Case example
Conrad is 35 years old and has Motor Neuron Disease and needs significant medical intervention. Conrad currently lives in a one bedroom home. He uses several large pieces of specialist equipment to support his transfers, mobility, breathing and feeding. Conrad doesn’t need to use all the equipment each day.
Conrad has a lot of large bulky equipment, including essential lifesaving medical equipment. It can’t be stored in his bedroom or in the living room as it could be a safety risk for him and his support workers.
An assessment from Conrad’s allied health practitioner recommends an extra room as a safe and hygienic place for Conrad to store his equipment.
Would we fund this?
Yes, we could fund two rooms in specialist disability accommodation for Conrad. His very high support needs, and the type of equipment he needs for his disability means he needs a clear area set up for staff to safely access Conrad’s disability and health support equipment.
Why would we fund this?
To decide if a support is reasonable and necessary for Conrad, we look at the information we have, including the report from the allied health practitioner, and whether funding meets the NDIS funding criteria.
For us to fund two rooms for one person in specialist disability accommodation, it must meet all of the NDIS funding criteria.
It must:
- help Conrad pursue his goals and improved independent living skills
- help Conrad improve his social and work activities
- effectively reduce the risk to the health and wellbeing of Conrad and his support workers
- be value for money, which means that the cost of the extra room is reasonable when comparing the health and hygiene benefits for Conrad and his support workers versus the cost of alternative supports
- be something we are responsible for providing.
What else do we think about?
When deciding whether to fund an extra room for Conrad we’ll also think about:
- if it’s needed solely and directly for his disability support needs
- if there is a safe and hygienic place other than the extra room to store his mobility, breathing, feeding and transfer equipment.
Case example
Kate is 51 years old and lives with quadriplegia, a brain injury, anxiety and depression. She has severe impairment of function and strength of her limbs. Kate lives in specialist disability accommodation with another NDIS participant. They each have their own bedroom. Kate needs help from a support worker with most of her daily activities and uses equipment at home each day for her personal care needs, physiotherapy and exercise. She also uses a motorised and a manual wheelchair.
Kate has two children who study at university interstate and sometimes stay with Kate during semester breaks. They don’t live at the home permanently and don’t pay rent for the home.
Kate wants to move into specialist disability accommodation with an extra bedroom that is available for when her children want to stay overnight.
When we think about whether to fund specialist disability accommodation with an extra bedroom for Kate we think about whether the support is directly related to her disability and whether it is reasonable and necessary.
We wouldn’t generally fund an extra bedroom for Kate so her family can stay with her occasionally.
We consider the cost for family members to stay overnight as an everyday living cost. The request for the extra room is because Kate wants to have her children stay with her in her home and not because of her disability.
There might be space in the home for Kate and her family to have a sofa bed or think about paying for other accommodation nearby. Generally these things are everyday living costs and not something we are responsible for providing.
If Kate’s children lived with her on a permanent basis we could look at shared living with people who are not eligible for specialist disability accommodation.
For information about rental payments for each person check out Pricing Arrangements for Specialist Disability Accommodation .
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