Home modifications are custom-built changes to your home to help you access and use areas of your home.
Home modifications can be minor changes like widening a doorway. Or they can be more complex, like changes involving a few areas in your home. For example, you might need to combine your bathroom and toilet to give you more room to use a hoist or shower chair.
You may need home modifications if you:
- have safety concerns or difficulty moving around your home
- have trouble with personal care, like using your shower
- can’t use the rooms you need to use in your home
- have difficulty pursuing your goals in your home because of your disability
- need changes to your home so your carers can support you safely.
What about home adaptations and assistive technology?
We may also fund equipment or assistive technology to make your home safer and more accessible. This can help you do things you find hard because of your disability.
An occupational therapist might recommend equipment such as:
- grab rails
- accessible tapware or a hand-held shower
- a weighted shower curtain
- lever door handles
- portable ramps.
These items are usually low cost assistive technology and we consider them home adaptations. You can buy them from retailers, such as hardware shops.
Often you or a handyperson can choose these recommended items, and install and use them by following the instructions that come with the product. Or you can use an advice service like the Home Modification Information Clearinghouse .
Learn more about home adaptations and other assistive technology in Our Guideline – Assistive technology.
What home modifications are we not responsible for?
We can fund home modification supports that meet our NDIS funding criteria.
We generally don’t fund the following features:
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Cosmetic finishes for fixtures, fittings, or materials, like tiles or tapware
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Swimming pools and spas, including hydrotherapy
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Modifications that make your house bigger, like adding another storey
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Repairs to pre-existing damage to your home outside the immediate area where you need home modifications
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Insurance premiums to insure your home after it has been modified
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Standard living costs or routine repairs and maintenance that landlords or homeowners are usually responsible for
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Fixing home modifications that don’t comply with the National Construction Code or relevant Australian standards