Low-cost assistive technology: NDIS purchase and payment checks

NDIS Assistive Technology: Buying low-cost items at a NDIS shop

By Clickability · Originally published 20 November 2024

Deeper review: 6 October 2026. The deeper review adds article-specific decisions and audience guidance. Historical passages and their adjacent corrections remain preserved.

Price and risk are two separate checks

Start with the task you need the item to help you do. Then check both its cost and whether using it introduces a safety risk. A low price does not make transfer equipment or a poorly fitted aid safe. The NDIA distinguishes low-cost, low-risk purchases from higher-risk items that need advice. Read the official guidance

Write down the exact model, relevant measurements and any setup needs. If an item must fit a particular chair, doorway or person, check those details before comparing prices. Ask whether a trial or return is available; a cheaper item that cannot be used is poor value.

Ask about delivery, returns, setup and warranty before placing the order.

Original article and dated context

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is all about helping us overcome the functional limitations of whatever disabilities we might have. In many instances, this means the NDIS will fund low-cost assistive technology (AT) if it helps us become more independent and mobile.
But how do you ensure you get funding towards low-cost assistive technology? And when you have it, how do you then go about buying the assistive technology that you need? Never fear – I’ll answer all your questions in today’s blog.
Briefly, I’m going to look at:
  • what NDIS funding you need to purchase low-cost AT
  • how you can buy low-cost AT
  • where you can buy it.
Be sure to let us know what AT you’ve bought through the NDIS too… we’d love to know!

What NDIS funding do you need to purchase low-cost assistive technology?

The great news is that the NDIS has made it relatively easy to buy low-cost assistive technology through your NDIS Plan. You just need to know the rules – let’s start by looking at funding.
Broadly, low-cost AT is considered anything under $1,500 per item. Some examples include:

[Clickability update, September 2026: The item must also be an NDIS support, relate to your disability and be safe and suitable. Higher-risk items need professional advice even at a low price. Read current low-cost AT guidance.]

  • Domestic items: laundry and washing line adaptations, devices for dishwashing, trolleys, utensils, stools, and over-bed tables.
  • Seating items: bed or chair raisers and standard chairs with the ability to adjust height.
  • Transfer equipment: removable handle on car pillar, slide sheets and boards, transfer belts, and hoist slings.
  • Communication devices: talking buttons, Picture Exchange Communication Symbols (PECS) books, low-tech visual schedules, electronic switches, and communication boards and devices.
  • Continence devices: incontinence alarms.
  • Daily living solutions: everyday products that help with specific functional limitations, such as medication management devices, nonslip mats, and more.
  • Hearing devices: doorbells and phone alert systems, hearing aid controls, wireless communication accessories, streamers for TV or phones, and alert systems.
  • Mobility: walking sticks and canes, crutches, and wheeled walker frames.
  • Prosthetics and orthotics, including custom made footwear.
  • Bathing and toileting devices: bath-boards, shower stools, adjustable toilet seat raiser, hand-showers with diverters, shower chairs, and toilet rails.
  • Vision devices: vision-specific apps for smartphones, KNFP readers, daily living equipment such as liquid level indicators and talking kitchen scales, audiobook players, vision-related software (JAWS and Zoomtext).
To buy your low-cost AT, you will need funds within the core supports section of your NDIS Plan. Any funding within your core supports can be used flexibly. This means you can use the funds within this section for support work, cleaning, gardening, or consumables, such as low-cost AT!

[Clickability update, September 2026: Not every Core allocation is flexible. Check your actual plan, restrictions and available funds. See current budget guidance and the equipment purchase process.]

If you want low-cost assistive technology, check you’ve got funds in the core supports section of your NDIS Plan; if you don’t, ask for it in your next Plan Reassessment.

How do you buy low-cost assistive technology?

There’s two ways you can buy low-cost AT. Each has its pros and cons, so consider each.

1. Buy the item with your money and get reimbursed.

This is easy to do but means that you might be out of pocket for a short period of time. You buy the item and then use the receipt as proof of purchase to get the money reimbursed through your core supports funds in your NDIS Plan.
If you’re plan managed, you will need to share the receipt with your plan manager and follow the process that they’ve set up. Sometimes, it might take up to two weeks to get the money back.
If you’re self managed, you can draw the funds yourself so that you’re not out of pocket for as long. Still, be sure to keep your receipt! This is good record keeping.
If you’re agency managed, you need to buy your low-cost AT through a registered provider. Typically, you will need to pay the provider upfront, meaning you can’t just buy the item and get reimbursed.

[Clickability update, September 2026: Current NDIA guidance says the registered provider claims payment directly for NDIA-managed low-cost AT. Plan managers handle invoices; self-managed payment and claims are different. Read the payment steps.]

2. Buy the item using your NDIS details.

Many online NDIS shops allow you to set up accounts with your NDIS details, so that you go online, add whatever you need to your cart, and process the order with your NDIS funds.
How this works depends on whether you’re plan managed, self managed, or agency managed. For example:
  • if you’re plan managed, the online NDIS shop will invoice your plan manager directly or send you the invoice to pass on;
  • if you’re self managed, they will invoice you to claim the funds and then you pay them;
  • if you’re agency managed, they will invoice the NDIA (just remember they need to be a registered provider).
In each instance, the online NDIS shop will wait till payment is received before sending the low-cost AT to your home.

[Clickability update, September 2026: This describes a possible retailer policy, not a universal NDIA delivery or payment rule. Confirm arrangements with the supplier and your funding manager before ordering.]

Are there NDIS shops you can frequent?

Who doesn’t love the convenience of some online shopping? I know I do! Thankfully, as we shared, numerous online NDIS shops have emerged throughout Australia, allowing you to buy your low-cost AT easily and quickly.
Simply search Clickability's equipment category for online NDIS shops and compare the options. Be sure to check whether you can buy the low-cost AT privately and get reimbursed or if you can only buy the item using your NDIS details. This might influence who you choose as your online NDIS shop!

Key takeaways:

  • If the low-cost assistive technology is under $1,500, you can buy it using core funding
  • You can either buy it yourself and get reimbursed or buy it using your NDIS details
  • Search for your perfect online NDIS shop.

Before an equipment order becomes a payment problem

Help with checkout without losing the person’s choice

Let the participant decide which feature matters most and what assistance they want. Compare instructions, accessibility, delivery and returns alongside the price. Keep a copy of what the supplier has agreed, especially if an item is described as custom or non-returnable.

Check who receives the parcel and who can help set it up. A device that arrives without the required accessory, batteries or accessible instructions may leave the person waiting despite having paid. Agree a practical backup for the everyday task while the order is being resolved.

Share only the information needed by a verified supplier; NDIS branding alone does not settle registration or eligibility.

Settle the claiming route before taking payment

NDIA-managed purchases use a registered provider’s direct claim. A plan manager handles the invoice and relevant documentation for plan-managed purchases; a self-managed participant can use the reimbursement route. The original suggestion of a standard upfront payment for agency-managed purchases should not determine your process. Read the official guidance

Explain the item and service separately, including any private costs. Give the participant a receipt and a clear contact for problems. Do not describe every product in an NDIS shop as approved or promise reimbursement merely because the person has a plan.

Questions readers ask

Is every item under $1,500 eligible?

No. Price is one classification; the item must also satisfy the support rules and fit the person’s needs and funding. Official guidance

Must an NDIA-managed participant pay the supplier upfront?

Current guidance says the registered provider claims directly from the NDIA for low-cost AT. Confirm the actual supplier arrangement before ordering. Official guidance

Does low-cost always mean low-risk assistive technology?

No. Cost and safety risk are separate. The NDIA says advice is needed to make sure a higher-risk item is safe, even when it is low-cost. Official guidance

Find providers to discuss the equipment support you need

Describe your needs through Clickability and compare provider profiles and reviews. Ask directly about suitable equipment, registration and payment arrangements.

Find providers for equipment support · Browse the provider directory

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