What counts as a home modification
A home modification changes the home itself, rather than adding a piece of equipment. The NDIS funds them when your disability means you cannot safely or easily get in and out of your home, or use parts of it such as the bathroom, toilet, kitchen or bedroom. Examples include:
- Grab rails, handheld showers and small ramps
- Removing a shower hob or making a step free shower
- Widening doorways or changing door hardware
- A full bathroom redesign or structural access works
Minor and complex modifications
The NDIA groups home modifications by cost, risk and complexity:
- Category A minor home modifications: under $10,000, with no structural change and relatively low risk. Any occupational therapist can assess
- Category B minor home modifications: $10,000 to $20,000, or any minor works to a bathroom floor. A specialist home modification assessor is needed
- Complex home modifications: changes that affect the structure of the home or need custom or technical work, often across several rooms. They need a home modification assessor, builder quotes and often building approval
How to get home modifications in your plan
- Talk to the NDIA, your local area coordinator or support coordinator about what is hard at home
- Have an occupational therapist assess how you use your home and recommend specific changes
- For larger jobs, get a scope of works and builder quotes that match it exactly
- Send the assessment and quotes to the NDIA, at your reassessment or with a request for a plan variation
- Once funded, the work is done by a suitably qualified builder or tradesperson
If you rent or do not own your home
The NDIS can only fund modifications if you own the home or the owner agrees. For a rental you need the owner's written consent before any work starts. If you live in social housing, talk to your housing provider, who may be responsible for some modifications.
For major works, the NDIA also considers whether moving to a more suitable home would be a better option, so be ready to explain why staying matters to you.
Project managers for big jobs
For very expensive works involving major structural change, the NDIS can fund a building works project manager. They must be independent of any builder quoting for the job, and they help keep the work on scope, on budget and safe.
What the NDIS does not pay for
Home modifications must relate to your disability. The NDIS does not fund general repairs, maintenance, renovations everyone would do, or making a home bigger than you need. If you want extras beyond what is reasonable and necessary, talk to the NDIA and your builder early about who pays for them.
Funding and the 2026 changes
Home modifications are funded from the Home Modifications category in your Capital budget. Home and vehicle modifications are protected from the October 2026 funding reset, so the works funding is not reduced.
The occupational therapist's assessment is usually paid from improved daily living skills, at up to $193.99 an hour in most of Australia in 2026/27. That budget is reduced by 10% when a plan is created, reassessed or renewed, so plan for the assessment.