What assistive technology do we fund?

All NDIS supports must meet the NDIS funding criteria.

When we think about assistive technology support, we’ll ask these questions:

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

We consider how your supports work together as a package to address your disability support needs or achieve an outcome.

We look at how assistive technology will make it easier for you to do things or reduce other supports you need.

Your assistive technology should bring you benefits over many years.

Learn more about the principles we follow to create your plan.

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 make it less tiring for you to do some things, or mean you need less help from someone else.

We won’t fund a support if it’s not related to your disability.

We don’t fund general items that everyone needs, like everyday household furniture.

But we might fund the extra cost of adapting general items for your disability.

Both Salim and Jane can’t 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 each 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 plan could include funding for the chair raiser blocks if they meet all the NDIS funding criteria.

Jane’s occupational therapist says low cost options won’t work for her.

She needs a sit-stand recliner chair so she can stand up slowly without help from someone else and avoid falling.

Her plan could include funding for the sit-stand recliner chair if it meets all the NDIS funding criteria.

Is the assistive technology right for you?

Assistive technology needs to help you pursue your goals.

When we’re making decisions about funding assistive technology we’ll look at how your disability stops you from pursuing your goals. We’ll also look at how the assistive technology will help with your disability support needs.

For example, you might have a goal to move around your house more independently. We’ll look at all the ways you might be able to pursue that goal. Funding a wheelchair could be one way.

We need to know that the assistive technology:

is the right item for your needs
is safe for you to use and meets Australia’s safety standards, where this is possible
will help you do all the things you need it to
will work in all the places that you need to use it.

There are some things to remember:

If you set more and bigger goals it doesn’t mean we’ll fund more and bigger funded supports.
If you set a goal about an exact type or amount of support you want, it doesn’t mean we’re obliged to fund that support or in that amount.

Learn more about setting goals.

Is the assistive technology you need value for money?

The assistive technology we fund for you must be value for money compared to other assistive technology or supports that would achieve the same outcome.

We consider the benefits of the assistive technology. We also think about what it will help you do in the long term.

We also look at:

less expensive options
how long the assistive technology will last
how often the assistive technology will need maintenance or repairs
whether the assistive technology may be cheaper to rent for the time you need it.

We check the price of assistive technologies in the market to compare the cost of the item you want to an expected price range for a similar item.

We use this expected price range to help us decide how much funding to include in your plan. We also look at how easy a device or service is to get.

This helps us give enough funding for the assistive technology you need to pursue your goals. This may be above the expected price range for some needs.

We generally fund the standard level of assistive technology you need based on your goals. For example, a wheelchair with standard specifications and features. We won’t fund extra items that don’t relate to your disability, or don’t help you pursue your goals.

You can also pay extra from your own money if you want:

a particular brand or model of an item
special features not related to your disability needs (for example, paint type)
a particular design.

Bill needs a new powered wheelchair. He gives us an assessment and quote for $16,550.

There are some parts of the quote that don’t meet our funding criteria, because they’re not reasonable and necessary. These are extra ‘cosmetic’ features like metallic paint and personalised AFL club upholstery for a total of $550.

Bill’s plan will include $16,000 for the standard assistive technology for his needs. He decides he doesn’t need the metallic paint, so he gets the standard paint.

But he really wants to show his AFL Club loyalty, so he pays $250 from his own money for the upholstery upgrade.

Is your assistive technology funded or provided by someone else?

We can’t fund assistive technology if it’s another organisation’s job to fund or provide it. We can help work out whose job it is to fund or provide what you need.

For example, health departments will provide equipment you need in hospital. You might get to keep this for a week or two after you come home if you’ve had surgery.

Other state and federal government agencies will also fund equipment sometimes. For example, to help you in your work, school or university.

If we don’t fund what you need, we can help you find out how to get it from the right provider or scheme.

Learn more about who is responsible for the supports you might need.