In short

Mobility aids like walking frames, shower rails and scooters often keep someone living independently at home. Get assessed by an occupational therapist before buying, since the wrong aid can be less safe than none. Funding doors include the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications scheme within Support at Home, state equipment schemes, DVA's Rehabilitation Appliances Program for veterans, and hospital OTs for discharge equipment.

We've written about the dental, the hearing, the eyes, the medicines and the falls. This one is about the last piece, and it's the most literal: the equipment. A walking stick. A frame. A rail in the shower. A scooter. Unglamorous objects, all of them — and very often the actual, physical thing standing between someone and the loss of their own home. Two barriers stop people getting them, and only one is money. This article is general information only, not personal or medical advice — what aid you need is a question for an occupational therapist or your doctor.

Is the aid the defeat, or what keeps you out in the world?

Let's deal with the real barrier first, because it isn't the price. For a lot of people, picking up a walking stick feels like signing something — an admission that you've become old, that you're on the way down. So the stick stays in the cupboard. And then the walk to the shops feels a bit unsteady, so it doesn't happen. And then you're going out less, and doing less, and getting weaker, and the fall that the stick would have prevented arrives anyway.

Look at that sequence honestly and the reframe is unavoidable: the aid is not what ends your independence — it's what protects it. The stick is what gets you to the shops. The frame is what gets you to the letterbox and the neighbour's for a cuppa. The person who refuses the aid and therefore stops going out has already lost far more than the aid would ever have cost them. Our article on preventing falls makes the same point from the other end: the right equipment, properly fitted, is a genuine falls intervention, and a fall is the single most common event that ends independent living.

What does it cost if you just go and buy one?

The money barrier is real too. These are not trivial purchases: a decent walking frame, a shower chair, a wheelchair, and above all a mobility scooter run from hundreds of dollars into the thousands, depending enormously on the item. On a fixed income, that's the sort of number that gets a decision deferred indefinitely. Which is exactly why the next two sections matter, because a great many people pay full price out of their own pocket for something they could have had subsidised — or worse, pay full price for the wrong thing.

Why get assessed before you buy?

If you take one practical instruction from this article, take this one: don't buy first.

An occupational therapist — an OT — assesses what you actually need, makes sure it fits you and your house, and shows you how to use it safely. That matters more than it sounds. A frame at the wrong height, a scooter that doesn't suit your strength or your footpaths, a shower stool that doesn't fit the recess — these aren't just wasted money, they can be less safe than what you had. The wrong aid is worse than no aid.

And there's a money reason too: people routinely go and buy something privately, and only afterwards discover that an assessment would have opened a scheme that supplied the right item at little or no cost. Note that the schemes below generally require an assessment anyway — DVA, for instance, grants an item only where "your clinical need for the item was assessed by an appropriate health professional" and the item is "safe and appropriate" and "a cost effective option" for that need (Department of Veterans' Affairs, https://www.dva.gov.au/what-we-help-with/care-at-home-and-aged-care-services/living-independently/dva-in-home-programs/aids-equipment-and-modifications-through-the-rehabilitation-appliances-program-rap). You can usually reach an OT assessment through the aged-care assessment process via My Aged Care, through a home-support pathway, through a GP care plan (our article on the chronic condition management plan explains that route), or through a hospital OT if you're coming home from a stay.

What are the funding doors — and why can't most people name one?

Here's what exists. Eligibility and waiting times vary, so treat these as doors to knock on rather than promises.

The main one now has a name worth knowing. Support at Home replaced the Home Care Packages Program and the Short-Term Restorative Care Programme on 1 November 2025, and sitting inside it is the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications scheme — the AT-HM scheme — which "provides Support at Home participants with separate funding for the assistive technology and home modifications that they need to live safely and independently at home" (Department of Health, https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/support-at-home/delivering-services-for-support-at-home/assistive-technology-and-home-modifications-at-hm-scheme). The word separate is the important one: this funding sits apart from your ongoing services quarterly budget, so you don't have to save up your cleaning-and-personal-care money to buy a wheelchair. There are three funding tiers matched to what you need, the funds are available for 12 months and don't accrue over time, and more time may be allowed in some circumstances — a progressive condition, say, or complex modifications (My Aged Care, https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/aged-care-programs/assistive-technology-and-home-modifications-scheme). Access starts with My Aged Care and an assessment, and our articles on the CHSP and on Support at Home explain how.

Beyond that, most states and territories run their own aids and equipment scheme providing subsidised or loaned equipment — what's covered, who's eligible and how long the wait is vary a great deal, so check yours. If you're an eligible veteran, war widow or widower, DVA's Rehabilitation Appliances Program is a separate and often generous pathway, covering mobility devices such as walking frames, manual wheelchairs, electric scooters and wheelchairs, along with home and vehicle modifications (Department of Veterans' Affairs, https://www.dva.gov.au/what-we-help-with/care-at-home-and-aged-care-services/living-independently/dva-in-home-programs/aids-equipment-and-modifications-through-the-rehabilitation-appliances-program-rap); our article on DVA health entitlements covers it. If you're coming home from hospital, transition and restorative care pathways and hospital OTs can organise the equipment that makes a discharge home possible — our article on coming home after a hospital stay is about exactly that moment. And some community organisations and councils run equipment loan pools, which are genuinely useful after surgery when you need a frame for six weeks and not forever.

One important correction, because people mix these up and it costs them: the Essential Medical Equipment Payment is "a yearly payment to help with energy costs to run essential medical equipment or heating or cooling used for medical needs" (Services Australia, https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/essential-medical-equipment-payment). It helps with the power bill. It is not money to buy equipment. Two completely different things, and our article on that payment explains it.

Are mobility scooters a special case?

Scooters deserve their own paragraph, because they're transformative for the right person and a genuine hazard for the wrong one. They are not toys. There are rules about where and how you can ride them that vary by state, real safety considerations, and practical questions about insurance, storage and charging that people don't think about until after the purchase. Get assessed for suitability rather than self-prescribing — an OT will look at your strength, vision, judgement and the actual footpaths around your house. And be careful with second-hand ones: a tired battery and an unsuitable fit is a poor bargain at any price.

What do the worked examples show?

These show the same equipment need running through two completely different funding doors. They are illustrative only, and not personal or medical advice.

Consider Norma, 80, a single full pensioner living alone who has started steadying herself on the furniture and has stopped walking to the shops. Her daughter is ready to order a walking frame online that evening. On these facts the online purchase is the trap this article is about: an unassessed frame at the wrong height can be less safe than none, and buying it privately spends Norma's own money on an item the system may well have supplied. It is generally rational for someone in Norma's position to call My Aged Care first and get an assessment — which opens the AT-HM scheme's separate assistive-technology funding, sitting apart from any ongoing services budget (Department of Health, https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/support-at-home/delivering-services-for-support-at-home/assistive-technology-and-home-modifications-at-hm-scheme) — and to let an OT specify and fit the frame. The order can wait a fortnight; the wrong frame lasts years.

Now consider Frank, 79, who served in Vietnam and holds a DVA Health Card, and whose knees have reached the point where a scooter would restore his independence. On these facts Frank should not be shopping the aged-care doors at all: as an eligible veteran his pathway is DVA's Rehabilitation Appliances Program, which covers mobility devices including electric scooters and wheelchairs where an appropriate health professional has assessed the clinical need (Department of Veterans' Affairs, https://www.dva.gov.au/what-we-help-with/care-at-home-and-aged-care-services/living-independently/dva-in-home-programs/aids-equipment-and-modifications-through-the-rehabilitation-appliances-program-rap). It is generally rational for someone in Frank's position to start with DVA and the assessment rather than a scooter dealership — particularly for a scooter, where suitability, footpaths and his own judgement and vision all need a professional eye before anyone spends thousands.

What if you're having this conversation with a parent?

Lead with what the aid enables, never with what it signals. "This is how you keep getting to bowls" lands very differently from "you're not steady anymore." Offer to organise the assessment rather than the purchase — and please don't just buy something and present it, which tends to feel like a verdict being delivered rather than help being offered.

What should you do in short?

The equipment that keeps people at home is boring, unlovely, and enormously important. Get past the pride — the aid is what keeps you out in the world, not what admits you can't be. Then get past the price the smart way: be assessed by an OT before you buy anything, and ask about the doors — My Aged Care and the AT-HM scheme inside Support at Home, your state's equipment scheme, DVA if you're a veteran, and the hospital if you're heading home from one. A well-chosen stick is one of the cheapest things ever to protect a retirement. A badly-chosen scooter is one of the more expensive.

Sources

Key takeaways

  • Mobility aids like a stick, frame, or scooter often protect independence rather than signal its loss — avoiding an aid can lead to less activity, weakness, and a fall the aid would have prevented.
  • Get assessed by an occupational therapist before buying any mobility aid — an ill-fitting frame, scooter, or shower stool can be less safe than not having one at all.
  • The Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) scheme, within Support at Home since 1 November 2025, provides separate funding for equipment apart from your ongoing services budget, in three tiers available for 12 months.
  • Most states and territories also run their own aids and equipment schemes, and eligible veterans have a separate, often generous pathway through DVA's Rehabilitation Appliances Program.
  • The Essential Medical Equipment Payment helps with the power bill for running medical equipment — it is not funding to purchase equipment, a common and costly mix-up.

Frequently asked questions

Should I get assessed before buying a mobility aid?

Yes. An occupational therapist assesses what you actually need, ensures it fits you and your home, and shows you how to use it safely. A frame at the wrong height or a scooter unsuited to your strength or footpaths can be less safe than not having an aid at all, and most funding schemes require an assessment anyway.

What is the AT-HM scheme?

The Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) scheme sits inside Support at Home, which replaced Home Care Packages and Short-Term Restorative Care on 1 November 2025. It provides separate funding for assistive technology and home modifications, apart from your ongoing services budget, in three tiers matched to need.

What funding options exist for mobility equipment besides Support at Home?

Most states and territories run their own aids and equipment schemes offering subsidised or loaned equipment. Eligible veterans, war widows, and widowers can access DVA's Rehabilitation Appliances Program, and people coming home from hospital can often get equipment organised through transition care pathways and hospital occupational therapists.

Does the Essential Medical Equipment Payment help buy equipment?

No, this is a common mix-up. The Essential Medical Equipment Payment is a yearly payment to help with the power bill for running essential medical equipment or heating or cooling used for medical needs. It is not money to purchase the equipment itself.

A note on advice. This article is general information only and doesn't account for your personal circumstances. Everyone's situation is different — before acting, it's worth talking it through with a licensed adviser who knows your full picture.