Geelong Ostomy Member Portal Information

1. Who is eligible to register for the member portal?

Current members of Geelong Ostomy who have an email address on file are eligible to register.

2. What information do I need to register for the portal?

To register for the portal you will need:

  1. Your email address as recorded in our system
  2. Your membership number (you can find this on the picking slips enclosed with your supplies)
  3. Your surname
3. What is my Username?

Your username is the email address with which you used to register for the portal.

4. What if I no longer have access to the email address that I used to register?

If you no longer have access to the original email address you used to register for the portal, please log into the portal using your old email address (as your user name), and update your email address in your profile to the new email address.  Save, and log out of your portal account.

Once logged out, please reset your password using your new email address as the username, via the “forgot password” button. A password rest link will be sent by email to your new address. 

Use your updated email and password to access the portal for all future logins.

5. How do I reset my password?

To reset your password:

  1. Go to the portal login page
  2. Click the “Forgot Password” link
  3. Enter your email address (this must be the one associated with your portal account)
  4. Select Submit request
  5. An email will be sent to your email address with a link to reset your password. Select the link, or copy and paste it into your browser to set a new password. Please check your SPAM box if your email is not received within 15 minutes (link valid for 24 hours only)
  6. Follow the prompts to set a new password. A password must at least 6 characters and can be a combination of alpha and numeric.
6. What devices can I use to access the portal?

To access the portal, we recommend using the Google Chrome or Firefox browser on a Windows 10 or 11 PC or Mac computer.

Please note that the portal may not work on all tablets, iPad's or smart phones. In this case, please try submitting through the Firefox Browser on your smart device.

The portal is not supported by Internet Explorer and cannot be used on an android device using a SAMSUNG browser.

7. How do I place an order through the portal?

Important information:

The Stoma Appliance Scheme provides ostomy products to eligible persons that need them. Products obtained through the Scheme are funded by Medicare, and selected from the Stoma Appliance Scheme schedule listing by the eligible person in consultation with their Stoma Nurse or other medical professional. To add a new or not recently ordered item to your portal order, please liaise with your Stoma Nurse or other healthcare professional to check the appropriateness of the product for your use and to obtain the product code of the item, as it appears on the Schedule. The item’s product code as it appears on the Schedule is necessary to add the item to your product list. 

To place an order for products previously ordered:

  1. Login into the portal.
  2. Click the “products” button on the purple “Previous Orders” banner (if the tile of shows “orders”, click on the tile and it will change to “products”).  A list of all previously ordered products will appear.
  3. Select the items required from the list by clicking on the blue shopping cart to the left of the required product. The product will be transferred to your cart.
  4. Adjust the quantity required using the up/down arrow next to the “packs” column to the right of the item in the cart.
  5. Repeat for additional products as required.
  6. Click the “check out” button on the green “cart” banner.

To repeat a previous order:

  1. Log into the portal
  2. Click the “orders” button on the purple “previous orders” banner (if the tile shows “products”, click on the tile and it will change to “orders”).  A list of all previous orders will appear.
  3. Open the order to be copied, using the “show tile” to the left of the order record. Select the “Add All” tile appearing at the bottom of the order detail. This will copy the entire order into the open cart.
  4. Amend the quantities of items in the cart as required, using the up/down arrows to the right of the packs required for each order.
  5. Click the “check out” button on the green “cart” banner.

To add new items to your cart (not previously ordered):

  1. Click the “Add” button on the green “Cart” banner.
  2. A box will open up in the centre of your screen. In the Item# column, enter the code of the required item exactly as it appears on your previous picking slip, including any alpha prefixes (CT, HO etc) and hit the enter key or tab key. The standard monthly allowance of the item, and a description of the item will populate.  Increase or decrease number of packs using the arrows to the right of “packs”. If you have more than one stoma, select the stoma for which the product is being ordered.
  3. Click the “add product” button to add the product to your cart.
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to add more products to your order.
  5. When cart is complete, click the “check out” button on the green “cart” banner

To checkout your cart:

  1. Review your cart – make sure everything you need has been added to the cart
  2. Select if the order is to be collected or posted. If the order is to be posted, confirm the delivery address. If sending to an alternative postal address, select if the address change is to be permanent
  3. Select the month of entitlement. Please note: if ordering a two month order, the month of entitlement should be the first month of the two month period.
  4. Add payments other than the postage fee (which will be automatically added if having your order posted). Please note that members who make payments via direct deposit will need to wait for the postage to appear in their credit account before placing an order through the portal.
  5. Click “submit checkout”.
  6. A box will appear asking for confirmation of your Medicare details. Confirm that your details are correct, and then select your payment option if payment is required prior to checkout.
  7. Follow the prompts to make payment. Once your payment has been confirmed, you will be referred back to the portal where you will receive a message that your cart has been submitted. You will also receive an email confirming submission.
  8. Your order will be reviewed within two business days to ensure the supply is within Stoma Appliance Scheme guidelines. A further email will be sent confirming the review, and providing details of any changes that were made to your order to meet scheme guidelines.
8. How do I place a two-month order through the portal?

Stoma Appliance Scheme Guidelines allow for members to adopt a two month ordering cycle once a stoma is 6 months old.  Geelong Ostomy also encourages all members regardless of their ordering cycle (monthly or two monthly) to place their December/January order together as one double order under scheme “holiday order” rules to help overcome expected January order delays which may be experienced through reduced trading hours during the Christmas/New Year period.

You do not need to indicate when placing your order that it is a two month order. The association will identify the order as a two month allowance by reviewing the quantities requested.

To place a two month order through the portal:

  1. Add the product to your cart in the usual way. The quantity will automatically default to a one month supply (indicated by the  green background behind the quantity).
  2. Manually adjust the quantity of packs required using the up/down arrow beside the “packs” column. The colour will change to yellow when you are within a 2 month allowance.
  3. If you exceed the standard two month allowance of a product, its quantity colour will change to red. Please note that, where an Application for Additional Stoma Supplies is in place for a product, the red indicator will still appear. Medical Certificate details will be confirmed at the order review stage by Geelong Ostomy.
  4. Check out your order in the usual way, making sure that the month of entitlement selected is the first month of the two month period (eg: select December for a Dec/Jan order).
9. Can I change my portal order once it has been submitted?

As long as your portal order is still at the “submitted” stage and has not yet been “reviewed” and accepted by Geelong Ostomy, the order can be changed, added to or cancelled.

To make changes to a submitted order:

  1. Find the latest order in the list under the “submitted carts” banner
  2. Click on “show” beside the order to open it. A “recall cart” button will show if the cart can be recalled and changed. Click the recall cart button to revert the order to the unsubmitted cart stage
  3. Make the required changes
  4. Checkout again in the usual way.

Note: to amend an order which has been reviewed, please contact Geelong Ostomy by email.

10. The item I want says "Item# does not exist" - what does that mean?

If you’re trying to add a product to your cart and you get a warning that says “Item# does not exist” it means that item is currently unavailable. Please check the code before contacting Geelong Ostomy to resolve.

11. What should I do when an item I have ordered before is greyed out and can't be added to my cart?

When an item you have previously ordered is greyed out and can’t be added to your cart it means that product is currently unavailable. Please contact Geelong Ostomy to resolve.

12. How do I pay for my postage through the portal?

To pay for postal through the portal:

  1. Once you have prepared your “cart”, select “checkout”.
  2. Review your cart and the items ordered.
  3. Review your delivery details and change as necessary.
  4. Review your payment, ensuring you check the delivery month.
  5. Add any other payments that you wish to make (donation, top up, subscription)
  6. Click “Submit Checkout”. A box will pop up to ask you to verify your Medicare information.
  7. Review your Medicare information and click “PayPal”. You will then be diverted to the PayPal payment page.
  8. Follow the PayPal prompts to enter your payment details. You do not need to register a PayPal account – you can proceed as a Guest.
  9. You will be diverted back to the portal and your transaction will be complete.
13. How do I know if my order is ready to collect or has been sent?

If your order is ready for collection or has been posted, a dispatch date will appear against the order in the portal.

14. How do I upload a copy of my concession card, Medicare card or other documents to the portal?

To upload a copy of a document to the portal:

  1. Log into the portal
  2. Select “profile” on the Member Summary tab
  3. Select ” Upload File”
  4. A pop up box will appear
  5. Select file type
  6. Enter the expiry date of the card/Application for Additional Stoma Supplies, and upload an electronic copy of the file
  7. Select “submit file”
15. How do I pay my annual fees through the portal?

You can add your annual fee payment to any order for supplies in the checkout.

To pay your annual fees through the portal without placing an order for supplies:

  1. Login to the portal
  2. Go straight to “checkout”
  3. For current year, the fees will automatically populate if your subscription has not yet been renewed. For next year, under “Review Payment”, you will see an option to renew your subscription (available from April onwards). Toggle the option to YES, and your subscription for the next year will populate (please note that concession card holders will need to have already uploaded their concession card to the portal using the Profile > File Upload function and had the card accepted for the concession rate to apply)
  4. Click “Submit Checkout”. A box will pop up to ask you to verify your Medicare information.
  5. Review your Medicare information, make any changes necessary, and select payment method
  6. Follow the prompts to complete your payment. You will be diverted back to the portal and your transaction will be complete.
16. How do I enable/disable two factor authentication on my portal account?

You can secure your portal account using two factor authentication (2FA). Geelong Ostomy recommends all portal users enable 2FA on their portal account as soon as possible. 2FA should only be disabled for the purpose of changing the device upon which the authenticator APP is installed.

To enable 2FA on your account:

  1. Download an authenticator APP from either the Apple APP store or Google Play Store to your device. We recommend Google   Authenticator.
  2. Click “Enable two factor authentication” under your user menu (top right of your portal home page). A QR code will appear.
  3. Open the authenticator APP on your device, select add (+) and scan the QR code.

Scanning the QR code will add the portal service to your authenticator APP (which will appear as Member Portal – OAM).

  1. Obtain the time based one time password (TOTP) and enter this into the two factor code field within your Portal Account. Enter the code where indicated, and select enable.

Your 2FA is now enabled.

 

To disable 2FA on your account

  1. Select “Disable two factor authentication” under your user menu (top right of your portal homepage).
  2. A time based one time password will be requested which can be obtained from your authenticator APP.
  3. Enter the TOTP as required to disable 2FA and select “disable”.

Your 2FA is now disabled.

17. What is the correct format for a valid Medicare card?

An Australian Medicare number consists of 11 digits structured as follows:

  • Identifier: 8-digits.  First digit should be in the range 2-6.
  • Checksum: 1-digit.
  • Issue Number: 1-digit.  Indicates how many times the card has been issued.
  • Individual Reference Number (IRN): 1-digit.  The IRN appears on the left of the cardholder’s name on the Medicare card and distinguishes the individuals named on the card. This is also sometimes referred to the card position number.

Example: 2428 77813 2/1

 

18. How often is the information in the portal refreshed?

The portal is automatically refreshed with the latest information from our internal systems every 20 minutes.

Please allow 24 business hours for payments made directly into our bank account to reflect in your portal credit balance.

19. Portal troubleshooting

I have completed my cart but can’t check out.

Once you have completed your cart and selected “check out” a box will pop up to ask you to confirm your Medicare details. If this does not occur, it is likely that the pop up screen has been blocked by your device’s security settings. If this has occurred, there should be an indication in the top right hand corner of your screen.

Instructions to resolve the pop up blocker can be found at https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95472?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en

The portal won’t accept my Medicare Card details.

Your Medicare Card details should contain 3 pieces of information:

  1. The 10 digit number appearing on your card
  2. Your individual reference number (the number beside your name on your card), and
  3. The expiry date of the card (expressed as MM/YY)

The tab key can be used to move between fields.

My payment keeps getting rejected.

The payment processing platform used by Geelong Ostomy for the portal is a secure payment facility operated by an external party. Unfortunately Geelong Ostomy cannot assist with payment issues. 

I have processed my payment through PayPal but I cannot see it in my portal account.

This may occur if your network connection drops out immediately after your payment has been made or if you close your browser window before PayPal can send your payment information back to your portal account.  In this situation, please contact Geelong Ostomy. We will verify your payment with PayPal and manually update your portal account.