How an NDIS assistive technology assessment actually runs
The steps from referral to delivered equipment, why the trial matters most, and what actually causes the delays.
Assistive technology takes longer than people expect, and almost none of that time is the assessment. Knowing where the waiting actually happens makes it much easier to plan around.
How much evidence is needed depends on the item
The NDIS scales the evidence to the cost and the risk of the equipment. Low-cost, low-risk items, a basic shower stool, a reacher, generally need very little. As cost and risk rise, so does the requirement: an assessment, a trial, a written report, quotes. Powered mobility, custom seating and anything supporting a transfer sit at the top of that range.
The thresholds move. Check the current cost bands and evidence requirements on the NDIS website rather than relying on a figure quoted anywhere else, including here.
The steps
1. Assessment
Posture, transfers, strength, endurance, cognition, and the environment the equipment has to work in. Doorway widths, turning circles, thresholds, the slope of the driveway, where it will be stored and charged. Equipment that suits the person but not the house comes straight back.
2. Trial
This is the step that decides whether the prescription is right, and the one most often skipped for speed. Trials run in the places the equipment will actually be used, with the supplier present, not in a showroom. For wheelchairs and scooters that usually means more than one configuration.
3. Script and report
The specification, with reasons. Every feature that costs money has to be justified against a functional need. That is what a delegate is reading for. “Requires powered tilt” is not evidence. “Requires powered tilt to manage pressure over a nine-hour seated day, having developed a stage two injury at six hours” is.
4. Quotes
From the supplier, matched to the script. Mismatches between quote and report are one of the most common reasons a request comes back.
5. Decision, order, delivery
Then the build and the delivery, which for custom equipment is the longest single wait in the whole process and is outside anyone’s control.
6. Handover
Fitting, adjustment and training. Equipment delivered without a handover is equipment that ends up in a shed.
What actually causes the delays
- Plan dates. A request submitted close to a plan end date is the single most common cause of a scramble. Start early.
- Supplier availability for trials, especially outside metropolitan Adelaide.
- Custom build times: months, not weeks, for scripted seating.
- Quotes that do not match the script, which restarts the clock.
- Home modification dependencies. A powered chair that cannot get through the front door needs the door sorted first, and that is a separate approval.
Related assessments
Seating, beds and bathroom equipment are assessed on the same pathway: seating and pressure care, beds and the transfers around them, and bathroom equipment.
Common questions
Does every piece of equipment need an OT assessment?
No. The NDIS scales the evidence to cost and risk: low-cost, low-risk items usually need very little. Higher-cost or higher-risk equipment, particularly anything supporting a transfer, needs an assessment and often a trial.
Why does a trial matter so much?
It is the only step that tests the prescription against reality. Equipment that suits the person but not their home comes straight back, and a trial in the actual environment catches that before it is ordered.
What is the longest part of the process?
For custom equipment, the build and delivery after approval: months rather than weeks. That is outside the assessment process entirely, which is why starting early matters more than moving fast.
Can an AT assessment be done by telehealth?
Parts of the interview can — see how a telehealth appointment runs. Measuring the environment and running a trial cannot.
Work with us
Referrals open right here. Questions go to the same inbox.
Open the referral formFirst time referring? What to put in an OT referral