Who pays for an access ramp?
Most people paying for a ramp have never bought one before, and the hardest part is usually not the ramp. It is working out who pays, what they need from you, and how long it takes.
This page explains the main funding routes in Victoria. We have linked the source for every rule and dated when we checked it, because these programmes change and a page that is quietly out of date is worse than no page at all.
We are not a funding body and we cannot approve anything. What we can do is give you a quote in the form the funder wants it.
NDIS
Checked 25 August 2026 against ndis.gov.au.
A ramp is a home modification under the NDIS. Home modifications are split into minor and complex, and which one you are in decides almost everything else.
Minor or complex
Minor home modifications are straightforward, do not affect the structure of the home, and generally affect only one or two areas. The NDIS splits these again into Category A, under $10,000, and Category B, $10,000 to $20,000.
Complex home modifications are usually structural and custom built, carry higher risk and cost, and usually need building approvals or permissions.
On the dollar boundary, be careful. The NDIS describes minor modifications as generally costing less than $20,000 in most of its material, but its provider guidance says $25,000 in one place. Every version uses the word "generally". Do not lean on the dollar figure.
The test that actually decides it is structural work and building approval, not the price. That is why a ramp is categorised the way it is, and it is the question worth asking first.
Where a ramp sits. The NDIS lists "constructing simple ramps" as a minor home modification and "installing permanent ramps that need building permit approval" as complex. The dividing line is the building permit, not the ramp.
There is an NDIS support item for exactly this: MHM Ramp, item number 06_183018404_0111_2_2, covering all works and costs to construct the agreed ramp, including supply, installation, making good and labour. Its own description excludes "structural ramps requiring local authority building permission", which go through the complex process instead.
In practice, a modular aluminium ramp that does not require a building permit is usually a minor home modification. We will tell you plainly if we think a job crosses into complex, because it changes what you have to provide.
Do you need an occupational therapist?
Yes, for every home modification, minor or complex. There is no route that skips it.
Which OT depends on the category:
- Category A minor: any occupational therapist registered with AHPRA can do the assessment.
- Category B minor, and all complex: you need a home modification assessor, which is an occupational therapist with additional qualifications and experience in home modifications.
For complex modifications the assessor must be independent of any builder asked to quote on the work.
How many quotes?
Minor: usually none. The NDIS says you usually do not need to give them a quote for minor home modifications. Keep ours anyway, for your records and for the warranty. There is an exception if you live in a remote or very remote area, where a quote is needed.
Complex: two itemised quotes, or a cost estimate prepared by a building construction practitioner. Itemised means the cost of each part of the work listed separately, not a single total.
Who approves it
The NDIA, based on your OT's assessment. For minor modifications the NDIS uses a set budget based on where you live and current building costs, rather than pricing your specific job. If you have evidence the work will genuinely cost more than the budget allows, you can ask for a plan variation.
Two things that catch people out
How your plan is managed decides whether you can use us. If your funding is Agency-managed (NDIA-managed), every provider you use for home modifications must be NDIS registered. We are not currently an NDIS registered provider, so we cannot do Agency-managed work. If your plan is plan-managed or self-managed, you can choose us.
There is a value-for-money test tied to how long you are staying. The NDIS treats minor home modifications as likely value for money if you plan to remain in the home, or have a lease, for at least 12 months. For complex modifications it is at least 3 years. If you are renting or your situation may change, say so early, because hiring a ramp rather than buying one can be the better answer and we can quote both.
If you rent, you need the property owner's written permission before anything is installed.
Sources: What are home modifications · What is a home modification assessor · Guide to providing home modifications
Aged care: the Support at Home programme
Checked 25 August 2026 against health.gov.au and myagedcare.gov.au.
If you are looking for information about Home Care Packages, the programme has changed. Support at Home has replaced the Home Care Package programme, and existing package recipients were transitioned across. Ramps and other home modifications now sit in a separate scheme with its own funding, called the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications scheme, or AT-HM.
Ramps are covered. The AT-HM list names home modifications including internal and external handrails, and ramps and stair lifts. Handrails are named separately, so a ramp with handrails is not a problem.
A distinction worth understanding before you spend anything
The scheme has two separate funding streams, and a ramp can fall into either depending on what kind it is.
Home modifications covers fixed ramps, the kind that are installed and stay put.
Assistive technology covers equipment, which is where a portable or roll-up ramp would generally sit.
Why it matters: the caps are different. High tier home modifications are capped at $15,000 per lifetime. High tier assistive technology is not hard capped in the same way, and participants with costs above $15,000 can access additional funding with evidence such as a valid prescription.
So if a portable ramp genuinely meets the need, it may draw on less constrained funding and leave the home modifications cap intact for something later. Ask your assessor which stream applies before committing, because it is much harder to unpick afterwards.
How the money works, and why this matters more than it sounds
AT-HM funding is separate from the rest of your Support at Home budget. You do not have to choose between a ramp and your other services, and you can start using AT-HM funding as soon as it is available rather than waiting for everything else.
There are three home modification funding tiers:
| Tier | Amount |
|---|---|
| Low | Up to $500 |
| Medium | Up to $2,000 |
| High | Up to $15,000 |
The number that matters for a ramp is the high tier, and it is capped at $15,000 per lifetime. Not per year, and not per modification. That cap is monitored by Services Australia.
Practically, that means a ramp will usually need the high tier, and it means the cap has to cover everything you are ever likely to need modified, not just this job. Worth thinking about before you spend it, and worth telling your assessor about anything else you can foresee needing.
Wrap-around costs come out of the same money
Anything needed to make the modification work is paid from the same allocation. The programme calls these wrap-around services and they include organising building approvals, delivery and set-up, training on safe use, and follow-up visits from a health professional.
So the $15,000 is not $15,000 of ramp. Build the extras into your thinking early.
What you need
A prescription. Under Support at Home, all home modifications require a prescription from a suitably qualified health or allied health professional. Occupational therapists are named among them, along with physiotherapists, registered nurses, GPs and rehabilitation specialists.
An aged care assessment, which is what determines whether you get an AT-HM tier at all, and which tier. The outcome is recorded in your Notice of Decision and support plan.
You may need to contribute. Participant contributions can apply to assistive technology and home modifications. Contributions for prescription and for wrap-around services are set at a clinical supports rate of 0 per cent.
The deadline people miss
AT-HM funding must be spent, not just committed, within 12 months, starting from the date you enter a service agreement with your provider. After that the funding is gone.
Funding can be extended by a further 12 months, to 24 in total, for complex home modifications only, and only if evidence of progress is given to Services Australia within the first 12 months.
If your funding period is already running, tell us. It changes how we sequence the work.
Sources: AT-HM scheme, Department of Health · AT-HM scheme, My Aged Care · Support at Home program manual
DVA
Checked 25 August 2026 against dva.gov.au.
Veterans access aids, equipment and home modifications through the Rehabilitation Appliances Program, usually called RAP. Rails and ramps are available under it.
Whether you qualify depends on which card you hold.
Veteran Gold Card: you need an assessed clinical need for the modification. It does not have to relate to service.
Veteran White Card: you need a medically assessed need for the item arising from your accepted service-related condition. The connection to the accepted condition is the test.
In both cases the need is assessed by a health professional, usually an occupational therapist, and larger or more complex modifications go through a more detailed process with their own specification requirements.
Get approval before anything starts. This is true of every scheme on this page and it matters most here, because a ramp installed ahead of approval may simply not be paid for.
Source: RAP overview · Aids, equipment and modifications through RAP
TAC
Checked 25 August 2026 against tac.vic.gov.au.
If your need arises from a transport accident and you have an accepted TAC claim, home modifications including ramps can be funded.
An occupational therapist assessment drives it. The OT identifies the modifications reasonably needed to support your functional independence, and the TAC works from that.
You need TAC approval before the work happens. Approval first, then installation.
What the TAC will not fund: renovations, upgrades or modifications that are not essential to your injury-related needs. The test is the injury, not general improvement of the house.
Work can be approved in stages. The TAC may approve a multi-step process, for example a ramp and rails first with other changes later. Worth knowing if you need access sorted urgently and the rest can wait.
Source: TAC home modifications · OT service-specific requirements
WorkSafe Victoria
Checked 25 August 2026 against worksafe.vic.gov.au.
If your need arises from a work-related injury with an accepted claim, WorkSafe can fund home modifications under its home modification services policy.
As with the TAC, an occupational therapist assessment and report is the starting point, and WorkSafe can pay the reasonable cost of that assessment.
Approval comes before the work.
One thing worth knowing: where modifications are not possible at your current home, WorkSafe's policy can extend to contributing toward relocation costs instead, including agent fees and removalists. If your home genuinely cannot take a ramp, that is a conversation to have with your OT rather than a dead end.
Source: Home modification services policy · What WorkSafe will pay for
Paying privately
No assessment, no approval, no waiting. You decide.
Plenty of people go this route because the funding process takes longer than the need allows, or because they are not eligible for anything, or because they simply want it done.
What we need to quote: photographs of the entry straight on and side on, a rough measurement from the ground to the threshold, and how much space there is at the bottom. That is enough for an indicative price the same business day.
How payment works: 50 per cent deposit on acceptance, balance on completion. The site inspection fee is credited in full to your order.
Buying or hiring. Most people buy: the ramp is theirs, and it can be reconfigured or relocated if they move. Hire is the better answer where the need is genuinely temporary, where you are renting short term, or where you are waiting on a funding decision and need something in the meantime. We quote both so you can compare, and we will tell you honestly which we think fits.
One thing that is true of every scheme above
Approval comes before the work, and an occupational therapist assessment comes before the approval.
The single most common way a funded ramp goes wrong is someone installing it first and seeking payment afterwards. If you are in a hurry, tell us and tell your OT. There are usually faster routes within the rules, and hire is one of them.
What we can do
We quote in the format your funder wants, including itemised quotes where the NDIS requires them.
We work from your occupational therapist's recommendations. Where your OT has specified a gradient, a landing or a handrail arrangement, that is their clinical judgement and we build to it. We do not overrule it and we do not offer clinical opinions of our own.
If something about your funding route means a ramp is the wrong answer, or that hiring beats buying, we will say so.
Prices include GST where it applies.