NDIS & Compression Garments: Using Your Plan to Buy

Many NDIS participants wear compression garments and want to know whether their plan can pay for them. The short answer: sometimes, depending on how the need relates to your disability and how your plan is managed. This guide covers the low-cost assistive technology rules, what the NDIS says about compression garments, what your invoice needs and how to order. Checked against NDIS guidance on 28 Sep 2026.

NDIS and compression garments at a glance

Run by National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)
Where it can fit Compression garments are named in NDIS wound and pressure care guidance as pressure care products that may be funded where they relate to your disability
Low-cost AT rule Items under $1,500 that are NDIS supports are low-cost assistive technology, paid from Core – Consumables. No quote, assessment or prior approval required for low-risk items
Who can buy where Self-managed and plan-managed: any supplier. Agency-managed (NDIA-managed): registered NDIS providers only
What the claim needs Start/end dates, support category, amount, provider name, provider ABN, description of the support, and the invoice or receipt
Records Self-managed participants must keep receipts for 5 years and may be asked to upload evidence with a claim
State schemes NDIS guidance points people who need garments to manage lymphoedema to their state compression garment scheme; clinical treatment is the health system’s responsibility
Prescriber No prescription is required for low-cost AT, but an allied health recommendation is strong evidence that the support is reasonable and necessary

How the NDIS treats compression garments

The NDIS has no fixed product list; each support must be reasonable and necessary: related to your disability, helpful for your goals, value for money, safe, and not something the health system should provide. The NDIS wound and pressure care guidance (April 2025) lists “pressure care products or equipment, like compression garments and pressure wrap” among supports it may fund, and separately notes that where you have lymphoedema and your disability makes it hard to manage your home maintenance program, it may fund supports including help with wearing prescribed garments. It also says clinical treatment phases are for the health system, and that state schemes may be the right door for the garments themselves.

Ready-to-wear stockings, sleeves and socks are almost always under $1,500, so the low-cost assistive technology rules apply: with Consumables funding and a low-risk item, you can buy without a quote or approval, but you must be able to show it was an NDIS support if asked.

Who typically uses plan funding for garments

Participants whose disability creates an ongoing need for compression not met by a state scheme, DVA or a hospital program, and who have Core – Consumables funding. Where the need arises from a condition under active medical treatment, people are usually directed to the health system or a state scheme. Your planner, LAC or support coordinator can confirm before you spend.

What your clinician provides (recommended, not mandatory)

  • A short recommendation naming the class (mmHg), style and length, linked to your disability-related need or goal.
  • Measurements.
  • Where an item is higher-risk, advice that it is safe for you to use, as the NDIS requires.

How to order with NDIS funding

  1. Confirm the fit with your plan. Check that you have Core – Consumables funding and that the garment relates to your disability. If your plan is NDIA-managed you must use a registered NDIS provider; we are not NDIS-registered, so ordering from us suits self-managed and plan-managed participants.
  2. Choose the garment and size. Use our 60-second sizing calculator or call (02) 9062 3243 with your clinician’s recommended class and style. We will match the product and check the size.
  3. Order and keep the tax invoice. Self-managed: pay and claim reimbursement in the my NDIS app or portal, or claim first and pay once funds arrive. Plan-managed: forward our invoice to your plan manager.
  4. File your records. Keep the invoice and receipt for five years. The NDIA may ask self-managed participants to upload evidence for a claim.
Find my size in 60 seconds Call (02) 9062 3243 Mon–Fri 9–5 Sydney · info@compressionstockingsonline.com.au · Free delivery over $150, dispatched within 2 business days.

Where Compression Stockings Online fits

We are an Australian-owned retailer (TW Marketing Pty Ltd, ABN 58 635 434 507, Riverview NSW) and an authorised stockist of Sigvaris, JOBST, Venosan, Juzo and Bauerfeind. Compression Stockings Online is not an NDIS-registered provider. Self-managed and plan-managed participants can buy from any supplier, including us; NDIA-managed participants must use registered providers. We also cannot tell you what your plan will fund. What we do well:

  • Claim-ready tax invoices showing our business name, ABN, date, item descriptions, class and size on each line, and price.
  • Matching a recommendation. Tell us the class, style and brand suggested and we will find it or the closest equivalent.
  • Phone fitting support. We check your measurements against the brand’s chart before you buy.
  • Free delivery over $150 from Sydney within two business days, and size swaps on unopened items under our returns policy.

Whether a garment is a reasonable and necessary support for you is decided under your plan, not by a retailer.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use my NDIS plan to buy compression garments from Compression Stockings Online?

If your plan is self-managed or plan-managed, possibly. NDIS guidance names compression garments as a pressure care support that may be funded, and off-the-shelf garments under $1,500 are low-cost assistive technology paid from Core – Consumables. Whether they are reasonable and necessary for you depends on your plan and disability. Self- and plan-managed participants can buy from any supplier, including us; NDIA-managed participants must use a registered provider, and we are not NDIS-registered.

Do I need a quote or an assessment first?

For low-risk items under $1,500 the NDIS says you do not need quotes, assessments or prior approval, but you must be satisfied the item relates to your disability, helps you pursue your goals and is safe. Evidence such as an allied health recommendation is useful if the NDIA asks you to justify the claim.

What does my invoice need to show?

For a self-managed claim the NDIS asks for the support start and end dates, the support category, the amount, the provider or business name, the provider’s ABN and a description of the support, plus a copy of the receipt or invoice. Our tax invoices include our ABN, item descriptions, class and size. Keep records for five years.

Should I use the NDIS or my state compression garment scheme?

NDIS wound and pressure care guidance says people who need garments to manage lymphoedema may be eligible through their state scheme, and that clinical treatment is the health system’s responsibility. State schemes supply garments through their own contracted or registered suppliers. The NDIS may fund supports where your disability makes a prescribed garment routine hard to manage at home. Ask your planner or support coordinator if unsure.

Is Compression Stockings Online a registered NDIS provider?

No. Compression Stockings Online is not an NDIS-registered provider. Self-managed and plan-managed participants can buy from any supplier, including us; NDIA-managed participants must use registered providers.

Sources, checked 28 Sep 2026

This page is general information about how a public funding scheme works, not advice about your individual eligibility. Scheme rules, forms and funding levels change — confirm the current position with the scheme or your prescriber before ordering. Compression Stockings Online is not registered or contracted with any government funding scheme and does not decide eligibility.