Sometimes it may be better to rent assistive technology, rather than buy it.
For example, when you are on holiday, you might rent a shower chair for the week.
Or if you have a degenerative condition and your needs are changing quickly.
You may be able to use the flexible funds in your plan to rent the assistive technology.
We may also include funding in your plan to rent assistive technology if:
- you can’t use your regular assistive technology for some reason
- you can’t use your current assistive technology anymore, and you’re waiting on new items to come in
- you’ve left hospital with assistive technology, and you’re waiting for an assessment on your long term needs
- you need new high cost assistive technology, but you need to trial some options as part of the assessment
- it’s better than buying the assistive technology – if your needs are likely to change.
For example, we may consider renting assistive technology is better value for money for a child.
This is because the child is likely to outgrow the technology within a short period of time.
You’ll need to tell us why you need to rent the item.
You also need to let us know how long you will need to rent it.
Renting an item for a long period of time may not be good value for money.
We’ll need to make sure that the rental meets all the NDIS funding criteria.
We’ll put funding for rental of supports in your Capital – Assistive Technology budget if you need it.
If the item costs less than $15,000 to rent, you can give evidence from your assistive technology advisor on the cost of rental.
If you don’t have this information, we may use the fact sheet Assistive Technology – Guide for minor trial and rental funding (DOCX 61 KB) to help us work out the right amount of funding to add to your plan.
If the item costs more than $15,000 to rent, we’ll include quote required rental funding.
This means you must give us a quote for us to approve the funds you need.
If you have any questions, check out our Contacts page to get in touch.
How can you get funding in your plan for maintenance and repairs?
Like other equipment, your assistive technology may need repairs.
It may need repairs due to regular wear and tear or accidental damage not covered by insurance.
Sometimes if the assistive technology is old or badly damaged, it’s better value to replace it than repair it.
If your item isn’t of acceptable quality or fit for purpose, you can ask your provider for a refund or replacement.
This falls under the Australian Consumer Law .
We’ll include funding for repairs and maintenance for all assistive technology items in your plan.
For small repairs like a tyre puncture, we include funding in your Core – Consumables budget.
If your funding is Agency managed, it’s in your Capital – Assistive Technology budget.
For major repairs like a regular service, we include funding in your Capital – Assistive Technology budget.
We’ll use the Assistive Technology – Guide for funding of annual repairs and maintenance funding to calculate how much funding you need for repairs.
If you need more because of your specialised needs you can talk to us about it.
If your plan has funding for repairs and maintenance you can get it done when you need to.
But let us know if your repairs are expensive, or if you need them frequently. We may be able to discuss whether a different item can support you better.
You can contact your my NDIS Contact or assistive technology advisor.
Even though your new assistive technology has a warranty, we’ll still include funding for repairs you may need for things like accidental damage or routine servicing.
What if you don’t have enough funding left in your current budget for repairs?
When we include funding in your budget for assistive technology, we include enough to cover maintenance and repairs.
It’s up to you to manage your budget so you have enough for these costs.
If you do need to fix something and don’t have enough budget left, get in contact with us about maintenance or repairs.
You might be able to get a new plan with funding for repairs.
We’ll have to check if this meets all the NDIS funding criteria.
What if you need repairs for a powered mobility device or prosthetic?
We include funding for repairs and maintenance to powered mobility devices or prostheses more than 2 years old.
If you need major repairs, and you don’t have enough funding for the repair, we might ask you to give your local area coordinator, early childhood partner or planner a quote.
Sometimes it’s better to replace damaged or broken assistive technology than repair it.
In this case we can initiate a plan change to give you funding to replace your assistive technology.
What if you need urgent repairs?
You should try to get repairs and maintenance done during normal business hours unless it’s urgent.
If your repair is over $1,500, we’ll need a quote. We can talk to you about the repairs while you are organising the quote.
If you need an urgent repair and don’t have enough funding in your budget, talk to your my NDIS contact or contact the National Contact Centre .
We’ll let you know the next steps.