make note of the following:

• Where will you go?
• How will you get there?
• How will you take your equipment?
• Who will you contact?
• How will you contact them?
• Is your backup equipment fully charged at all times?

We also recommend keeping a physical list of emergency contacts somewhere safe.

Why do you need to register if you have someone at your property using life support equipment?

It’s important that your distributor and retailer know if you are using life support equipment so we can do our best to keep your property's electricity and/or gas supply on.

Once registered, this means that you are given additional notice (4 days notice) of any planned power outages and that your property is treated as priority for re-connection if and when there are any outages.

How to register

1. Download and fill in the medical confirmation form or contact us on 1300 884 849 and we will email you a copy to complete.

2. Have the form signed by your doctor.

3. Return the completed & signed form back to us by emailing to support@energy.arcline.com.au or posting your completed form to:

Arcline by RACV - Energy
2/11 Newton St
Cremorne
VIC 3121

4. We will confirm your receipt and notify your distributor of the life support equipment at your property.

There are situations that result in deregistration of life support at your premise.

If we don't hear from you

If we haven’t received the completed application forms or haven’t heard from you within 50 business days of your account being set up we will notify the distributor that the application is incomplete. Your property will not be registered as having life support equipment, meaning that you will not be protected by life support regulations.

We will actively try to contact you until we receive the necessary documents, using the email address, physical site address and contact number that you have provided at the point of setting up your account.

If you leave Arcline by RACV - Energy

If you have registered your requirement for Life Support Equipment with us, your registration will cease and you’ll need to apply to have your Life Support Equipment registered with your new retailer. If you have registered with your distributor, they will let your new retailer know.

If you move home

Your registration is specific to your current address. If you move to a new property, you will need call us on 1300 884 849 to re-apply to have your Life Support Equipment registered at your new address.

If you no longer need life support registered at your address

Call us on 1300 884 849 and we will update your account. We’ll send you a confirmation letter to confirm when the Life Support registration is being de-registered from your account.

Your rights

Once your property is registered as having life support equipment, you will receive 4 days written notice of any retailer or distributor planned power outages.

Also, once your property is registered as having life support equipment, your energy account will not be disconnected without your explicit consent.

Registration forms

To register, customers will need to contact us by calling 1300 884 849. Following the call, we will send you out a form and specific information related to customers who require Life Support, including details on assistance to prepare a plan of action in the case of an unplanned interruption. Return the completed & signed form to us (or your chosen retailer if that is not Arcline by RACV - Energy).

If you registered as a life support customer in error or no longer use the life support equipment at your property, please notify us as soon as possible.

VIC Government Service Line - 1300 650 172