Easy NDIS Approved Bathroom Modifications You Can Make

Sometimes your bathroom needs a particularly special update: to make it more accessible for family members with a physical disability. These updates can mean wider doorways, a new walk-in shower, or a roll-in shower that requires that the ground be completely flat. It can mean lower bathroom sinks to accommodate a wheelchair user, and a higher toilet seat to accommodate easier transfer for the wheelchair-bound individual. 

These upgrades to your home can be particularly expensive and you’ll likely need professional help to make the changes. However, thanks to the Australian government’s initiative, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) allows you as the homeowner to claim certain expenses back through the NDIS program, such as NDIS bathroom renovations.

What Are Some Easier Additions to Make to a Bathroom?

While you might be tempted to go the whole hog on an NDIS bathroom renovation, you don’t have to do so to make a difference to someone with a disability. There are plenty of NDIS bathroom modifications that don’t require a huge remodel. Here are some easier-to-make NDIS bathroom modifications. 

•   Installing grab bars – grab bars are handrails that are often either screwed in, or stuck onto a wall, or shower to help people with mobility issues navigate in the bathroom. Screwing these modifications into the drywall is a way to ensure they’ll stay in place. Place them around the toilet on either (or both) walls to help your guest get up easier from being seated on the toilet. Equally, they can be screwed into several positions in the shower to help offer peace of mind in case of a potential slip.
•   Raised toilet seats – an easier addition than buying a whole new toilet is to add cushioned raised toilet seats. These are NDIS approved and come in various heights. If your loved one struggles with standing, the combination of a 2” raised seat with a grab bar can make things much easier.
•   Removable shower heads – an often overlooked part of any renovation is the showerhead. If you have a fixed shower head, then the simple purchase of a removable shower head can make showering much easier for the person in your space that has trouble standing.
•   Shower seats/stools – The addition of a shower seat or stool to a bathtub/shower combination can make life more comfortable for your guest or loved one that has difficulty standing up. You can either have a shower bench that screws directly into the wall – but folds up, or a removable shower seat that can be taken apart and transported.
•   Rolling shelving – Having a set of rolling shelves – shelves that roll out towards the person, rather than having static shelving that they’ll have to bend down to reach – can be a great option for storage in an accessible bathroom.
•   Motion-sensor lighting – The installation of motion-sensor light switches are an inexpensive and fairly simple switch to make for those who might have difficulty with using their arms or hands to flick on a light switch. Call an electrician to help you with this.
•   Bright lighting – Again, not something you need an electrician for, though you should probably have them double-check the work if you’re concerned. A brighter LED light bulb will really be helpful if anyone in your home struggles with their eyesight. Swap all of your generic light bulbs for LED ones to help brighten up the bathroom.

What If I Need Bigger Renovations? 

If you’re in need of a more complete bathroom remodel to accommodate an individual in your household with mobility challenges, then Crystal Bathrooms can help with an extensive NDIS bathroom renovation. We provide assistance throughout every step of the renovation process: helping you to design the bathroom, offer material suggestions and research, and then finally offering physical assistance in doing the renovation for you.

Our goal is to help make your bathroom more accessible for you – and as accessibility actually makes life easier for everyone, your bathroom becomes more accessible for everyone, too! Usually, when you’re making large-scale accessibility-related renovations, you need to consult an NDIS specialist before making the changes, to make sure you’re covered under the insurance. 

What is NDIS & Why Is It Important? 

NDIS, or the National Disability Insurance Scheme provides homeowners who are themselves living with a disability or will be making renovations to provide for those in the household that are living with a disability, with specialised insurance funds to make those renovations possible, as they can be very extensive and expensive. 

Having an NDIS-approved renovation plan will make sure that you’re covered in the event of an accident in your home, in the space that was covered with the NDIS. NDIS-approved modifications to a bathroom are things like installing wider doorways, replacing a sink and counter, so that it can be lowered to accommodate a wheelchair user. Or the replacing of a bathtub-shower, with either a full walk-in shower, or a roll-in shower for those with wheelchair users in the home.

Crystal Bathrooms can help navigate the Insurance Scheme, making sure everything checks all of the boxes, at every stage of the renovation.