Your state or territory government, local council, and other organisations have a responsibility to support you with transport options. These include changes to remove barriers you may face because of your disability. This is to make sure you receive the same services as everyone else. These are called reasonable adjustments .
Examples of reasonable adjustments that can be made to help you use the transport system are:
- accessible taxis
- accessible (lowering) buses
- help to access trains (driver provision of portable ramp)
- ramps and stairway lifts to train, tram, ferry, or bus platforms
- tactile paths so you can feel your way around
- automatic doors.
For example, many councils have buses that people in the community can use. Many of these buses have had reasonable adjustments made to them. This means most people with a disability can use them.
We wouldn’t pay for modifications to a community bus. Your local council would fund this under their community transport program. If your council doesn’t provide community transport, they may have a disability inclusion officer you can talk to. You can ask the disability inclusion officer about the reasonable adjustments made by the council.
The laws for the NDIS determine what we can and can’t fund. Things we can fund are called NDIS supports. We can’t fund modifications to a public vehicle because this is not an NDIS support.
The Australian Government provides funding through the Employment Assistance Fund to cover the costs of making workplace changes so you can do your job. As part of this, the Employment Assistance Fund can help with modifications to vehicles used for work purposes.
We won’t fund vehicle modifications if funding is available through the employment assistance fund to cover these modifications.
Your my NDIS contact or support coordinator can help you to find other supports in the community.