Equipment only helps if it's the right equipment, it fits the person and the space, and someone has shown them how to use it. All three are the job.
What AT covers is broader than most people expect: mobility (frames, wheelchairs, scooters), transfers (bed poles, transfer boards, hoists), bathroom equipment (shower stools, commodes, over-toilet frames), kitchen and household aids, communication devices, pressure care, and sensory equipment.
Low, mid and high-cost categories each require different evidence. Low-cost items can often be bought without a formal prescription. Mid and high-cost items need an OT assessment, a written prescription with clinical reasoning, and usually quotes.
Trials before prescription. Wherever a supplier can provide one, we trial the item in the person's actual home before recommending it. A shower stool that fits perfectly in a showroom can be an inch too wide for the recess it has to sit in.
Training so the equipment gets used. A significant amount of prescribed equipment ends up unused, in the shed or the spare room, because nobody spent twenty minutes teaching the person and their carer how to use it safely. That training is part of the prescription, not an optional extra.
Review and re-prescription. Needs change. So does equipment condition. Reviewing what someone already has is often more useful than adding to it.
Under the NDIS, assistive technology sits under Capital Supports, with the assessment and prescription time usually drawn from Capacity Building — Improved Daily Living.
Under Support at Home, the OT time is funded as a clinical support and the equipment through the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications scheme.
Some low-cost items are cheaper bought directly than funded through a process, and we'll say so when that's the case.
An AT assessment and prescription report: what the functional problem is, what was trialled, what is recommended and why, the specification of the item, and any alternatives considered and rejected.
Plus the practical part — help getting quotes, liaison with the supplier, and a training session once the item arrives.
Generally simpler, lower-priced items that don't need a formal prescription. Thresholds change, so check the current NDIS or aged care rules rather than a figure quoted online.
For anything mid or high-cost, almost always — and it is in your interest. Trialling in your own home catches the problems a showroom never will.
Equipment suppliers, not us. We assess, prescribe and specify; you or your provider purchase. We're happy to recommend suppliers who deliver and set up properly on the Peninsula.
Low-cost items are quick. Mid and high-cost items involve prescription, quotes and funder approval, and can take months. Start before it becomes urgent.
Yes, and it's often the most valuable visit. Equipment that has been outgrown, worn out, or was never quite right is common.
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