NBN Co is offering eligible customers – including retirement village residents – a subsidy of up to 80 per cent, capped at $300, if you order a new unmonitored medical alarm from CareAlert or The INS Group when the NBN is installed in your area.

Unlike professional alarms that link to an alarm monitoring service, unmonitored medical alarms are used to alert family members, friends, neighbours or 000 when triggered.

Under the NBN roll-out, if you use an unmonitored alarm, you may need to upgrade so you can still dial out in the event of a power outage.

INS is offering two upgrade options which includes both their patented LifeGuard SmartHome IP Dialler and a wrist or pendant transmitter. They’re also providing the option of trialling their professional monitoring for free for three months.

So how can you make the move to the nbn™ network?

The first step is to make sure your unmonitored medical alarm is registered in NBN Co’s Medical Alarm Register.

While there have been warnings about scammers posing as NBN staff, NBN Co staff will then call you when your home is ready to be connected to the network and advise on compatibility issues and options to upgrade.

To check if you or a family member is eligible for the offer and find out more, call 1800 003 095.