All NDIS supports must meet the reasonable and necessary criteria.

Ask yourself some questions to help you think about whether we’ll consider funding what you need:

• Does the assistive technology relate to your disability?
• Is the assistive technology right for you?
• Is what you need value for money?
• Is your assistive technology funded or provided by someone else?

Does the assistive technology relate to your disability?

Your assistive technology must relate to your disability. It should help you with different activities, or something you can’t do now. Or, assistive technology may help reduce your fatigue or the need for human assistance. Ultimately, we won’t fund a support if it’s not related to your disability. 

We don’t fund general items that we all need whether or not we have a disability. This includes things like general household furniture. But we might fund the extra cost of adapting general items for your disability.

Example

Both Salim and Jane cannot sit in a standard chair. This is because they won’t be able to get back up due to their disability.

We all have to buy furniture for our home. But they need to pay more to adapt the chair, or for a specialised chair.

Salim’s occupational therapist says he could use low-cost chair raiser blocks to raise the height of the chair. Salim buys a standard chair with his own money. But his NDIS plan could include funding for the chair raiser blocks if they meet all the criteria for funding.

Jane’s occupational therapist says low-cost options won’t work for her. She needs a sit-stand recliner chair to avoid falls and stand up slowly without help from someone else. Her NDIS plan could include funding for the sit-stand recliner chair if it meets all the criteria for funding.