There’s a lot of confusing information online about this, including from removalists. Some companies advertise “NDIS funded removals” as though the funding is automatic. It usually isn’t.
Here’s the honest position, and then the practical part: how to plan a move around assistive equipment, building access, and support workers, which is where a removalist can actually help.
We’re a removalist, not an NDIS provider or a financial adviser. This is general information to help you have a better conversation with your planner or support coordinator. Whether your plan covers any part of a move is a decision for the NDIA, based on your circumstances. Always check before you commit to anything.
Does the NDIS pay for removalists?
Usually not. The NDIS treats moving costs, removalists, transport, and packing materials as everyday living expenses. They’re the kind of costs everyone pays whether or not they have a disability, so a general move across town doesn’t qualify on its own.
There are exceptions, and they’re narrower than most websites suggest.
The main exception: moving instead of modifying
The clearest situation is when moving is a more cost-effective alternative to home modifications.
The NDIS home modifications guideline sets this out. When assessing complex modifications, the NDIA may also discuss whether you’d prefer to move into a more accessible home instead, weighing the long-term costs and benefits of each option alongside your preferences about where you live, your family, community, culture and work.
The NDIS’s own worked example runs like this: a participant with an acquired brain injury lives in a double-storey home on a steep block. An assessor’s report says extensive modifications, including a lift, would be needed for him to stay. Two quotes confirm the cost. The modifications don’t meet the funding criteria because they aren’t value for money, so funding the move to a more suitable home becomes the sensible option.
Note what’s doing the work there: an assessor’s report, written quotes, and a value-for-money comparison. Not the fact that moving is difficult.
One critical instruction from the guideline: check with the NDIA before you move. They need to assess your situation first. If they’ve already funded complex modifications at your current home, they’ll expect your next home to suit your needs too.
Disability-related tasks within a move
Separately from the move itself, some tasks may be funded where you can’t do them because of your disability — help with packing and unpacking, for instance, if you’re unable to manage it yourself.
This is support you’d typically access through your existing Core supports, delivered by your support workers rather than a removalist. It’s about the assistance, not the truck.
What’s generally not funded
- General removalist, transport and packing material costs
- Moving because you want a bigger or nicer home
- A move you’ve already made without checking first
Who can you actually pay with plan funds?
If part of your move is funded, how your plan is managed determines who you’re allowed to pay:
| Plan management | Can you use an unregistered provider? |
| Self-managed | Yes |
| Plan-managed | Yes |
| NDIA-managed (agency-managed) | No —NDIS-registered providers only |
Most removalists, including us, are not NDIS registered providers. That’s normal for a general service business, and it matters: if your plan is agency-managed, you generally can’t pay a removalist directly from it. Self-managed and plan-managed participants have more flexibility.
Confirm this with your plan manager before booking anyone.
How to give your planner something they can approve
This is the most useful practical thing in this article, and it comes down to one habit.
Ask for an itemised quote, not a lump sum.
A single figure “$1,100 for the move” gives a planner nothing to assess. They can only approve or reject the whole thing, and a general moving cost gets rejected.
An itemised quote separates the lines out: labour hours, travel, truck, specialist handling of assistive equipment, extra time for a paced or staged move, disassembly and reassembly of adjustable furniture. Now a planner can consider the disability-related lines on their merits, even if the general moving lines aren’t funded.
We provide itemised quotes as standard; ask for one when you enquire and tell us it’s for a plan submission so we set it out clearly.
Pair it with a short written note connecting the move to your plan goals, and any assessor or OT report you have. The NDIA is weighing reasonable and necessary and value for money, so give them the evidence for both.
Planning the move itself
Funding aside, here’s what actually makes a move work when disability is part of the picture.
Don’t pack the equipment you need that day
The most common mistake. Wheelchairs, walkers, shower commodes, hoists, transfer boards, pressure-relief cushions, and CPAP machines all need to be usable on both sides of the move, on the day.
Make a short list of everything needed in the first 24 hours and keep it out of the truck entirely or load it last so it comes off first. Tell your removalist which items these are, in writing, before the day.
Assistive equipment needs proper handling
Hospital beds, hoists, adjustable furniture and mobility equipment aren’t standard household items. They’re expensive, often custom-configured, and sometimes fragile in ways that aren’t obvious.
Worth doing: photograph the settings and configuration before anything is dismantled. Adjustable beds and chairs are often set to a specific position for a reason, and “we’ll remember” rarely survives a moving day.
Our crews carry a toolkit and a power drill and dismantle and reassemble furniture as part of the job. Tell us what equipment is involved when you book so we bring the right gear and allow the right time.
Access matters more than usual
An accessible home is no good if the truck can’t reach it. Two things to check early:
- Loading dock height. Standard removalist trucks are 3.5–4.3m tall, and many Melbourne apartment docks sit below that. Our truck is 3.1m, which clears most of them. Here’s how to check your building in about ten minutes.
- Lift bookings and parking. Buildings often need a week or more of notice, and inner-Melbourne councils typically need five business days for a parking permit. Both are covered here.
If the truck parks 80 metres away, everything takes longer and the day gets harder than it needed to be.
Structure beats improvisation
For people who find change, noise,e or unpredictability difficult, including many autistic people and people with psychosocial disability, a known sequence matters more than speed.
What helps:
- A written run sheet for the day, shared in advance
- One point of contact rather than instructions coming from several crew members
- A quiet room kept clear until last, so there’s somewhere calm to be
- Agreed breaks, and permission to pause without it becoming a problem
- Realistic timing, so nobody is rushed
Tell us what you need before the day, and we’ll plan around it. It’s a normal request, and it costs nothing.
Coordinate with your support team
If you have a support coordinator, loop them in early. If a support worker will be present on moving day, tell your removalist it changes how the crew works and who they take direction from.
If you’re moving into Specialist Disability Accommodation or a supported living arrangement, the provider usually has their own access rules, approved hours and paperwork. Ask them early; it’s the same lift-booking problem as any apartment, with more parties involved.
What to ask a removalist
Reasonable questions, and any decent operator will answer them straight:
- Have you moved for NDIS participants before?
- Will you provide an itemised written quote I can give my planner?
- Can you handle and reassemble assistive equipment?
- Will you send a written run sheet beforehand?
- What insurance do you carry, and can I see the certificate?
- What happens if we need to slow down or pause on the day?
- Will the same crew do the whole job?
If a company won’t put things in writing, or pushes back on an itemised quote, that’s your answer.
FAQ
Does the NDIS pay for removalists?
Usually not. Moving costs are generally treated as everyday living expenses. The main exception is where moving to a more accessible home is a more cost-effective alternative to funding home modifications, assessed case by case against the reasonable and necessary criteria.
Can I get NDIS funding for packing help?
Possibly, where you’re unable to pack because of your disability. This is normally delivered through your existing supports rather than by a removalist. Discuss it with your planner or support coordinator.
Do I need an NDIS registered removalist?
If your plan is self-managed or plan-managed, you can use unregistered providers, which includes most removalists. If your plan is NDIA-managed, you can generally only use registered providers. Check with your plan manager first.
Should I move before or after getting NDIS approval?
Check with the NDIA before you move. Their guidance is explicit that they need to assess your situation first, and moving without doing so can affect what’s considered.
What should I tell the removalist in advance?
Which equipment needs to stay accessible on the day, what assistive equipment needs dismantling and reassembly, any access limits at both addresses, whether a support worker will be present, and anything about pace, noise or communication that will make the day work better.
How far ahead should I book?
Six to eight weeks is comfortable for most moves, and longer if you’re waiting on a plan review, an assessor’s report or property modifications. Give yourself more room than a standard move needs.
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