“Owning an accessible home is going to involve a lot of crossing my fingers”

First home buyer Nicole Smith explains the risks she needs to take as a wheelchair user in order to buy a suitable place to live.

I’m an National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant in my mid-thirties, living with cerebral palsy, and last year I began searching for a house to buy. Critically, one that doesn’t have any steps. So where to start? The obvious place is real estate websites. However, as I would discover, these websites don’t have filters for accessibility and don’t recognise keywords related to wheelchair users.

For months, family members attended property inspections on my behalf. With each unsuitable property, my options became clear. I’m limited to buying a house that doesn’t meet my needs and then renovating it. Ramping the front step, installing a stepless shower and lowering kitchen benches, for example.

My occupational therapist suggested that once I buy a place, she’ll do a home assessment. I could then ask for a review of my NDIS plan, add in a goal related to home modifications and make ‘reasonable and necessary’ renovations to my new house. You may have already noted the inherent risk here: the purchase takes place before the assessment. 

If the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) refuses to fund what I consider to be reasonable and necessary adjustments, I’ve spent upwards of $600,000 on a property I’m unable to inhabit. I know of people who’ve wound up in this situation. And the current property market is such that, even if I was able to receive an OT assessment on a desired property, it would be snapped up by another buyer before the NDIA had a chance to conduct its review. 

I’m in a tricky spot – even with a widely recognised disability, and needing modifications that are common to wheelchair uses.

On October 18, NDIS Minister Bill Shorten announced a review into the operations and sustainability of the NDIS. I suspect part of the review will include clarifying the subjective terms of ‘reasonable and necessary’. An inaugural director of the scheme, Dr Martin Laverty, says the NDIS is “a system that isn’t certain about who should be admitted and what they’re entitled to. So it’s no surprise there might be questions on what NDIS funds are spent on. We have to get it back to fulfilment of people’s goals and ensuring that the supports are effective.”

One difficulty faced by the scheme is that it needs to be broad enough to encompass different disabilities - and consider the unpredictability and rarity of some conditions - while also being prescriptive enough that participants feel confident in spending funds and aren’t reliant on guesswork.

As it stands, the subjective terms of ‘reasonable and necessary’ almost guarantee that funds will be spent on something not intended to be covered by the scheme and, conversely, that some participants will be so afraid of misinterpreting legislation that they’ll use their own money for something the it should cover. 

I’ve worked for several organisations that engage with NDIS participants and, as such, have had extensive NDIS training. I’ve attended more NDIS workshops than I can count. Armed with my professional knowledge and personal experience, if I’m feeling that owning an accessible home is going to involve a lot of crossing my fingers, wishing, and hoping, there is something seriously problematic with the scheme.

I welcome the NDIS review and wish the panel conducting it much luck. The disability community will be watching closely.