Occupational therapy assessment, prescription and reporting for vehicle modifications — so you can drive, or travel safely as a passenger, in a vehicle set up for you.
Vehicle modifications are funded under the NDIS as Capital Supports — Assistive Technology, and they are among the most complex and highest-cost items the scheme funds. They also take longer than almost anything else, which is why the order you do things in matters enormously.
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Modifications have to be engineered into a specific vehicle. Not every vehicle can take every modification — floor height, door aperture, wheelbase, roof height, suspension, boot dimensions, seat rails and where the airbags sit all determine what is possible and what it costs.
People regularly buy a car first, then discover the modification they need cannot be fitted to it, or can only be fitted at two or three times the cost of doing it in a different vehicle. The NDIS will not usually fund replacing a vehicle that was the wrong choice.
So the sequence is: occupational therapy assessment first, vehicle recommendation second, purchase third, modification fourth. If you are already committed to a vehicle, tell us at the start and we will assess what is realistic within it rather than recommending something that cannot be delivered.
Funded: the modifications themselves, where they are reasonable and necessary, relate to your disability, and represent value for money.
Not funded: the vehicle itself. The NDIS funds modifications to a vehicle, not the purchase of one. It also will not fund modifications where a lower-cost option would meet the need, where the need is not disability-related, or for standard running costs, registration, insurance and servicing.
Evidence matters here more than almost anywhere else in the scheme. High-cost modifications require a detailed occupational therapy assessment and report addressing your functional need, the options considered, why the recommended option is the appropriate one, and value for money. Vague reports get returned, and each return adds months.
These are two different pathways with different requirements, and the distinction decides who assesses you.
Driver modifications — where the person with disability drives the vehicle. Hand controls, left foot accelerators, steering aids and spinner knobs, pedal extensions and blocks, secondary control systems, seat and transfer modifications for the driver's position.
Driver modifications require an occupational therapy driver assessment, carried out by an occupational therapist with specific driver assessor training, usually including an off-road assessment and an on-road assessment with a driving instructor. Your licensing authority applies conditions to your licence based on that assessment. We do not currently have occupational therapists with driver assessor qualifications on our team. We refer driver assessments on to a qualified driver-trained assessor, and we complete joint assessments with vehicle modifiers to ensure the best solution is recommended.
Passenger and transport modifications — where the person travels as a passenger. Wheelchair accessible vehicle conversion, ramps and lifts, lowered floors, wheelchair docking and restraint systems, occupant restraints, swivel and transfer seats, person hoists, and wheelchair or scooter hoists to load equipment into a boot.
Our occupational therapists complete passenger and transport assessments, working with vehicle modifiers and, where the person also intends to drive, alongside a driver-trained assessor.
Speak to your doctor and your licensing authority if:
Arrange urgent review if a wheelchair is not securely restrained during travel, or if a hoist, ramp or docking system is not working as intended. Stop using it until it has been checked.
We assess function and prescribe modifications. We do not determine medical fitness to drive — that is a matter for your doctor and the licensing authority.
Assessment usually takes place at home, and takes around 90 minutes to two hours.
Your occupational therapist will discuss what you need the vehicle to do — who drives, who travels, how often, what equipment comes along, and who assists. They will assess your physical function, transfers, strength, range and posture, and look at your wheelchair or mobility equipment in detail, including its dimensions and weight.
They will assess your current vehicle if you have one, or discuss vehicle options if you do not, and will usually arrange a joint assessment with a vehicle modifier so what is prescribed is something that can actually be engineered.
You will receive a written assessment and prescription addressing the NDIS evidence requirements, with quotes obtained through modifiers, alternatives considered, and clear clinical reasoning. We work with your support coordinator or plan manager through submission and respond to requests for further information.
After installation we attend the fitting where practical, check the modification does what it was prescribed to do, and provide training for you and anyone assisting.
On timeframes, honestly: this is a long process. Assessment, joint assessment with a modifier, quoting, NDIS decision, build and installation commonly add up to many months. Start earlier than you think you need to, and do not order a vehicle around an assumed approval date.
Occupational therapists across Victoria (Melbourne, Roxburgh Park and the northern suburbs), Queensland (Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich and Logan) and New South Wales (Sydney and Western Sydney).
Assessments are delivered at home, and jointly with vehicle modifiers at their premises where the vehicle needs to be present.
Vehicle modifications are generally not funded through Support at Home or the AT-HM scheme, which cover assistive technology and home modifications rather than vehicles. Aged care can fund some vehicle modifications.
Simple Process
Participants and families, support coordinators and plan managers, GPs and rehabilitation specialists, hospital and rehabilitation teams and vehicle modifiers can all refer.
Our team asks whether you intend to drive or travel as a passenger, what vehicle you have or are considering, what mobility equipment travels with you, who assists with transfers, what NDIS funding is in place, and whether a driver assessment is likely to be needed. Where it is, we explain that pathway before anything else begins.
Assessment of function, transfers, equipment and the vehicle, at home and with the vehicle present where required.
A joint session with a vehicle modification specialist, so the prescription is engineerable rather than theoretical.
A written prescription and report meeting NDIS evidence requirements, with quotes, submitted with your support coordinator.
Got Questions?
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Contact inOne Healthcare on 1300 765 456, email info@inonehealthcare.com.au, or submit a referral online.
Monday to Saturday, 9:00am to 5:00pm. Closed Sunday.
Related: Assistive Technology Assessments · Home Modification Assessments · SIL, SDA & Housing Reports · Functional Capacity Assessments
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Make A Referral 1300 765 456 info@inonehealthcare.com.auReviewed by Anchalpreet Kaur, Occupational Therapist, OCC0002664853. Last reviewed 10/09/2026.
This page provides general information only and is not a substitute for individual clinical advice. Medical fitness to drive is determined by your doctor and your state or territory driver licensing authority, not by inOne Healthcare.