Helping you get on the road

It is common for people to rely on a car or another type of vehicle to travel to appointments, visit loved ones, or even go on a holiday. So, it can be hard when your vehicle is not easily accessible or practical for you to drive.

Recently, the NDIA released new guidelines for vehicle modifications and driving supports for people with a disability. In this article, we summarise all the information you need to know about the update.

What modifications are funded by the NDIS?

Vehicle modifications and driving supports funded by the NDIS must directly relate to your disability. For example, if your main form of mobility is using a wheelchair and you can no longer be safely transferred from the wheelchair into your vehicle, you might be able to access funding to modify the vehicle for wheelchair access.

The NDIS may also help with any additional insurance, inspection or engineer certification costs associated with the proposed modifications. The cost of transport while the changes are being made as well as the cost of maintenance or repair of the modifications may also be considered by the NDIS and included in your funding plan.

The NDIS does not fund any usual motor vehicle expenses like vehicle registration, insurance, and running costs like fuel, servicing or general repairs. Modifications like additional seating for family and friends, or passenger upgrades like the air-conditioning or audio systems, are also excluded as they are not disability-related modifications.

To view the full list of what may be funded by the NDIS as well as their exclusions click here.

Steps to vehicle modification funding:

For the NDIS to decide whether or not to include funding for vehicle modifications in your plan you will be required to provide evidence to support your request. First, you will need to determine the type of modification you require:

There are two main types of vehicle modifications:

• Passenger Modifications are where the person with a disability will be transported as a passenger in the modified vehicle.

An Assistive technology assessment from an allied health provider, like a Montrose Occupational Therapist, is a great starting point for this type of modifications. Our OTs will discuss your goals and help identify the most appropriate AT or supports. This assessment can then be used to tell the NDIS what new modifications are proposed, or if there are already existing modifications on a vehicle it will confirm whether these are safe and meet your need for modified transport. Our OTs can complete the required NDIS vehicle modification application and the cost of the AT assessment can be billed to your Capacity Building Supports budget.

• Driver Modifications are where the person with a disability will drive the modified vehicle themselves.

If you are planning to drive the vehicle yourself after it has been modified to meet your needs, your assessment and driver training needs to be completed by a Driver Trained Occupational Therapist. You should also check with your General Practitioner to ensure you meet the national Fitness to Drive medical standard as this may impact the AT you require.  While Montrose does not provide this particular service, our OTs will be able to refer you to someone who can support you in this area. Finally, if you are planning to modify a vehicle that is more than 5 years old and no longer covered by warranty, you will be required to provide a vehicle condition report from a licensed vehicle modifier or certifier to the NDIS. The report will confirm whether your vehicle is legal and safe and determine its reliability as a mode of transport. The cost of the report can be funded by your Core Consumables budget.

All modifications and supports must meet the NDIS reasonable and necessary criteria which can be viewed here.

When you need a quote:

The evidence you need to provide depends on the cost of your vehicle modifications.

• Low-cost AT: No quote is required for AT under $1,500
• Mid-cost AT: If the item or changes to your vehicle are estimated to cost between $1,500 – $15,000 you may not need an itemised quote but it is useful to give the NDIS a quote if you have one.
• High-cost AT: For equipment that costs more than $15,000 you will need an assessment by a professional AT advisor in addition to an itemised quote for the proposed modifications.