About Defibshop — Founded by an Intensive Care Paramedic

Defibshop was founded in 2008 by Carpet Hughes, an Intensive Care Paramedic with more than thirty years of frontline experience treating Sudden Cardiac Arrest. The drive that started the company is the same one that drives the work today — seeing patients respond to defibrillation and sitting up talking by the time they reach hospital. Defibrillation saves lives. Fast access to the right device, used correctly, is what separates recovery from tragedy.

That experience shapes every part of how Defibshop operates. We don’t sell defibrillators because they’re a profitable product — we sell, service, hire and maintain them because we’ve seen what they can do, and Australia needs more of them in the right hands.

Carpet Hughes — Founder & Director

Carpet brings more than 30 years of paramedicine to Defibshop. He maintains his professional registration and still practices on road as a working Intensive Care Paramedic. His industry roles reflect the trust paramedicine itself has placed in his expertise.

Current positions:

• Secretary, Ambulance Provident Fund (APF)
• Director, Australasian College of Paramedicine (NSW Branch)
• Director, Community Defib Project

Past leadership roles:

• Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Australian and New Zealand College of Paramedicine
• Chairman, Ambulance Provident Fund (APF)
• Secretary, Australian Resuscitation Council NSW Branch

That body of work means the decisions at Defibshop — which devices to stock, how to advise customers, what training to recommend — come from someone actively shaping paramedic practice in Australia, not someone running this from a desk.

Our Paramedic Team

Carpet is supported by a clinical team whose combined paramedicine experience exceeds 120 years on road. For clinical questions — which device suits your environment, how to service it, what to do after a use — our paramedic team is the source of the answer.

Three of our team are retired from front-line ambulance service after long careers in pre-hospital care; Shelby still works on road as a practising paramedic. They back the clinical decisions Defibshop makes — what we stock, what we recommend, how we service. Customers with clinical or compliance questions can be put straight through to them.

Why Defibshop Operates Differently

Many defibrillator suppliers operate as ecommerce stores selling clinical equipment without clinical staff on hand. Defibshop is different. We have four paramedics on our team — across servicing, clinical advice and sales support. So when product advice, servicing or compliance questions come up, the people answering them are people who have used these devices in life-or-death situations.

• Advice grounded in clinical reality — when we recommend a device, it’s because it works in the field, not because it’s the highest-margin option
• Full lifecycle support — sell, hire, service, maintain. The same team that helps you choose keeps the device rescue-ready year after year
• Training and compliance guidance — for organisations meeting WHS obligations or state legislation (such as South Australia’s mandatory AED requirements), we help you navigate the standards

Standards & Industry Recognition

Every defibrillator and consumable we supply is TGA-listed and Australian-compliant. We follow guidance from the Australian Resuscitation Council and align our advice with current Australian Standards where applicable, including AS 3720 for AED signage.

In recognition of our work in AED service and support, Defibshop has been awarded the ZOLL Excellence Award for AED Services and Support — an industry recognition we’re proud to hold.

Where We Reach

Defibshop operates from our warehouse in Yennora, in Sydney’s west, with staff on the ground in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. We dispatch defibrillators, pads, batteries and accessories Australia-wide — same-day or next-day from Yennora for Sydney customers, with lead times tailored to interstate destinations. Our service and maintenance team covers NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, with on-request support for Tasmania, the ACT, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

Defibshop, in a Sentence

A paramedic-founded, paramedic-led business that exists because the right defibrillator, in the right place, used correctly, brings people back. We’ve spent 18 years making that easier for Australian workplaces, schools, community organisations and individuals.

Beyond the Sale — A Lifecycle of Support

Defibshop supports every customer across the full cycle of AED ownership: training and familiarisation so your team feels confident (DefibReady), ongoing servicing and readiness checks so the device works when it’s needed (DefibHealthCheck), and after-use review and reassurance when an incident occurs (DefibReview).