Financial Support for Incontinence

So you’ve got incontinence, then what? The bill. We provide a rundown of what financial support is available in Australia for people living with bowel and bladder conditions.

Incontinence is a condition that comes with a cost. And when the choice is between paying for medical care or buying the products that make it possible to leave the house, products win every time. 

While the system carries the bulk of healthcare costs, 90 percent of product costs are borne by individuals. And for 99 percent of people with incontinence, products to manage this common condition aren’t a choice. They’re a necessity.  

Australians with incontinence spend over $2,100 on essential continence products each year just to get by. At that rate, a person diagnosed 28 years ago has spent $58,800 on incontinence products. And in reality, it’s more. 

Pads, liners, pull-ups and nappies are the main cost drivers, contributing to a $1,835 per person, per year cost. Then there’s additional spend on other incontinence products, averaging at $144/year for bed and chair protection, $76/year for hygiene and odour control products, and $48/year on skincare including barrier creams and wipes. 

Increasing cost of living and freight, combined with higher consumption for those with severe incontinence, medication and other continence aids such as ostomy bags, catheters or bowel irrigation systems only compound the financial burden further.

Support for incontinence isn’t allocated based on need – it’s determined by system category. Help exists, but it’s fragmented, inconsistent and hard to access.

In the spirit of getting some clarity in this space, here’s what is available:

Continence Aids Payment Scheme (CAPS)

This is a federal government payment from Services Australia (formerly Centrelink) paid directly to individuals to help offset the cost of continence products. Currently sitting at $717 (indexed annually), it can be received as a single, annual payment or split into two, and is designed to cover some of the costs of pads, pull-ups, liners and other basic continence products. 

To be eligible, you must have permanent and severe incontinence, an eligible condition and be an Australian resident over five years of age. This excludes many people with moderate or fluctuating incontinence, but for those who are eligible, it covers roughly a third of the cost of products.

If you are a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant and are receiving funding for continence through your NDIS plan, you cannot also receive CAPS. 

Stoma Appliance Scheme (SAS)

This is one of the most important and generous schemes. It’s a federal program designed to provide free stoma products through approved associations. Rather than receiving money, you receive fully subsidised stoma supplies including bags, baseplates, adhesives and accessories delivered – usually monthly – by the stoma association.

To be eligible you must have a permanent or temporary stoma. Your medical professional or stoma nurse can support your enrollment into the Stoma Appliance Scheme and membership with a provider (state-based ostomy association). Your out-of-pocket expenses will include shipping of supplies and an annual membership fee to the association (under $100/year). 

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

The NDIS is a disability funding system for people with permanent and significant disability that significantly impacts daily function. There are significant barriers to gaining access to the NDIS, so this will only be possible for a minority of those experiencing incontinence.

When people are able to access it, the NDIS is the only system that funds both the products and the care required to manage incontinence. If approved in your plan, it can include continence products from pads to catheters, bed protection and hygiene items. The scheme can also provide access to therapies – like specialised nursing, continence assessments and pelvic floor physio. In some cases, equipment and additional supports are provided too. 

Beyond the big three, there may be support offered through state-based schemes and initiatives, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs or My Aged Care. 

There is no national unified continence funding model. The landscape of support in Australia means two people with similar needs can have completely different financial experiences. A person with a stoma may have no product cost, someone with incontinence may be paying over $2,000 a year out-of-pocket, and someone on the NDIS may have both product and clinical support covered. 

Incontinence affects one in three Australians and yet, access to support depends less on need, and more on which system you happen to fall into. We fully fund stomas. We fully fund profound disability. And for everyone else, we subsidise just enough to get by – if that.