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Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you’ve wanted to ask about personal alarms.

Below are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about our products and services. If you can’t find answers to your questions on this page, please get in touch — we’re more than happy to help.

General Questions

APERS (Australian Personal Emergency Response Systems) supplies personal medical alarms and related devices with 24/7 monitoring across Australia, helping people stay independent while still having fast access to help when they need it.

No. APERS is based in Queensland, but we support customers right across Australia. Our devices and monitoring service are designed for Australia wide use.

Our devices are commonly used by older Australians, people living with disability or chronic health conditions, lone workers, and anyone who may need a fast way to call for help at home or out and about. They are also suitable for use in retirement or aged care settings.

A personal medical alarm, sometimes called a Personal Emergency Response System, is a small device you wear or keep nearby. If you have a fall, medical event or feel unsafe, you press the button to open a voice call to our 24/7 APERS Care Team so they can get the right help to you quickly.

APERS parent company has been providing emergency response monitoring services in Australia since the early 90’s. Over that time our Care Team has supported many thousands of customers and continually invested in technology and backup systems to keep services running reliably.

If you spend most of your time at home, the APERS Home Companion with a pendant or fall detection pendant option may be ideal. If you are often out in the community, a 4G mobile device such as the Freedom Friend or Safety Mate can give you coverage in areas with suitable 4G signal. If you are unsure, our team can talk through your lifestyle, medical needs and budget and recommend a suitable device.

APERS personal alarms are assistive technology for personal care and safety. They can be funded by the NDIS where they are reasonable and necessary, help the participant pursue their goals and represent value for money. APERS is not a registered NDIS provider, so with regards to the NDIS, our products are generally purchased by self managed or plan managed participants. More information is on this page of our website.

Yes, in many cases. The Support at Home program includes assistive technology funded through the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications scheme, which covers products and equipment that help people live safely and independently at home. Personal emergency alarms can be funded where they meet the person’s assessed needs and are included in their support plan. More information is on this page of our website.

CHSP provides entry-level support to older people who need some help to stay at home, including access to goods, equipment and assistive technology that support independence and safety. Personal alarms can be funded under GEAT (Goods, Equipment and Assistive Technology) where a CHSP provider or assessor has determined that they are appropriate for the person’s needs. More information is on this page of our website.

If your government funding changes or stops covering monitoring, you can continue with your APERS device as a privately funded customer. We simply update your billing details and keep your monitoring active so there is no interruption to your safety.

Payment for equipment and monitoring is set up by direct debit. This means your small regular monitoring fee is taken care of automatically so you never have to worry about remembering due dates or missing a payment.

Yes. Family members often arrange and prepay monitoring for parents or loved ones. Our team can help you choose the best payment schedule and set up the direct debit from the person paying the account.

No. We email all invoices rather than post them. This keeps things faster and more reliable and avoids passing on postage costs, which are now close to 10% of the cost of a typical monthly monitoring fee. By emailing our invoices we can keep our monitoring prices as low as possible for everyone.

We offer a Recycling and Buyback Program. Wherever possible, we focus on being environmentally friendly.

Below are some of the additional things we do:

  • Our head office and monitoring operations use daytime solar power, supported by energy-efficient LED lighting, low-energy monitors and sensible air-conditioning set points to reduce overall electricity use.
  •  We improve efficiency by maintaining HVAC, generators and vehicles through preventative maintenance programs. 
  • In our offices, we prioritise reusables over disposables, choose bulk and refillable cleaning products, and buy key consumables in lower-waste packaging where possible.
  • We source suppliers who are committed to reducing their environmental footprint by designing energy-efficient, long-life products and continually cutting waste through recyclable materials, lead-free manufacturing where possible, and minimising plastic packaging in favour of recyclable, non-toxic alternatives. 
  • Our Home Companion base unit battery covers are now made using 100% re-ground plastic, which reduces the amount of plastic waste we have during the manufacturing process.
  • We recycle removable batteries and cardboard packaging.
  • Where appropriate to do so, we also recycle our rental devices by refurbishing and updating software so they can be rolled out for multiple end users, giving them an extended life. Before renting products, we also clean and sterilise their product exteriors with the most environmentally friendly and effective cleaning products that can be accessed in Australia.

Monitoring Service

With a monitored alarm, pressing the button connects you to trained operators any time of the day or night. They follow your agreed plan, contact family or emergency services if needed, and stay involved so you are never facing an emergency on your own.

Text based alarms rely on someone seeing the message and being free to respond. An APERS alarm goes straight to our 24/7 Care Team so your call is always answered, help is organised quickly and your family has peace of mind knowing a dedicated team is looking out for you.

Not really. Non monitored alarms still need a SIM card and ongoing mobile credit or data to work, so there are still running costs in the background. With an APERS monitored alarm, your ongoing fee not only covers the SIM card, it also includes 24/7 monitoring, response when you press the button, and support if something goes wrong.

Your alarm is answered by the APERS Care Team, who are specially trained in handling emergency and welfare calls. They have access to the information you have provided, such as your address and your nominated emergency contacts, so they can pass accurate information on if emergency services are required.

As part of your setup, we agree with you who should be contacted and in what order. If you activate your alarm, our Care Team will follow your plan, which usually includes calling your nominated contacts and, if needed, arranging an ambulance or other emergency response.

Our monitoring is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. APERS uses backup systems so alarms can continue to be answered even during major events.

Purchasing Products

No. Pendants and watches are sealed units. Opening them will damage the seal and they will no longer be water resistant.  For outright purchases, you will need to purchase a replacement pendant/watch when the battery is low or no longer holding charge.

Contact our team by phone or email with your account details. We will confirm the part and provide pricing.

Yes. We regularly supply personal alarms to customers and organisations all over Australia. Devices are configured before dispatch so they are ready to set up as soon as they arrive.

If you purchased an APERS device outright and no longer need it, we offer a Buyback Program where we may purchase the device back from you, depending on the age and condition of the unit. This helps reduce waste and gives your device a second life instead of ending up in landfill. 

No. If your device was originally purchased using government funding such as NDIS, Support at Home, CHSP or a Home Care Package, it is not eligible for our Buyback Program. In those cases we encourage you to talk to your provider about our recycling options.

Renting Products

Yes. All APERS personal alarms are available to rent, including our Home Companion, Freedom Friend, and Safety Mate, giving you a lower upfront cost and simple regular payments option. 

No. When you rent from APERS there is no upfront costs. You simply start your regular monitoring payments, which keeps things affordable and easy to budget.

The rental fees for all our products are on the individual product pages within our website. You’ll be able to access each product via our ‘overview products page‘.

Yes. Watch bands and neck chains/lanyards are included with your rental, and if they break through normal use we will replace them. They are not replaced free of charge if they are lost.

We replace the Home Companion pendant or Freedom Friend or Safety Mate at no charge during the rental term once the battery is reporting low or holding minimal charge.

Home Companion:

  • Falls-detection pendant battery life is typically 18 to 24 months.
  • Standard pendant or watch life is typically up to 5 years.
Freedom Friend & Safety Mate:
  • Battery life is typically up to 3 years depending on use and care of the battery (eg. not leaving it constantly on charge).

No. Pendants and watches are sealed units. Opening them will damage the seal and they will no longer be water resistant. For rentals, we supply a replacement when the battery is low or not holding charge at no cost during the rental term. 

No. Accidental damage or losing your personal alarm is not covered under our rental plans, but talk to us if something happens to your device and we can discuss replacement options and any costs involved.

Contact our team with the details of what you need, and we’ll confirm the price (if applicable) and arrange the replacement for you.

The minimum rental term is 6 months. Each new rental involves one-off setup in our monitoring centre, creating your response plan and testing your device. A 6 month term helps spread these setup costs, keeps monthly fees more affordable and ensures the service is in place long enough to be genuinely useful.

Commerial Services

We work with retirement villages and other organisations on a case-by-case basis. Some partners prefer to purchase equipment outright and pay ongoing monitoring, while others choose a rental model. Both options are available and we’ll discuss which structure suits your village’s budget, contract requirements and preferred way of managing assets.

Yes. For retirement villages, independent living providers and other commercial clients, APERS can usually offer purchase, rental or a mix of both. For example, a village might buy base units but rent additional pendants or accessories. We’ll talk through your needs, budget and timeframes, then propose options that are practical for your organisation.

Rental availability depends on several factors, including the number of devices, the length of the agreement, and how the village prefers to manage equipment and budgets. Larger or multi-site organisations often want a structured rental or service arrangement, while smaller sites may favour purchasing. We’ll go through these details with you during discussions.

Our minimum rental term is generally six months, however this may vary based on the size of the village and the setup required. Each deployment involves configuration in our monitoring centre, creating response plans and testing devices, so the agreed term helps keep monthly pricing fair and sustainable.

Yes. We regularly work with providers who have multiple buildings, units or villages. We can help design a structure where some areas are covered under rental, others under purchase, and monitoring is consolidated for reporting and invoicing. Exact arrangements are negotiated directly with your organisation so they fit your operational and financial needs.

Technical Questions

The APERS Home Companion is a base unit designed for use in and around the home, with pendants or wrist buttons that talk back to the base.

Our mobile devices, such as the APERS Freedom Friend and Safety Mate, are worn as a pendant or a watch and use the 4G mobile network, so they can work wherever there is suitable coverage, not just at home.

Yes. Our 4G mobile devices, such as the APERS Freedom Friend and Safety Mate, are designed to work when you are out shopping, walking or working alone, as long as there is suitable 4G mobile coverage in that area. We work with multiple Australian network providers and select service on the network that offers the strongest signal for your location.

Our mobile alarms use the 4G mobile network. They can be used in many parts of Australia that have suitable 4G coverage. Before we ship your device, we check coverage and use the network provider that offers the best signal for your area to help give you the most reliable connection possible when you need it.

No. Our systems use 4G mobile technology and do not require a traditional landline or separate internet service. This keeps installation simple and avoids issues if phone services change in your area.

The APERS Home Companion has an internal backup battery designed to keep the system running for many hours if the mains power goes out, so you still have access to the APERS Care Team during an outage. 

The Freedom Friend or Safety Mate will keep working in a power outage as long as the device has enough battery charge. Just remember to charge it regularly so it is ready when you need it.

All personal alarms require available 4G mobile network coverage to work during a power outage.

 

APERS systems are designed for simple self install. Many customers, including very elderly users, have successfully set up their own devices with our instructions and over the phone support. 

Yes. We can provide live demonstrations at our office, and for bulk or organisational purchases we can arrange group demonstrations either on site or via an online meeting. We are also developing demonstration videos for our website. Send us a message and let us know what you are looking for and we will see what we can arrange.

Speak with a Consultant

To speak with one of our APERS consultants please contact us or request a callback.

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