Equipment and home modifications in New Zealand — the $50 rule and the $8,076 line

New Zealand funds two different things here and it helps to keep them apart from the start.

Equipment is objects that come into the house — a shower stool, a walking frame, an adjustable bed, a wheelchair. It is loaned to you, not bought for you.

Home modifications are changes to the building — a rail, a ramp, a level-access shower, a wider doorway. That is a construction job with a means test attached.

Both run through Equipment and Modification Services (EMS), and both start with an assessor rather than with a catalogue. Checked in August 2026.

The assessor is the gatekeeper, and it is usually an occupational therapist

Disability Support Services says “EMS assessors are usually occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech-language therapists or other hearing and vision professionals.”

You can be referred by your doctor, or refer yourself through your local hospital’s community health services. You do not need to have decided what you want. An assessor’s job is to watch you do the thing that has become difficult and work out what would fix it — which is often not what you had in mind.

Who your provider is depends on where you live

Both do the same job. The split is purely geographic, which matters if you move house or if you are reading advice written for the other half of the country.

What can be loaned

DSS lists equipment including “wheelchairs, shower stools, raised toilet seats, adjustable beds, walking frames, hoists, communication devices” and “visual or vibrating alert systems.”

It is a loan. The provider “can repair equipment when it is damaged and can collect it when you no longer need it.” That is better than it sounds — repair and replacement are somebody else’s problem, and as Parkinson’s changes, equipment can be swapped rather than bought again.

Two exclusions to know: equipment needed for less than six months is outside the scheme, and so is low-cost equipment, which is where the real frustration lies.

The $50 rule, and why it stings with Parkinson’s

DSS: “Low-cost equipment is any item that costs less than $50 and can support you to do everyday tasks safely and independently.” Generally it will only fund those items for:

• “children under 16 years of age”
• “people who can show that they cannot afford to buy the things themselves, for example, they are receiving either a special benefit or temporary additional support from Work and Income”
• “people who are living in residential care, are under 65 years of age and need the equipment because it is essential to support their personal safety”

Now read the examples DSS gives of low-cost items: “special cutlery, electric can openers, raisers for a chair or bed, long-handled hair brushes/combs, reachers, dressing aids, short grab rails, walking sticks.”

There are two honest routes around it, and neither is a loophole:

• Disability Allowance reimburses ongoing disability costs up to $82.85 a week, untaxed, and does not require you to be on a benefit. Keep receipts. See Supported Living Payment and Disability Allowance.
• Flexible funding, if you have it, has been used to “purchase accessible kitchen equipment and utensils that are easier for him to grip and use safely.” But equipment needs prior approval at every tier, at any price — ask the host before you buy, not after. See Individualised Funding.

Home modifications: what is funded and what is refused

DSS may fund “handrails to help you use a set of steps”, “a ramp or lift”, “a shower with level access”, “changes to doorways”, and “fencing that will help stop you being injured”.

It will not fund modifications that:

That last point is worth pushing on with an assessor. A rail that suits you today may be irrelevant once walking has changed. A level-access shower usually still works in five years. When the assessor asks what you need, describe the direction things are moving, not just the current position.

The money ladder

The test is run by Work and Income on DSS’s behalf: “Work and Income, on behalf of DSS, will work out the amount you need to pay, if any, towards the modifications to your home.”

Who is counted in the test is broader than you might expect. It looks at the income and assets of your partner, “your parents or guardians (if you are 16 years of age or older)”, and “the owners of the property”. Cash assets means “bank deposits, shares or any other investments or property you own” — but “you do not need to include the home you are living in as an asset.”

And there is a cash-flow trap in the payment order: where a cost contribution applies, DSS’s share is paid after “you have paid the total cost of the work.” Ask your assessor exactly how the payment will run in your case before the builder starts, because “we will contribute” and “we will pay you back” are very different things for a household on a fixed income.

What to ask for, if you have Parkinson’s

None of this is medical advice — the assessor decides. But these are the situations that come up often enough to be worth naming out loud so they are not missed:

If this applies to you

This page is not medical or legal advice and does not decide your funding. Thresholds shown were published as at August 2026. Confirm the current figures and what applies to you with your EMS assessor, Accessable or Enable New Zealand.