NDIS Consumables: What's Funded and What Isn't

Consumables are the everyday items you need because of your disability — things that get used up and replaced regularly. Continence products, wound care supplies, specialised feeding equipment, and low-cost assistive technology all sit here.

Funding for consumables sits inside your Core Supports budget, under Support Category 03. It's one of the more flexible parts of an NDIS plan, and it's also one of the most underused — many participants reach the end of a plan period without having spent what was available to them.

In October 2024, the Australian Government inserted section 10 into the NDIS Act and published an official list of what the NDIS can and cannot fund. That list replaced a system where much was left to a planner's judgement. It's the reference point for everything below.

Two things determine whether an item is funded:

1. It must be reasonable and necessary — related to your disability, effective for your needs, value for money, and not something another system (Medicare, education, housing) is responsible for.
2. It must appear on the included side of the section 10 lists, not the excluded side.

What consumables funding typically covers

Continence and personal care

• Continence aids: pads, pull-ups, adult briefs, swim nappies
• Urinary products: catheters, drainage bags, valves, urinal bottles
• Protective items: washable and disposable bed pads, mattress protectors
• Hygiene items linked to a clinical need: barrier creams for skin integrity, sterile gloves, specialised wipes

Disability-related health and wound care

• Wound management: sterile dressings, bandages, surgical tape, gauze
• Respiratory consumables: filters and masks for CPAP machines, nebuliser supplies
• Diabetes-related consumables: alcohol swabs, lancets (Insulin and other PBS medications are not funded — see the exclusions below.)
• Pressure-relief padding

Specialised nutrition

• Enteral nutrition: feeding tubes, syringes, giving sets for PEG and naso-gastric feeding
• Fluid thickeners for people with dysphagia
• Specialised nutritional formulas prescribed for a clinical need

Low-cost assistive technology (generally under $1,500)

• Kitchen and dining: adaptive cutlery, one-handed chopping boards, weighted or modified cups
• Bathroom safety: non-slip mats, shower stools, portable grab rails
• Mobility: walking sticks, crutches, ferrules for frames
• Daily independence: reachers, long-handled shoehorns, dressing aids

Sensory and communication

• Weighted blankets, fidget tools, sensory chew jewellery
• Picture communication boards, Braille labels, hearing aid batteries
• Text-to-speech and communication app subscriptions

What consumables funding does not cover

The exclusions exist because these are either ordinary living costs everyone pays, or the responsibility of another system.

General food and groceries — bread, milk, vegetables, meat, takeaway, delivery fees, alcohol, tobacco. The exception is specialised nutritional products for PEG or home enteral nutrition.

Everyday toiletries and cosmetics — standard shampoo, toothpaste, soap, makeup, perfume, skincare not linked to a clinical condition, haircuts and salon services.

Standard clothing and jewellery — regular shoes, clothing, formal wear, non-adaptive watches. Modified or adaptive clothing (magnetic fastenings, for example) is treated differently.

Health costs that Medicare or the PBS covers — prescription medication, gap payments for GP visits, general multivitamins, weight-loss products.

Household appliances and furniture — fridges, washing machines, dishwashers, standard beds and mattresses, kettles, toasters, air fryers.

Personal technology and entertainment — standard smartphones, tablets and laptops, internet plans, streaming subscriptions, event tickets.

Some items on this list can still be funded as a replacement support — see below.

Funded vs not funded at a glance

CategoryGenerally fundedGenerally not funded

Personal care

Catheters, continence pads

Standard soap, toothpaste

Health

Specialised wound dressings

PBS prescription medication

Nutrition

PEG / HEN specialised formula

General groceries, takeaway

Technology

Communication apps and devices

Standard smartphone

Daily living

Adaptive cutlery

Standard kitchen appliances

Replacement supports

A replacement support lets you buy something that would normally be excluded, in place of a support that is funded — where doing so gives a better result or better value.

To qualify, the item must:

• replace a support already funded in your plan
• achieve the same outcome or better
• cost the same or less than what it replaces

You need approval from the NDIA before you spend the funding. Buying first and asking afterwards is where people get caught.

Managing your consumables budget

Under PACE, plan funding is released in funding periods rather than as one lump sum for the whole plan. This is designed to stop budgets running out early, but it does mean you need to think about pacing.

A few practical habits:

• Check your budget in the myplace portal before making a larger purchase, so you know what's actually available in the current period.
• Keep every itemised receipt. If you're plan-managed or self-managed, you may be asked to substantiate a claim. A receipt that just says "pharmacy — $84" is not much help; one that lists the products is.
• Use the flexibility. Consumables funding is generally flexible within Core, so unspent funds in other Core categories can often be directed here.

How Nurse Aid Australia can help

Nurse Aid Australia is a registered NDIS provider based in Adelaide. We deliver supported independent living and SDA housing, community nursing, daily living and personal care, community participation, and day options.

Where consumables are concerned, the practical help we offer is clinical rather than administrative. Our community nursing team works with participants on continence management, wound care, and enteral nutrition — the areas where consumables are used day to day, and where a clinical view of what you actually need is more useful than a list.

If you'd like to talk about your supports, contact our team.