Guide, Australia

An emergency kit as a gift for ageing parents

How we wrote this: researched from the public sources listed at the end of the page. General information, not medical or legal advice. Last checked 2 November 2026.

If Mum and Dad live on their own, a kit at their place is a gift that gets used: a power cut, a heatwave night, a storm. It also starts the conversation about their plan. Here is what to send and how.

What to put in their kit

The Australian Red Cross RediPlan and the AusNet Services outage list cover most of it:

A battery or crank radio, torches and spare batteries.
Charged power banks with the right cables.
A first aid kit and a supply of essential medicines.
Snacks, a manual can opener and bottled water.
Cash, and printed phone numbers for family, the doctor and the electricity distributor.
If they rely on powered medical equipment, registration with their retailer as a life support customer.

Simple single items suit older hands well: a lantern that stands on the bench and a radio with a light.

Plan it with Supply Drops

Supply Drops is our free planner for the houses you look out for. Pin their house and yours, assign a kit to each, and each house checks out on its own with its own address. Pins stay in your browser.

Add their house to the Situation screen to see public warnings near them. The Australian Warning System levels (Advice, Watch and Act, Emergency Warning) are worth explaining to them too.

Make the plan together

Print the free 72-Hour Family Plan and fill it in with them: who has a spare key, where the kit lives, the medicines list and who checks in on whom. Medicines and devices are a conversation for their GP or pharmacist.

FAQ

What should be in an emergency kit for older parents? A radio, torches and batteries, charged power banks, first aid and medicines, food and water, cash and printed phone numbers.

Can I send it straight to their house? Yes. Each house in Supply Drops checks out separately with its own delivery address.

What are the warning levels in Australia? Advice, Watch and Act, and Emergency Warning, under the Australian Warning System.