Published by SESI Care Services · Updated August 2026 · 2-minute summary
Quick answer: The daily living aids occupational therapists (OTs) recommend most often are a long-handled reacher, a sock aid and long shoehorn, a shower chair, a hand-held shower with a grab rail, a raised toilet seat or over-toilet frame, a kettle tipper and built-up cutlery. Most are low-cost assistive technology: under the NDIS they come from Core consumables, and under Support at Home from the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) scheme.
Key takeaways
- Low-cost aids need no NDIA approval. Under the NDIS, low-risk items under $1,500 come from Core consumables. You do not need quotes or assessments, as long as the item relates to your disability.
- Dearer or more complex items go through Capital – Assistive Technology and need a recommendation from an assistive technology advisor, often your OT.
- Support at Home has its own stream. The AT-HM scheme funds aids separately from your quarterly budget, with a tier set at your aged care assessment.
- Ordinary household versions are not funded. A standard kettle or fork is a day-to-day living cost; a kettle tipper or built-up fork can be an NDIS support.
- Grab rails are fixed to the wall, so they usually go through the home modifications route in both schemes, not the equipment route.
- You can try before you buy through NDIS trial and rental funding or aged care rental and loan options.
How does an OT decide which aid you need?
An OT watches you do the task in your own home, then matches the aid to the exact point where it breaks down. Two people with the same diagnosis often need different aids: one cannot bend to reach their feet, another can bend but cannot grip. The OT asks which tasks matter to you, measures the space and tries an aid with you. The recommendation goes into a report that the NDIA, a plan manager or an aged care provider can act on.
Our guides to your first in-home allied health visit and accessing in-home allied health under the NDIS in Victoria explain what to expect and how the assessment is funded. SESI delivers occupational therapy in homes across Victoria.
1. Long-handled reacher
A light pole with a trigger at one end and a gripping jaw at the other, for when bending or stretching is hard.
Who it helps: anyone who cannot bend safely after a hip or back operation, loses balance when they stoop, or has limited reach from a chair or wheelchair.
How an OT decides: the OT checks your grip strength against the trigger and the length you need.
How it is funded: low-cost assistive technology from NDIS Core consumables, or the AT-HM low tier under Support at Home.
2. Sock aid and long-handled shoehorn
Both let you dress below the waist without reaching your feet.
Who it helps: people with hip precautions after surgery, arthritis in the hips or spine, and anyone who cannot fold forward.
How an OT decides: the OT watches you dress. If you cannot pull a sock over your heel, a sock aid works. If you cannot reach your feet at all, the OT may add elastic laces or slip-on shoes.
How it is funded: low-cost, from NDIS Core consumables or the AT-HM low tier.
3. Shower chair or stool
Sitting to wash removes the most dangerous part of showering: standing on a wet floor with your eyes shut.
Who it helps: anyone who tires quickly standing, feels dizzy in warm water, or has had a fall in the bathroom.
How an OT decides: the OT measures the recess and your hip height, and checks whether you step over a hob or into a bath. A stool suits a tight recess; a chair with arms suits someone who needs help to stand. If you cannot step in at all, a wheeled (mobile) shower chair may be the answer.
How it is funded: a standard shower chair is low-cost under the NDIS and low tier under AT-HM. The NDIA lists mobile shower chairs as an example of mid-cost assistive technology, which needs an advisor’s recommendation and comes from Capital.
4. Hand-held shower and grab rail
A seated shower only works if you can reach the water and steady yourself to stand up again.
Who it helps: anyone using a shower chair, and people washing with one hand or with a carer’s help.
How an OT decides: a hand-held shower on a slide rail is a plumbing change, so the OT checks the fittings. A grab rail must be fixed to solid wall at the height and angle you actually pull on, so the OT marks the spot after watching you stand.
How it is funded: the hand-held shower unit can be low-cost assistive technology. A grab rail is installed, so it is usually a minor home modification. Under the NDIS that means Capital – Home Modifications after an OT assessment and report. Under Support at Home it is the home modifications side of the AT-HM scheme, and all home modifications must be prescribed by an OT. The NDIA also lists simple handrails among its low-cost examples, so ask your OT which route fits your plan.
5. Raised toilet seat or over-toilet frame
Raising a low toilet a few centimetres and adding arms to push up on turns a fall risk into a task most people can do alone.
Who it helps: people with hip or knee precautions, weak legs, Parkinson’s disease, or anyone who holds the towel rail or basin to stand.
How an OT decides: if height is the only issue, a clip-on raised seat is enough. If you also need arms, an over-toilet frame gives you both. The OT measures the room so the frame clears the bowl and the door still closes.
How it is funded: NDIS Core consumables, or the AT-HM low tier.
6. Kettle tipper
A cradle that holds the kettle and lets you pour by tilting, so you never lift boiling water.
Who it helps: people with weak or painful wrists, tremor or one-handed function. It also suits people with an intellectual disability who can make a cup of tea safely with the right setup, but not with a full kettle.
How an OT decides: the OT watches you make a hot drink. If the lift is the problem, a tipper solves it; if pouring accurately is the problem, a smaller kettle may be better.
How it is funded: the tipper is disability-specific and can be low-cost assistive technology. The kettle itself is an ordinary household item, which the NDIS support lists treat as a day-to-day living cost, so it is not funded.
7. Built-up cutlery
Cutlery with thick, soft handles is easier to hold and control.
Who it helps: people with arthritis, weak grip after a stroke, tremor, or reduced hand control from cerebral palsy. Weighted handles steady a tremor. Angled handles help if you cannot turn your wrist.
How an OT decides: the OT tries a few handle sizes and weights with you at a real meal.
How it is funded: NDIS Core consumables, or the AT-HM low tier. Ordinary cutlery is not funded; modified cutlery can be.
Which funding route pays for each aid?
Most of the seven are low-cost; the table shows the exceptions.
| Aid | Problem it solves | Usual funding route |
|---|---|---|
| Long-handled reacher | Bending or stretching is unsafe | NDIS Core consumables · AT-HM low tier |
| Sock aid and long shoehorn | Cannot reach feet to dress | NDIS Core consumables · AT-HM low tier |
| Shower chair or stool | Standing to wash is tiring or unsafe | NDIS Core consumables · AT-HM low tier (mobile shower chair: NDIS Capital, mid-cost) |
| Hand-held shower and grab rail | Cannot reach water or steady yourself | Shower unit: low-cost AT · Grab rail: NDIS Capital – Home Modifications after OT report · AT-HM home modifications |
| Raised toilet seat or frame | Toilet too low to stand from | NDIS Core consumables · AT-HM low tier |
| Kettle tipper | Lifting boiling water is unsafe | NDIS Core consumables · AT-HM low tier (kettle not funded) |
| Built-up cutlery | Cannot grip standard cutlery | NDIS Core consumables · AT-HM low tier (ordinary cutlery not funded) |
NDIS. The NDIA sorts assistive technology by cost and risk. Low-cost assistive technology is under $1,500 and paid from your consumables budget. If it is low-risk you do not need quotes, evidence or approval first. Mid-cost and high-cost assistive technology needs a recommendation from an assistive technology advisor and is funded from Capital. The NDIA’s guide to assistive technology says it will not fund common items everyone needs; the NDIS support lists set out what counts as a day-to-day living cost.
Support at Home. Aids are funded through the AT-HM scheme, separate from your quarterly budget. Your aged care assessor approves a low, medium or high tier for assistive technology, home modifications, or both. The funding covers the item plus a prescription from a health professional if needed. My Aged Care explains how to use the tier. See funding allied health at home: NDIS vs Support at Home. SESI delivers Support at Home services across Victoria.
Can I try an aid before buying it?
Yes. The NDIA explains how to trial assistive technology, including rental funding for short trials and “trial to buy” arrangements where the trial cost comes off the purchase price. Under Support at Home, My Aged Care says you can buy, rent or loan equipment, and your provider can arrange a short rental.
If a support worker helps you shower or dress, ask the OT to show them the aid too. SESI’s personal care support workers work alongside the OT’s recommendations.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an OT report to buy a shower chair on the NDIS?
Not usually. A standard shower chair is low-cost, low-risk assistive technology. If it relates to your disability and your plan has consumables funding, you can buy it without quotes or NDIA approval. The NDIA still suggests advice before a first purchase.
Will the NDIS pay for a new kettle if I need a kettle tipper?
No. The kettle is an ordinary household item and the NDIS support lists treat it as a day-to-day living cost. The tipper is the disability-specific part and can be funded. Built-up cutlery works the same way: the handles can be funded, a standard set cannot.
How do I get aids under Support at Home?
Your aged care assessment decides whether you are approved for an AT-HM tier. Once you have a provider and they notify Services Australia, you can use the tier on items from the AT-HM list. If the tier is not enough, your provider can ask for a support plan review with evidence from your OT.
Can an OT recommend aids by telehealth?
Some can, but aids that depend on measurements or wall fixings need a home visit. Our guide to telehealth check-ins with your OT or physio explains when a video call is enough.
Talk to SESI
If you want an OT to look at the tasks that have become hard at home, tell us what is going on and we will call you back.
Tell us what’s going on: sesi.com.au/referral · Call: 1800 017 374
This guide is general information based on NDIA assistive technology guidance, the NDIS support lists, and Department of Health, Disability and Ageing guidance on the Support at Home AT-HM scheme, current at September 2026. It is not advice about your individual plan. For your own plan, speak with your support coordinator, contact the NDIA on 1800 800 110, or call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422.
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