Best Mobile Medical Alarms with GPS in Australia

A home medical alarm is wonderful, but it has one limit: it only works at home. For an older person who is still active, who walks the dog, drives to the shops, gardens at the back fence or visits friends, a home alarm sits uselessly on the bench the moment they go out the gate. A mobile alarm with GPS solves that. It goes wherever they go, works anywhere there is mobile coverage, and can tell a responder exactly where they are.

This guide explains how mobile medical alarms work, what to look for, and the options available in Australia. It is decision support for the person and their family, not medical advice. The good news is that for someone who values their independence, a mobile alarm is the thing that lets them keep it, with help only a button-press away no matter where they are.

How a mobile alarm compares to a home alarm

The choice is really about where life happens. Here is the short version.

Situation	Better fit
Out and about: walking, driving, shopping, visiting	A mobile alarm with GPS
Almost always at home	A home alarm is simpler and cheaper
Active but with a history of falls	A mobile alarm with fall detection added
Happy to keep a device charged	A mobile alarm. If not, a home alarm needs no charging

What matters most

It must be 4G

A mobile alarm works over the mobile network, the same way a mobile phone does. Australia’s older 3G networks have now closed, so the alarm needs to use 4G to make calls and send your location. Any current mobile alarm from an established provider will be 4G, so this is really just a reason not to buy an old second-hand unit. If anyone offers you a cheap older model, leave it.

GPS so help can find you

This is the feature that makes a mobile alarm worth having. When you press the button, the alarm sends your GPS location to the responder, so help can be directed to a park bench, a beach car park or an aisle in the supermarket just as easily as to your kitchen. You do not have to know where you are or be able to explain it. The alarm does that for you, which is a real comfort if you ever feel confused or unwell.

Talk through the pendant

The better mobile alarms have a speakerphone built into the pendant or watch itself, so once you press the button you can talk to the responder directly, hands free, without needing your phone. They can hear what has happened and reassure you while help is on the way. Some devices also play a calm voice message to let you know the alarm has gone through, which stops that anxious moment of wondering whether anyone heard you.

Charging is the trade-off

This is the one real difference in daily life. A home alarm’s base is always plugged in, but a mobile pendant has a battery that needs charging, usually every day or two on its little stand. For some people that becomes an easy bedtime habit, like charging a phone. For others it is one more thing to forget, and a flat pendant is no help at all. Be honest about which sort of person you are buying for. If charging will not happen reliably, a home alarm may be the safer choice.

Check coverage where you actually go

Because it relies on the mobile network, a mobile alarm needs coverage to work. In towns and cities that is rarely an issue, but if the person spends time somewhere rural, on a remote walking track or at a quiet holiday house, it is worth checking the network reaches there. Most of the Australian population is covered, but the far corners are not, so match the alarm to where life is really lived. Some providers run on the Telstra network, which has the widest rural reach.

Mobile alarm options in Australia

MePACS Mobile Alarm

MePACS offers a 4G mobile alarm with GPS and a speakerphone, monitored around the clock from its own Australian response centre. You press the button, talk to the team through the pendant, and they see your location and send help. Fall detection can be added, and MePACS is an approved provider for My Aged Care, the NDIS and the Victorian and South Australian state schemes.

May suit someone who

Is active and out and about, and wants a large national service with a go-anywhere alarm they can talk through.

Things to check

Confirm the one-off device cost and the monthly service fee, whether you want fall detection added, and that you are happy with the daily charging.

Plain-English verdict

A capable, well-supported mobile alarm and a natural first option to look at.

INS LifeGuard, VitalCALL and Tunstall

INS LifeGuard offers mobile pendants and watches with GPS and fall detection, answered by registered nurses around the clock. VitalCALL and Tunstall Healthcare both have long-established mobile options with Australian-based monitoring. As with any medical alarm, it pays to ring two or three, compare what each includes, and ask about funding before you decide.

May suit someone who

Wants to compare a few trusted names, or prefers a nurse-answered service or a particular provider they already know.

Things to check

The same questions every time: 4G and GPS, a speakerphone in the device, fall detection if wanted, battery life, coverage, the monthly cost and funding.

Plain-English verdict

Several good choices. Compare two or three and pick the one that fits the person’s life and budget.

LiveLife (self-monitored, no monthly fee)

If a monthly monitoring fee is the sticking point, LiveLife is an Australian mobile alarm, in pendant or watch form, that uses its own Telstra 4G SIM with GPS and fall detection. When you press the button or it senses a fall, it calls Triple Zero (000) and up to six family members with your location, with no ongoing monitoring fee. You can add professional 24/7 monitoring later if you want it. It suits someone with reliable family nearby who would rather avoid a subscription.

May suit someone who

Has nearby, reachable family and would rather own the device outright than pay a monthly fee.

Things to check

It depends on family being available to answer, so it is less suited to someone truly on their own. Confirm coverage and the charging routine.

Plain-English verdict

A clever, fee-free option for a hands-on family. Just be sure someone will always answer.

Cost and funding

A monitored mobile alarm usually costs a little more each month than a home alarm, because it carries its own mobile connection, and there may be a one-off cost for the device. The encouraging part is that the cost is often subsidised. The first call to make is to My Aged Care: through the Support at Home program, which replaced Home Care Packages in November 2025, and the Commonwealth Home Support Programme that still runs alongside it, an assessment can fund a personal alarm as assistive technology. The NDIS may fund a device for someone under 65 living with disability, and veterans with a Department of Veterans’ Affairs health card can be supplied an alarm through the Rehabilitation Appliances Program. Start with the provider and with My Aged Care.

The best overall

For an active older person who is still out and about, a 4G mobile alarm with GPS is the right choice, and a device with a built-in speakerphone you can talk through is the kind to look for. MePACS, INS LifeGuard, VitalCALL and Tunstall are all worth comparing for a monitored service, while LiveLife is a strong self-monitored choice if you want to skip the monthly fee. Add fall detection if falls are a worry, make sure the charging will get done, and ask My Aged Care about funding to keep the cost down.

Next steps

If the person is mostly at home, our guide to medical alarms for living alone may suit better. For the full picture, see our main medical alarms buying guide and our guide to fall detection. There is more in our medical alarms guides.