To ensure you can access urgent assistive technology (AT) repairs, even without funding in your plan, the NDIS Contact Centre can authorise funds over the phone.
If you have approved funding for AT supports in your plan, repairs and maintenance of AT is also included as part of your budget.
If there is no funding available for an urgent repair, the NDIS Contact Centre can provide an authorisation number over the phone to ensure you can access the support you need and providers can be paid appropriately.
When the NDIS Contact Centre is open, you or your provider should phone the NDIS Contact Centre for assistance if there are problems with your budget for AT repairs before proceeding.
Repairing AT damaged in a natural disaster is an urgent repair. This extends to hiring a replacement item until a more permanent solution is available.
Is the repair urgent?
If possible, you should try to defer a repair until normal business hours, by using an alternate or backup support.
Urgent repairs include repairs to equipment you are dependent on for safety, mobility, communication, or daily living activities, such as showering.
Out of hours repairs are generally limited to making your AT safe and usable.
You should consider requesting AT funding at your next plan reassessment to replace your old AT if it requires frequent or costly repairs.
Sometimes a repairer may advise that further repair is not good value. In this case, you should contact the NDIA to discuss AT replacement.
The NDIS Contact Centre is available on 1800 800 110, 8am to 8pm (local time) weekdays.
Criteria and price limits
The NDIA will provide funding for an urgent AT repair if the following criteria are met:
- Your provider has received evidence that the AT being repaired is your property (and not leased, hired or on loan from someone else).
- You have an NDIS Plan that is currently active, and have received AT funding (from the NDIA or a state/territory AT program) in the past 5 years.
- Your provider has gathered sufficient details to attempt to make a service booking against your plan.
- The repair (or hire, if required) is urgent, and needs to be completed out of business hours to enable safe use of the AT, or to get you to a place of safety.
- The cost of the repair or hire is in line with industry benchmarks, and does not exceed:
- Power wheelchairs and scooters (mobility): $3000
- Pressure care: $3000
- Life critical: $3000
- High cost AT (above $25,000 value): $3000
- Installed home modifications: $800
- All other AT: $800
NDIA-managed participants
Your provider should always try to complete a service booking for an urgent repair.
If this doesn’t work, you or your provider should phone the NDIS Contact Centre on 1800 800 110 to seek a pre-claim authorisation approval. Your provider will need your name, NDIS number, and date of birth to gain authorisation. We will need your consent to share details of your plan with a provider.
If a repair is required outside of NDIS Contact Centre hours, urgent AT repair can be made to make the AT safe and usable or an alternative support hired. Approval for further repair, and/or a pre-claim authorisation can be provided the next business day.
Self-managed participants
You should pay your provider for the urgent repairs directly and then claim against your plan.
If there isn’t sufficient funding available in your budget, phone the NDIS Contact Centre on 1800 800 110 for assistance.
Plan-managed participants
If you need an urgent repair to your AT supports, and do not have funding available in your NDIS budget, you should:
- contact your repair provider immediately to complete the urgent repair
- contact your plan manager to confirm that there are sufficient funds available and inform your plan manager that urgent AT repair is required
- either you or your repair provider can forward the invoice to your plan manager.
Your registered plan manager can pay the AT provider for urgent repairs and claim against your plan.
If there isn’t sufficient funding available in your budget, your plan manager can call the NDIS Contact Centre on 1800 800 110 for assistance.
The NDIS Contact Centre can provide an authorisation number over the phone and arrange payment to your plan manager for the repair invoice.