Assistive technology at home
A stool in the shower, a rail by the bed, an alarm you can reach from the floor. Equipment that decides whether a task is manageable or a fall waiting to happen.
Equipment closes the gap
Assistive technology is any piece of equipment that closes the gap between what a task demands and what you can currently do. A shower stool turns a ten-minute balancing act into sitting down. A raised toilet seat removes the part of the day that otherwise needs another person in the room. A pendant alarm means a fall on the bathroom floor at 2am gets a response instead of a wait until morning.
None of it is glamorous, and all of it is worth trying before extra hours of care and long before anyone starts talking about leaving the house. Equipment works every day of the week, including the days nobody is rostered on.
What we help you get
- Mobility aids: walking sticks, four-wheel walkers, wheelchairs, transfer boards and grab handles for getting in and out of the car.
- Shower and toilet aids: shower stools and chairs, over-toilet frames, raised seats, long-handled sponges and non-slip mats.
- Bed rails, bed poles, mattress elevators and adjustable beds, for when getting in and out is the thing that has become hard.
- Pressure-relieving mattresses and cushions, for anyone spending long stretches sitting or lying down.
- Personal alarms and fall detectors, worn or wall-mounted, monitored or dialling a family member.
- Medication dispensers with timers and locked compartments, so the right tablets come out at the right hour.
- Communication aids, from amplified telephones to a tablet set up with three large buttons and nothing else on the screen.
The occupational therapist goes first
We don't sell equipment off a list. An occupational therapist comes to the house, watches the task that has gone wrong, and specifies exactly what is needed: the height of the stool, the width of the frame, whether the bathroom doorway will actually take a wheelchair. Equipment ordered without that step is how a house ends up with a walker in the hallway that nobody uses.
That assessment sits in Clinical supports under Support at Home, which is funded in full by the government with no contribution from you. The therapist also shows you and whoever else lives there how to use the thing properly, and comes back if it isn't working.
The pathway that makes it possible
Support at Home keeps assistive technology and home modifications in their own funding pathway, separate from the quarterly budget that pays for your ongoing services. That separation is the whole point of it. A shower stool might come out of ordinary services without much pain; a pressure-relieving mattress, a powered lift chair or an adjustable bed never would, because one item like that can cost more than a whole quarter of care.
Under the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications pathway, equipment is funded against your assessed need rather than against the hours you happen to be using each week. So you aren't choosing between a bed rail and having someone come in on Thursdays, and you aren't spending three quarters saving up for something you needed in the first week. What you're eligible for depends on your assessment, and we set it out in writing before anything is ordered. Our service rates are published at pricing.
After it arrives
Somebody delivers the equipment, sets it up, shows you how it works and takes the packaging away. Items that need fixing to a wall or a bed frame get fitted properly rather than propped. Rented items get serviced. If something turns out to be the wrong choice, tell us early instead of putting it in the spare room, because swapping it is easy and a fall is not.
Equipment and home modifications usually get looked at together, since the same therapist visit answers both questions. A rail and a stool often solve the bathroom on their own, and if they don't, you'll know that before any building work is quoted.
Getting started
Call 1800 434 002 or send the form below. Tell us which task has become difficult and whether there has been a fall or a near miss. We'll arrange an occupational therapy assessment and set out what is likely to help. That conversation costs nothing and you're not committed to anything after it.
Other services
- Home modifications — grab rails, ramps and step-free showers, fitted to the therapist's plan.
- In-home allied health — the occupational therapy assessment that comes first.
- Personal care — help with showering and dressing, for when equipment alone isn't enough.
- All services
Common questions
Do I need an assessment before I can get equipment?
For anything beyond the simplest aid, yes. An occupational therapist watches the task you are struggling with and specifies what will help, at what height and what width. That assessment sits in Clinical supports under Support at Home and is funded in full by the government, with no contribution from you.
Does equipment come out of my ongoing services budget?
No. Support at Home runs a separate Assistive Technology and Home Modifications pathway, so a bed, a lift chair or a pressure-relieving mattress is funded against your assessed need rather than against the hours you use each week. You do not have to save up out of your quarterly budget to get equipment.
What sort of equipment can you help with?
Mobility aids like walking frames and wheelchairs, shower and toilet aids, bed rails and adjustable beds, pressure-relieving mattresses and cushions, personal alarms and fall detectors, medication dispensers, and communication aids such as amplified telephones.
Can I try something before committing to it?
Often, yes. Some items are rented rather than bought, and trialling a frame or a shower chair for a fortnight is a normal part of getting the choice right. Tell your occupational therapist if something is not working, because swapping it is straightforward and living around the wrong equipment is not.
Can I get equipment while I am waiting for my package?
You can pay privately and start now, and people often do for the small items that cannot wait, like a shower stool or a rail. Bigger purchases are usually worth holding until your assessment is finished, so they go through the pathway built for them. We will tell you which of the two your situation is.
Enquire about assistive technology
Tell us where you're up to and we'll be in touch. Prefer to talk? Call 1800 434 002.