Buyer's guide · AU · reviewed 2026-07-21

Choosing a lone worker app or device in Australia.

There's no single "best" lone worker app - the right choice depends on the risk your people face and how they work. This is a buyer's guide, not a ranking: the criteria that actually separate a real safety system from a beeper, and an honest look at the main options in Australia.

How to choose

Five questions that decide it

Who answers the alarm

The single most revealing question. Ask for the median time from activation to a trained operator, and whether monitoring is included or an optional tier. A dashboard nobody watches is not a response.

Accreditation

In Australia, look for ASIAL grading (A1 is the highest) - an independent audit of the monitoring centre.

How the alarm is raised

Can a worker trigger it without reaching for a phone? Does it cover the moments they can't act - fall detection, missed check-ins, timers? The best systems layer manual and automatic triggers.

App, device, or both

An app suits lower-risk roles where the phone is always in hand; a wearable is reachable when it isn't. Most teams need both - so a platform that does both matters more than picking a side.

How you buy

Published pricing and online checkout, or a mandatory sales call? Transparency here is a fair proxy for transparency everywhere else.

The market

The main options you'll compare

The vendors a buyer typically shortlists, with what each is genuinely good at. We compare ourselves against every one of them honestly - including where they're the better fit.

Duress

Wearable hardware, a safety app and accredited 24/7 monitoring from one provider - a 7-second median operator pickup, ASIAL A1-graded in Australia, NSI Gold in the UK, with published pricing and online checkout. Built for client-facing aggression risk.

My Safety Buddy

The most accessible option in the Australian market, and a genuinely capable app for the money.

Duress vs My Safety Buddy ›

SHEQSY

A capable app-first product with strong scheduling and dashboard features, and a natural choice if your organisation already runs on SafetyCulture.

Duress vs SHEQSY ›

Blackline

The specialist for industrial and hazardous environments.

Duress vs Blackline ›

Peoplesafe

A long-established UK provider with its own BS 8484-certified alarm receiving centre and a broad range of discreet personal alarms.

Duress vs Peoplesafe ›

SoloProtect

The deepest lone-worker-standards pedigree in the UK, in a discreet form factor.

Duress vs SoloProtect ›

StaySafe

Fast, hardware-free deployment - and a natural fit if you already run EcoOnline's EHS software.

Duress vs StaySafe ›

Ok Alone

The lowest-friction entry in the category for small North American teams.

Duress vs Ok Alone ›

GetHomeSafe

The strongest fit for remote, out-of-coverage work in New Zealand and Australia - field research, conservation, forestry, survey and utilities crews operating beyond cellular range.

Duress vs GetHomeSafe ›

WorkSafe Guardian

A strong, credible fit for Australian organisations that want a simple, professionally-monitored lone-worker app with no hardware to manage - community services, healthcare-in-the-home, local government and not-for-profits.

Duress vs WorkSafe Guardian ›

SafeZone

The standout choice for large, multi-site organisations that run their own 24/7 security operations centre - universities, hospital networks, large corporate and government campuses.

Duress vs SafeZone ›

Compiled from each vendor's public materials, 2026-07-21. See the full side-by-side comparison or the individual head-to-heads.

Questions

Buying questions, answered

What is the best lone worker app in Australia?

There isn't one universal answer - it depends on your risk. For client-facing aggression, prioritise a fast, accredited monitored response and a wearable that works without a phone. For lower-risk, phone-in-hand roles, an app with timers and check-ins may be enough. Use the five questions above to shortlist, and compare the main options honestly rather than trusting any single vendor's ranking.

App or dedicated device - which is better?

Neither universally. An app is cheaper and instant but only works if the phone is reachable; a device is reachable when a phone isn't. Most organisations use both, matched to the role - see our app-vs-device guide.

How do I compare lone worker vendors fairly?

Ask each the same specific questions: median response time, monitoring accreditation, whether monitoring is included, how the alarm is raised, and whether pricing is published. Specific numbers and named accreditations separate a real system from marketing.

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