What are NDIS minor home modifications?

What counts as a minor home modification

The NDIA describes minor home modifications as customised changes to your home that are generally straightforward. To count as minor, the works must:

• Be non structural, so they do not change the supporting structure of your home
• Have a relatively low risk of problems during or after the work
• Only affect one or two areas of your home
• Cost less than $20,000 in total

Category A and Category B

Minor works are split into two categories, and the category decides who can assess them:

• Category A: works costing $10,000 or less with no structural change. Any occupational therapist can do the assessment
• Category B: works costing between $10,000 and $20,000, or any minor works to a bathroom floor. These need a home modification assessor, an OT with extra training or experience in home modifications

Common examples

• Grab rails and handrails, inside or outside
• Lever style taps and a handheld shower
• A low cost ramp to a doorway
• Widening an internal doorway that is not structural
• Any minor works to a bathroom floor, which are always assessed as Category B

How to get minor modifications funded

Ask your occupational therapist to assess how you use your home and recommend specific works. The assessment is usually paid from the improved daily living skills part of your Capacity Building budget, at up to $193.99 an hour for occupational therapy in most of Australia in 2026/27.

Your OT's report goes to the NDIA with your request. If the works are approved, the funding sits in the Capital home modifications budget of your plan, and a builder or tradesperson does the work. Many people combine minor works with assistive technology, such as a shower chair, recommended in the same report.

Renting, social housing and other homes

If you rent or live in someone else's home, you need the owner's written permission before works start. Social housing tenants should check with their housing provider, who may handle some modifications themselves.

Minor works are about the home you live in now. If your needs are growing and the house will never work well, ask your OT whether a different home, or complex modifications, would be a better long term answer.

What the NDIS does not pay for

The NDIS funds changes you need because of your disability. It does not pay for general repairs and maintenance, renovations everyone would want, or standard fittings that are not linked to your support needs. Works must also comply with building codes and Australian Standards, so use a licensed tradesperson.

Minor home modifications and the 2026 changes

Home modifications are protected from the October 2026 funding reset, so the works funding in your Capital budget is not reduced. The OT's assessment time usually comes from improved daily living skills, which is reduced by 10% when your plan is created, reassessed or renewed, so ask for a quote before you book.