What Can You Buy With NDIS Funding in 2026? Guide to NDIS Funded Supports
Many people think that the NDIS provides a fixed list of approved products or covers every disability-related expense. In reality, the NDIS doesn’t fund products. It funds supports that are considered reasonable and necessary to help you live more independently and work towards the goals in your plan.
That’s why two people with the same disability may receive different funding. The NDIS looks at each person’s individual circumstances, including their daily challenges, living arrangements, existing supports, and personal goals, before deciding what funding is appropriate.
How Does the NDIS Decide What You Can Buy?
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) looks beyond the support or equipment you’re requesting. Instead, it focuses on why you need the support and how it will help you achieve your goals and improve your everyday life.
Before approving funding, the NDIA assesses whether a support meets the NDIS funding criteria. In general, the support must:
- Be directly related to your disability.
- Help you work towards the goals in your NDIS plan.
- Be effective and represent value for money.
- Not be more appropriately funded by another Australian government service.
- Meet the requirements of an NDIS support under the current legislation.
These principles apply to every funding request, whether you’re seeking therapy, a mobility scooter, assistive technology, home modifications, or other disability-related supports.
Supports the NDIS May Fund
- Mobility & Transfer Equipment
If your disability affects your ability to move, balance or perform daily activities safely, the NDIS may fund mobility and transfer equipment.
- Manual wheelchairs
- Powered wheelchairs
- Mobility scooters
- Walking frames
- Rollators
- Walking sticks
- Crutches
- Transfer boards
- Standing frames
- Patient hoists
- Pressure cushions
- Custom seating systems
- Portable ramps
- Home & Bathroom Equipment
The NDIS may fund home and bathroom equipment that helps you complete daily tasks more safely, reduce barriers at home, and make your living space better suited to your disability-related needs. However, general household improvements that benefit everyone in the home are usually not covered.
- Shower chairs
- Toilet support frames
- Grab rails
- Bath boards
- Transfer benches
- Adjustable beds
- Pressure care mattresses
- Bed rails
- Patient lifting equipment
- Communication & Assistive Technology
For participants who experience communication difficulties, the NDIS may fund assistive technology that helps them express their needs, connect with others, and participate more independently in everyday life. These supports are designed to improve communication, increase confidence, and reduce barriers caused by disability.
These may include:
- Speech-generating devices
- Communication tablets
- Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices
- Eye-gaze technology
- Communication software
- Switch access equipment
- Environmental control systems
- Therapy & Professional Services
The NDIS may fund a range of therapy and professional services that provide practical support, build important skills, and help participants work towards their personal goals. These supports are not just about treatment—they are about helping you do more of the things that matter in your daily life
Examples include:
- Occupational therapy
- Physiotherapy
- Speech pathology
- Psychology services
- Behaviour support
- Exercise physiology
- Dietitian services (when related to your disability)
- Support coordination
- Employment-related supports
- Personal Care & Daily Living Supports
The NDIS may fund personal care and daily living supports that provide practical assistance. These supports are designed around your individual needs and may help with tasks you cannot manage on your own because of your disability.
Funding may cover:
- Showering and dressing assistance
- Meal preparation
- Household cleaning
- Laundry support
- Gardening assistance
- Community access support
- Overnight supports
- Disability Consumables
Disability-related consumables are everyday items that help people manage the impact of their disability, maintain personal care, and complete daily activities more safely and independently. These supports are generally for products that are used regularly and need ongoing replacement.
Examples may include:
- Continence products
- Wound care supplies
- Disposable gloves
- Catheters
- Disability-related nutrition products (where approved)
- Transport and Community Participation
NDIS funding may provide transport and community participation supports that help participants attend essential activities outside their home and participate more actively in their community.
This may include:
- Transport funding
- Support workers for community outings
- Assistance attending work or study
- Social participation activities
- Recreational activities related to disability goals
- Skills-building programs
- Home & Vehicle Modifications
For some participants, changes to their home or vehicle may be necessary to improve safety, accessibility, and independence. The NDIS may fund reasonable and necessary modifications that help reduce disability-related barriers and make everyday activities easier to manage.
The NDIS may fund:
- Wheelchair ramps
- Accessible bathroom modifications
- Stair lifts
- Ceiling hoists
- Wider doorways
- Vehicle access modifications
- Wheelchair hoists
Supports the NDIS Don’t Fund
The NDIS is designed to fund disability-related supports, not everyday expenses or items that most people would normally pay for themselves. For funding to be considered, a support must be directly related to your disability and meet the reasonable and necessary criteria.
Generally, you can not buy the following things with NDIS funding:
- Groceries and normal food expenses
- Rent or mortgage payments
- Electricity, gas, and water bills
- Standard clothing
- General furniture
- Holidays and travel expenses unrelated to disability supports
- Entertainment subscriptions
- Cosmetic treatments
- School fees
- Medical treatments covered by Medicare or state health services
- Supports that should be funded by another government program
Final Thoughts
Knowing what you can buy with NDIS funding helps you make smarter choices and avoid rejected claims. From mobility equipment and assistive technology to therapy, personal care, and home modifications, every support must be linked to your disability needs and NDIS goals. Choose supports that improve your independence, safety, and everyday life—so your funding delivers real value where it matters most.