Department of Health

How Personal Alert Victoria works

Key messages

  • Personal Alert Victoria (PAV) is a daily monitoring and emergency response service for frail, older Victorians and Victorians with disabilities.
  • PAV relies on nominated contacts who can get to clients within 30 minutes to provide assistance when requested.
  • Clients are required to press a daily call button on the receiver each day to confirm their wellbeing
  • In an emergency at any time clients get assistance from PAV monitoring centre staff by pushing their PAV pendant button.

How PAV works

  • The client wears a lightweight pendant around either their neck or wrist. The button on the pendant activates a receiver unit
  • The receiver unit either sits next to the client's telephone and is plugged into a power point and the telephone line, or, is plugged into a power point only and uses the mobile telephone network
  • The receiver unit automatically dials the PAV monitoring centre when the pendant button is pushed
  • Trained personnel staff at the monitoring centre respond to calls 24 hours a day, every day.

Nominated contacts

Each client must nominate two to four contacts that can get to them within 30 minutes. Nominated contacts can be a relative, a friend or a neighbour. Clients without a nominated contact will receive the funded PAV Response Service and trained staff respond.

Nominated contacts (including PAV Response Services) must have access to keys so they can enter the client’s home if they are called.

Daily calls

The receiver also has a daily call button. Clients press the daily call button by a set time each day to let the monitoring centre know that they are alright. It also confirms the equipment is working properly.

If clients don’t press the daily call button in time, monitoring centre staff telephone to check on the client. If they cannot speak to the client, nominated contacts will be called to help establish the client’s wellbeing.

Activating the alarm

Clients activate the alarm by pressing the button on the pendant. When a client activates the alarm, monitoring centre staff will call and speak with the client through the receiver and determine the kind of assistance needed. If necessary, staff will:

  • telephone nominated contacts or PAV response service and/or
  • contact emergency services.

Reviewed 20 December 2021

Health.vic

In this topic

On this site

More information

Contact details

Wellbeing and Community Support team

AACServdev@dhhs.vic.gov.au
Was this page helpful?