You can only use NDIS funds to pay for air conditioning if it's specifically approved in your NDIS plan. A letter from an occupational therapist (OT) is not enough evidence. The NDIA may not approve air conditioning as a reasonable and necessary expense, and you may consider it a standard cost of living. Yes, we can fund home automation supports that meet the NDIS funding criteria.
The National Disability Insurance Plan (NDIS) is a hard bone to crack and an even harder bone to understand and navigate, so we'll try to answer some of your most common questions here to try to help you along the way. For every question you ask about the NDIS, you seem to get a variety of answers, but which one is the right one? It's not a resounding NO from the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), which oversees the NDIS, but it's not recommended. While recognizing that the informal support provided by parents, siblings and other family members is critically important for people with disabilities, the NDIA believes that funding a family member to provide support to a participant can be detrimental to family relationships. The NDIA will take into account the circumstances of each case, any wishes expressed by the participant, and will also take into account what it is reasonable to expect others to provide.
Usually, the NDIS does not fund a vehicle for a participant, but it MAY finance modifications to a vehicle that the participant regularly uses or would use to meet their transportation needs. Vehicle modifications refer to changes to a vehicle or to the installation of equipment in it so that a participant can access it and, in some cases, drive it. It's a bit of a myth that the NDIS DOES NOT fund air conditioning. However, not everyone who requests the use of air conditioning according to those guidelines is approved.
The NDIA often argues that air conditioning isn't reasonable or necessary and that it's more of an everyday cost of living. A participant from Mackay, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, asked the NDIA to replace and improve the outdated and outdated air conditioning system in his home. This proposal was rejected by the NDIA, which stated that it did not constitute reasonable and necessary support. The case ended before the AAT, which agreed that the replacement of the ducted air conditioning system in the participant's home met the requirements of reasonable and necessary support, as defined in the Act of ENDIS.
Obviously, the topic is a gray area and is open to different interpretations and, therefore, the NDIA argues this definitively on a case-by-case basis. The NDIS only covers additional daily living costs related to your disability support needs. Everyone needs to buy food and groceries, whether or not they have a disability. Therefore, for this reason, they are not covered by the NDIS.
HOWEVER, the NDIS will cover the cost of a meal delivery if you can't cook a meal or buy the ingredients because of your disability. You should be able to use NDIS funds to pay for the preparation and delivery of meals. In addition, if learning to cook or know how to cook is part of the objectives of your plan, the NDIS can also fund cooking classes and hire a support worker to help you with the kitchen. Will the NDIS pay for gym membership? The NDIS does not fund supports that represent people's daily living costs, whether or not they have a disability.
If one of your goals is to get in shape by going to a gym or playing a sport, the NDIS can fund a support person or assistive technology to help you do these activities, but not the gym membership itself. Under the law, support can mean that someone helps you participate in activities that will help you in your social and economic life. Aid must be cost-effective in relation to both the benefits of the aid and the cost of similar support. The NDIS must also consider what families and other informal types of support would normally provide.
To determine if support to help you achieve your health and wellness goal is reasonable and necessary, the Program analyzes the information you provide to it against the NDIS funding criteria. The NDIS funds “reasonable and necessary support” for people with disabilities. This means that if a participant is unable to perform tasks such as vacuuming and cleaning due to their disability, the NDIS will provide funding for a support worker to handle these tasks. Will the NDIS fund a laptop or an iPad? To access these telehealth, video conferencing and other technologies, it is essential to have the right technology.
In recognition of this, the flexible approach to purchasing low-cost AT will continue and will be monitored by the NDIS as participants and providers adapt to “normal COVID”. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, consider how this flexible approach can help you continue services safely if physical distancing is necessary. The NDIS recommends that participants, their families and their caregivers work with their current providers to discuss the best way to receive services and support or to carry out daily activities. HOWEVER, smart devices and computers are a general appliance.
Most Australian homes have them and are used by most of the community. An appliance that most people are likely to have at home is a daily cost of living, not funded by the NDIS. Prescription eyeglasses are covered by the health system and not by the NDIS. While it can be argued that eyeglasses are directly related to your disability, the NDIS is clear that the government's health system covers items such as prescription eyeglasses.
Will the NDIS fund hearing aids? The Hearing Services Program (HSP) and the NDIS fund public hearing services in Australia. The HSP funds hearing services for Australian citizens and permanent residents, including children and young people under 26, who meet their eligibility criteria. You can access the NDIS and the HSP at the same time, but you cannot receive the same support from both programs at the same time. If you participate in the NDIS and access HSP services and support, there will be no immediate changes in their current arrangements.
For more information about the HSP, go to the Hearing Services Program. Will the NDIS pay for swimming lessons? No!. Private swimming lessons are not usually funded by the NDIS, as they are unlikely to be good value for money. There are some types of support that the NDIS will not fund or provide.
The NDIS Act and the rules established under the NDIS Act also tell us what supports will not be funded by the NDIS. One of the questions we frequently receive is whether washing machines, dryers, dishwashers and air conditioners can be ordered with funding from the NDIS. There is a misconception that the NDIS doesn't cover air conditioning costs. However, not everyone who submits an application within the established guidelines receives approval for the use of air conditioning.
