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Disability-Related

Health Supports

Disability-related health supports are those which are considered reasonable and necessary under s34 of the NDIS Act. Disability-related health supports may include:

  • Planning, care & training for specific health tasks provided by a support worker, allied health professional, and/or nurse

  • Purchase of some consumables

  • Maintenance & cleaning of some specific equipment

  • Purchase or lease of some equipment.

Types of Disability-Related Health Supports

Dysphagia

Supports for participants who have trouble eating, drinking or swallowing on a daily basis

Respiratory

Supports for participants requiring help with their breathing and maintenance of their respiratory health. 

Nutrition

Support for participants requiring help with the way they eat or understanding the food they need.

Diabetes

Support for participants who have daily problems with how much sugar is in their blood.

Continence

Supports for participants who need daily assistance with toileting (bladder and bowel).

Wounds & Pressure Care

Supports for participants who need daily wound and pressure care resulting from pressure wounds or swollen limbs).

Podiatry

Supports for participants who require help looking after their feet, ankles and lower limbs.

Epilepsy

Support for for participants who need daily help managing the way epilepsy affects the way their brain and nerves work. are saying about your business. 

Botox

It is unlikely Botox and associated splinting supports will be reasonable and necessary to include in a plan, as these are generally provided in a clinical setting

Supports Funded By The Health System

Despite changes to disability-related health supports, the health system will continue to fund:

  • Diagnosis and assessment of health conditions, including mental health conditions and disabilities. 

  • Medication, general medical and dental services and treatment, specialist services, hospital care, surgery and rehabilitation.

  • Clinical care for mental health conditions.

  • Palliative care, geriatric and psychogeriatric services. 

  • Sub-acute, rehabilitation and post-acute care including treatment of wounds by a nurse.

  • Planning and preparation for a patient to return home after a hospital stay.

  • General hearing and vision services not related to a person’s disability (for example, prescription glasses).

Dysphagia

Dysphagia is the medical term to describe difficulty or inability to swallow. It may present as difficulty with sucking, swallowing, drinking, chewing, eating, controlling saliva, taking medication or protecting the airway.  The NDIS will not fund dysphagia supports during this acute episode while the participant is in the hospital or clinical setting, but may fund:

  • Oral Eating and Drinking Care Plan (OEDCP): a preventative care plan that ensures an individual safely eats and drinks to minimise the risk of aspiration or choking. It involves a detailed assessment and diagnosis by a speech pathologist.

  • Mealtime Management Plan: a mealtime management plan is used daily to safely support the participant, improve function, and work towards capacity building during meal times, which may include how to sit and hold cutlery while eating a meal to improve oral motor skills at every meal.

  • Swallowing therapy intervention: intervention provided  a speech pathologist to maintain overall health and wellbeing and prevent the deterioration of an individual’s swallowing capacity there is capacity. This may undertaking specific exercises, diet or adopting adaptive strategies or changes

  • Low cost assistive technology (up to $1500 per item) such as adaptive cutlery

  • Thickeners to prevent aspiration and promote safe swallowing as recommended by a speech pathologist.

  • Personal care hours to support implementation of an OEDCP or mealtime management plan and/or any recommended swallowing therapy strategies where informal supports are unable to provide.

  • Delivery of health supports by a speech pathologist including re/assessment, development of OEDCP or mealtime management plan.

Respiratory Supports

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  • Development and periodic review of clinical care and daily maintenance of tracheostomy (insertion, removal and change) by an NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent clinician

  • Implementation of daily maintenance of tracheostomy (insertion, removal and change) by an NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent worker

  • Training of an NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent worker to provide tracheostomy maintenance and care.

  • Provision of tracheostomy equipment and consumables.

  • Provision of a Constant Positive Airway Pressure machine (CPAP) machine and consumables. 

  • Provision of a Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BIPAP) machine and consumables.

  • Provision of a ventilator, air humidifier, portable suction machine and/or cough assist machine and consumables.

  • Assistance with the use of all respiratory medical equipment as well as the training of a suitably qualified and competent worker to use the equipment.

Nutrition Supports

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  • Dietetic consultations and the development and periodic review of a nutritional meal plan by an NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent clinician.

  • Implementation of a nutritional meal plan by an NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent worker.

  • Training of an NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent worker to implement the nutritional meal plan.

  • Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) Stoma Changes (to assist feeding).

  • Provision of PEG maintenance and care by a suitably qualified and competent worker.

  • Training of an NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent worker to provide PEG maintenance and care.

  • Home Enteral Nutrition (HEN), PEG,  equipment and consumables excluding food.  

  • HEN formula/nutritional supplements (to meet participant’s nutritional needs).

Diabetes Management Supports

  • Development and periodic review of a diabetic management plan by an NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent clinician.

  • Implementation of a diabetic management plan and daily maintenance and care by an NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent worker.

  • Training of an NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent worker to implement a diabetic management plan.

Continence

  • An NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent worker to undertake insertion, removal or change of indwelling urethral catheter, suprapubic catheter and/or clean intermittent catheter. 

  • Training of an NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent worker to provide catheter maintenance and care. 

  •  Provision of daily catheter maintenance and care by an NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent worker. 

  • All continence consumables (for example catheter, bags, pads, bottles, straps).

Wounds & Pressure Care

Wound and pressure care concerns result from damage to the skin including abrasions, lacerations, rupture injuries, punctures, penetrating wounds and positioning in bed or when seated. They will likely have an increased risk of skin damage and pressure injuries as well as trauma (such as sustained pressure), burns, skin cancers, infection or underlying medical conditions such as diabetes. An initial acute wound should heal within 6 -12 weeks and be managed clinically by the health system, however wounds remaining unresolved and ongoing after three months are considered chronic and require regular intervention to manage. Wound care and pressure care supports include:

  • Consumables for prevention and dressing of wounds such as PH wash, moisturiser and barrier creams, gauze, bandages, dressing packs, dressings, tape to dress wounds

  • Pressure care garments and supports

  • Assessment and diagnosis

  • Development of wound care and pressure injury management program

  • Management and prevention of wounds, and pressure care

  • Review and planning of pressure care positioning

  • Use of assistive technologies.Support to regularly change positions including assessment from an occupational therapist, physiotherapist, nurse to develop a daily positioning plan. 

  • Regular observation to check skin areas for redness, swelling, skin cracking or tears, signs of discolouration or infection

  • Specialised cushions, mattresses and beds that reduce pressure to skin and bony parts of the body

  • Use of transfer/lifting devices to reduce risk of skin damage caused by sliding or shearing (for example: hoists and slide sheets)

  • Use of suitable continence equipment and support to manage incontinence so that skin is not damaged due to excess moisture

  • Maintaining a healthy weight and diet 

  • Nursing hours for specific pressure care and wound management assessment and plan

  • Complex Lymphoedema Therapy (CLT) (e.g. Complex Physical Therapy (CPT) or Complex Decongestive Therapy (CDT)).

  • Purchase or lease of pressure supports including:

  1. Pressure cushions

  2. Pressure Mattress

  3. Air-Filled Garments And Compression Units For Managing Circulation Problems and Lymphoedem

  4. Lymphoedema machine if required for maintenance

  5. Negative pressure wound therapy – Vacuum assisted closure (VAC)

  • Specialist medical, nursing or allied health assessment and recommendation provided by mainstream health services including:

  1. Review and adjustment of the participant’s existing positioning plan and pressure care equipment used

  2. Dietician nutrition assessment

  3. Regular cleaning of area with appropriate solutions

  4. Wound dressings that may include medications, keeping the pressure wound moist to promote healing and prevnt infection and sometimes medications and

  5. Surgical interventions may be required.

Podiatry

  • Assessment, development and periodic review of a podiatry care plan by an NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent clinician.

  • Implementation of a podiatry care plan by an NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent worker.

  • Training of an NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent worker to implement the podiatry care plan and perform any required daily maintenance and care related to the plan.

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a health condition affecting brain function that takes the form of recurring convulsive or non-convulsive seizures. Epilepsy is not just one condition, rather it is a diverse family of conditions comprising many seizure types. It is a complex neurological condition, and can be characterised as a chronic, episodic health condition that can display intermittent, but ongoing functional impairment.

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The NDIS will generally fund epilepsy related supports where a participant is unable to manage their condition due to their disability or a child’s epilepsy related needs are above what a parent is able to provide for and are specifically related to their disability support needs The supports that the NDIS may fund include:

  • Assistance to link to mainstream supports to enable the participant to complete an EMP or EMMP if no informal supports are in place for this purpose.

  • Epilepsy seizure monitoring by a support worker (or a nurse in some circumstances).

  • Training a support worker to implement a participant’s EMP, EMMP and Ketogenic diet plan.

  • A support worker to implement (for example, shopping or meal preparation) a ketogenic diet plan

  • Seizure-Safety Products: assistive technology for seizure monitoring, for example, monitor alarm systems, seizure mats for beds, oximeters.

  • Training of an NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent worker to implement the participant’s Epilepsy Management Plan (EMP) and/or Emergency Medication Management Plan (EMMP).  

  • Epilepsy seizure monitoring by an NDIS-funded suitably qualified and competent worker including the application of assistive technology.

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There are various form of epilepsy management including

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  1. An Epilepsy Management Plan (EMP) is a risk management tool that helps people involved with the person living with epilepsy to recognise when seizures are occurring and to give clear directions about the appropriate support and first aid to be provided to the person. EMPs are a holistic lifestyle plan that sets out the type of seizure, seizure triggers, risk mitigation strategies, supports required during a seizure, any emergency procedures that should be followed, post seizure support, need for overnight support.

  2. An Emergency Medication Management Plan (EMMP): is aa medical document completed by a doctor and describes the medication, method of administration, dose, instructions for administering the dose and emergency procedures. 

  3. Ketogenic Diet Plan: a Ketogenic diet is a strict, medically supervised diet that may be a treatment option for some children with epilepsy. It involves a restricted fluid, high fat and very low carbohydrate and protein diet. It ensures the body will burn fat rather than carbohydrate and protein for energy, thus producing ketones. This high ketone state (ketosis) decreases seizure activity in some circumstances by mechanisms that are not fully understood. 

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Botox & Associated Splint Supports

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