Do you need to provide an assessment or quote for an assistive technology (AT) or home modifications (HM) item? Service providers can now email a participant's local NDIA team directly.
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Participants with AT funded supports in their plan can seek advice (from an Independent Living Centre, AT assessor) and buy it themselves.
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Sometimes a participant may need help to select the right AT solution for their needs. Where this is the case, appropriate supports will be included in the participant's plan and this could include an AT assessment which assists a participant to understand what are the most appropriate AT solutions to meet the goals in their plan.
The NDIA has set four levels to describe AT complexity to help you identify the level of assistance a participant may need.
Sometimes an item of AT may move up a level or two because of the risks the participant has associated with their disability or the environment where they need to use the AT.
Examples include:
- Mobility: power wheelchairs with integrated controls, manual wheelchairs etc
- Adaptive seating: within wheelchair, vehicle passenger seat, bed systems
- Complex bathing and toileting devices
- Complex pressure care management: high-level pressure cushions and pressure care sleep systems
- Bed systems for complex need: full mattress replacements; bedrails and bedrail covers
- Prosthetics and orthotics
- Hearing: hearing aids, cochlear implant speech processors, etc
- Specialised ICT access
- Complex home modifications: structural changes to building and/or require council permits
- Communication devices: electronic voice/voice prostheses; equipment for deaf/blind individuals
- Continence
- Enteral nutrition
- Environmental control units
The Guide to Suitability in the Provider Toolkit provides details of the criteria that would qualify a provider for the different AT assessments.
The NDIS AT Complexity Level Classification document also provides some guidance on what the level of assistance a participant may require depending on the complexity of their AT needs.
You should work closely with the participant to understand their needs and how you will be paid for supports and services you have provided.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 states that a funded support must represent 'value for money' in that the costs of the support are reasonable, relative to both the benefits achieved and the cost of alternative support.
The price for providing a routine service that requires limited expertise should thus be much lower than one that requires specialist expertise or detailed and complex work to deliver.
Participants will choose supports that get the best outcomes from their allocated plan budget so they would expect to pay less (per hour) for simple supports, versus something more complex. Support providers can help participants to make these choices by describing their support offers as clearly as possible, including price options.
To determine the appropriate supports to include in a participant's plan, the NDIA has provided information. Delays may occur where information is provided in other ways or formats.
See ndis.gov.au and https://providertoolkit.ndis.gov.au/26-key-registration-requirements