A duress alarm that fails to trigger or cannot be reached is just a piece of plastic when your worker is in crisis.
Across Australia and New Zealand, the failure of a distress signal is the difference between a controlled incident and a fatality. This is the critical risk that the WHS Act 2011 (AU) and HSWA 2015 (NZ) seek to mitigate by requiring effective communication for isolated workers.
Liability rests on the ability to rescue, not the intent to protect
In Australia, the WHS Act 2011 mandates that PCBUs manage the risks of remote and isolated work through functional communication systems. Similarly, the HSWA 2015 in New Zealand requires employers to ensure worker safety through a system that actually works in the field, not just on a checklist.
A policy document cannot call for help
Many organisations rely on mobile phone apps, which cannot be worn on the body and are inaccessible in fast, unexpected emergencies. Others mistakenly use PLBs as lone worker solutions, but these lack the two-way communication, no-motion alerts, and professional monitoring required to meet a genuine duty of care.
Reliable hardware integrated into a professional response
Genuine protection requires SAR-certified wearable devices—using cellular networks for urban areas or satellite networks for remote zones—integrated via API to a monitoring station to avoid the filtering issues of SMS. Real-world effectiveness depends on features like fall detection and high-frequency location updates that increase to every 15 seconds during an alarm, ensuring rescuers find the worker in real-time.
Guardian Angel Safety: Turning Policy Into Real Protection
We convert compliance obligations into working infrastructure, drawing on 12+ years of experience across Australia and New Zealand. By pairing satellite-connected devices with 24/7 professional monitoring, we ensure that your duty of care results in a living worker returning home.
Content prepared by Guardian Angel Safety — lone and remote worker protection across Australia and New Zealand.