NDIS continence products in Australia

Last reviewed: 9 October 2026

Last updated: 13 October 2026

Yes. The NDIS can fund continence products where they are disability-related NDIS supports and meet the funding rules for the participant's plan. Continence products are specifically listed by the NDIA as an example of items within Consumables, part of Core Supports.

If you already have continence funding, the harder questions are often more practical:

Can I buy online? Can I use an unregistered supplier? Do I need another assessment? And how do I choose a product that actually suits the person who will wear it?

This guide from Svelte takes you through those questions, including self-managed, plan-managed and NDIA-managed purchasing, the NDIS Continence Provider List and what “NDIS-approved” really means.

About this guide: Svelte provides general product and purchasing information. Svelte does not determine NDIS eligibility, approve funding or provide clinical continence assessments. NDIS information can change, so major funding decisions should be checked against current NDIA guidance.

Can the NDIS fund continence products?

Yes. Continence products can be funded where they meet the NDIS funding rules, relate to the participant's disability and are in line with the participant's plan.

The NDIA specifically lists continence products as an example of everyday items that may be purchased through the Consumables category within Core Supports.

Different continence products may be relevant depending on the person's needs. The more useful question is often not simply whether continence products can be funded, but which product suits the person and how the relevant funding is managed.

Do you already have funding or are you trying to get continence support into your plan?

These are different stages.

If you are trying to get continence support included in your plan

The NDIA may need evidence explaining why disability-related continence supports are required.

A continence-related assistive technology assessment can include information about products already used or trialled, how often they are used and why particular supports are recommended. Evidence may come from an allied health practitioner or continence nurse.

The NDIA provides an assessment template, but using that particular template is optional. If another report is used, the evidence still needs to contain the information the NDIA requires. See the NDIA's continence-related assistive technology assessment guidance.

This is the funding and evidence stage.

If appropriate continence funding is already available

Your questions may be much more practical:

• Which product suits me?
• Which supplier can I use?
• How do I order?

This is the purchasing stage.

Already know how your NDIS funding is managed? See our NDIS Purchasing Information for the available ways to order Svelte.

Assessment and purchasing are related, but they are not the same step.

An assessment may still be useful if needs have changed or product selection is difficult. But someone purchasing an established support should not automatically assume that every repeat order means starting the entire assessment process again.

How your funding is managed affects who you can buy from

For continence products, provider choice usually works like this:

Self-managed
Provider choice: Registered or unregistered providers
Who manages the payment: Participant or nominee

Plan-managed
Provider choice: Registered or unregistered providers
Who manages the payment: Registered plan manager

NDIA-managed
Provider choice: Registered NDIS providers only
Who manages the payment: NDIA pays the provider

The NDIA says self-managed and plan-managed participants can usually choose registered or unregistered providers, while NDIA-managed supports require a registered provider. There are some specialist NDIS supports where different provider-registration rules apply. See the NDIA's provider-choice guidance.

The simplest rule for continence products: self-managed and plan-managed participants generally have access to registered and unregistered providers. NDIA-managed funding requires a registered provider.

Registered provider, Continence Provider List and “NDIS-approved”: what is the difference?

These terms are often treated as though they mean the same thing. They do not.

Provider registration, inclusion on the Continence Provider List and whether a product can be funded are different questions.

Do you have to use someone on the Continence Provider List?

No.

The current NDIS Continence Provider List contains registered providers that applied, were assessed by a panel and met minimum service requirements. Providers appear in random order. The NDIA also notes that there may be additional providers outside the list and that some continence providers chose not to apply.

The list is a useful resource for comparing registered continence providers. It is not the same thing as product approval.

For self-managed and plan-managed participants, the better question is:

Can I use this provider with the way my funding is managed and does this purchase meet the rules for my plan?

Are continence products “NDIS-approved”?

The NDIA says it does not endorse or approve any products or services. It also says businesses promoting products as “NDIS approved”, “NDIS permitted” or “100% NDIS funded” are likely breaching Australian Consumer Law. See the NDIA's guidance on misleading promotion of “NDIS-approved” products. 

That is why Svelte does not use NDIS approval language.

How to choose a continence product that actually suits the person

Funding is only part of the decision. The product also needs to work for the person who will actually wear it. Where possible, the wearer should be involved in the choice and their preferences, comfort and changing routine should be taken into account.

Fit and body shape. Does the product sit securely around the waist and legs and allow the wearer’s body and anatomy to sit naturally?

Continence needs. What type and amount of leakage needs to be managed between changes?

Mobility and changing ability. Can the person stand, walk, transfer and participate in dressing or changing?

Changing routine. How often can the product realistically be changed and who assists?

Independence and participation. Can the person put the product on or take it off themselves? If they need assistance, how can they still participate in the choice and communicate comfort or preference?

Materials and comfort. Consider breathability, softness, skin-contact materials, added fragrance or lotion, latex content and how the product feels during normal movement.

Higher absorbency is not automatically better

The right product is one that provides enough protection for the person's actual output and routine while also working with their fit, mobility, changing opportunities and comfort.

Someone who needs maximum-capacity overnight support may need a very different product from someone who is mobile through the day and changes regularly.

For a deeper look at this trade-off, read Why the highest absorbency is not always the best choice.

Choosing continence products for someone else

If you are choosing for a family member, participant or someone you support, involve that person in the decision wherever possible.

Difficulty communicating does not mean someone has no preferences or cannot participate. The NDIA's Supported Decision Making Policy says people should have access to support with communication and participation and that decisions should be directed by the person's own will, preferences and rights.

Do not let repeat ordering become automatic

A product may continue to be ordered simply because it is already on the list. But circumstances change.

It may be worth reviewing the product when you notice:

• new or more frequent leakage
• a change in body shape or fit
• the product needing frequent adjustment
• changes in mobility or dressing ability
• more or less assistance being required
• a different toileting or changing routine
• the product no longer working as reliably as it once did

People communicate comfort and preference in different ways. If someone cannot easily explain how a product feels, look for changes in fit, leakage, adjustment, mobility and changing routine and support them to participate in the decision in the way that works for them.

The aim is to match the product to the person as they are now rather than simply continuing with what has always been ordered.

For more practical guidance, read Choosing continence support for someone you care for.

When does pull-up continence underwear make sense?

Pull-up continence underwear can be a practical format for people who are mobile or semi-mobile and can stand or participate in dressing.

Product format and product capacity are different questions.

Some pull-ups are designed for higher overnight requirements while others are intended primarily for daytime or routine wear. Always check the intended use of the specific product rather than assuming all pull-ups perform the same way.

For more on matching daytime and overnight support, read Daytime vs overnight continence products.

Where Svelte fits

Svelte is pull-up absorbent continence underwear designed for mobile and semi-mobile adults, particularly people who are active through the day and want a discreet, underwear-like fit for everyday life.

Svelte is designed for everyday wear and supports light overnight use when changed as required, depending on individual output, fit, comfort and changing routine. For maximum-capacity overnight needs, ongoing unpredictable bowel leakage, mostly bed-based care or frequent fully assisted changes, another product type may be more appropriate.

What Svelte offers

Svelte product features include:

• fully breathable through to the waist
• soft-touch materials
• topsheet dermatologically tested for skin contact
• adaptive stretch waistband
• soft, raised and flexible leak guards
• fast-absorbing core designed to draw in and disperse liquid quickly
• easy-change tearaway sides
• made without PFAS, added fragrance or lotion
• contains no natural rubber latex

How Svelte is designed

The 500 mL figure is a conservative practical working guide, not a maximum absorbency claim or guaranteed wear time.

Find your Svelte size

Measure around the widest part of your waist or hips and use whichever measurement is larger.

If your measurement falls within both size ranges or you prefer a more relaxed fit, the larger size may feel more comfortable. Find Your Fit can help you choose a starting size.

Your first Svelte order is protected. Eligible unopened packs may be exchanged or refunded within 14 days of delivery in line with Svelte's Returns & Exchanges Policy.

Standard online orders are typically dispatched within 1–2 business days after payment is received. Orders are sent in plain packaging. Delivery times vary by location.

How to order continence products with NDIS funding

Self-managed

Self-managed participants can generally purchase from registered or unregistered providers.

With Svelte, self-managed customers use the standard online checkout and pay at checkout.

The NDIA allows self-managed participants to either request payment and then pay a provider, or pay from their own money and request reimbursement after receiving the support. Because Svelte's standard online checkout requires payment at checkout, a self-managed Svelte website order will generally use the pay-first-and-request-reimbursement pathway.

Keep your invoice or receipt as evidence of the purchase and follow the NDIA’s current record-keeping requirements for self-managed claims. See the NDIA's self-managed funding guidance.

For Svelte:

1. Choose your product and size.
2. Complete checkout and pay Svelte.
3. Keep your invoice or receipt.
4. After receiving the support, follow the self-managed NDIS claim or reimbursement process that applies to you.

Plan-managed

For plan-managed orders, Svelte uses a separate confirmation process. Plan-managed participants can usually use registered or unregistered providers. See the NDIA's plan-managed funding guidance.

1. Send Svelte the participant, order and nominated plan manager details.
2. Svelte confirms those details with the nominated plan manager.
3. The plan manager confirms that they manage the participant and will process Svelte's invoice.
4. Svelte prepares and dispatches the order.
5. Following delivery, Svelte sends the invoice electronically to the nominated plan manager.
6. The plan manager processes the invoice under its normal payment process.

Plan-manager confirmation before dispatch is an administrative confirmation that they manage the participant and will process the invoice. It is not a funding approval by Svelte.

Where the requirements for a GST-free NDIS supply are met, the supply is GST-free.

If a quote is required before ordering, Svelte can provide one.

To start a plan-managed order:

info@getsvelte.com.au
1800 783 583

Useful information to have ready includes the participant's name, NDIS number, plan manager organisation and email address, delivery address, product, size and quantity and any purchase-order or reference details where applicable.

Plan-managed dispatch occurs once the nominated plan manager has confirmed that they manage the participant and will process Svelte's invoice. The time needed for that confirmation depends on the plan manager.

NDIA-managed

If the relevant funding is NDIA-managed, the provider must be registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. See the NDIA's NDIA-managed funding guidance.

For NDIA-managed participants, Svelte products are available through BrightSky Healthcare.

Can you buy continence products in bulk?

Sometimes.

NDIS funding periods affect when portions of plan funding become available rather than changing the total funding in the plan. Funding periods will usually be around three months, although individual plans can differ. See the NDIA's current funding-period guidance.

Before placing a larger order, check:

Is enough funding currently available in this funding period?

and

Are you confident the product, size and quantity still suit the person?

Bulk ordering can make regular supply easier. It should not leave someone with months of a product that no longer matches their needs.

If a larger order would exceed the funding currently available, check with the NDIA or your plan manager before ordering.

If you use Svelte's optional Ongoing Delivery with NDIS funding, check that sufficient funding remains available for each scheduled order. Svelte does not manage or monitor a participant's NDIS budget.

How do CAPS and NDIS continence funding interact?

Having an NDIS plan does not automatically make someone ineligible for CAPS.

The important distinction is whether the person's NDIS funding package includes continence support.

Services Australia currently says a person cannot receive the Continence Aids Payment Scheme if they have an NDIS funding package that includes continence support. See Services Australia's CAPS eligibility guidance.

NDIS package includes continence support
CAPS is not available

NDIS plan does not include continence support
CAPS may still be possible if the person meets the separate CAPS eligibility requirements

Unsure
Check the current plan and Services Australia requirements before relying on either pathway

For broader information about CAPS, DVA and other funding pathways, visit Funding & Support.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I get more help?

Different questions need different sources of help.

What is included in your NDIS plan
NDIS or your my NDIS contact

Plan-managed payment or administration
Your plan manager

NDIA-managed purchasing
BrightSky Healthcare

Clinical continence needs or a significant change in symptoms
A continence nurse or suitably qualified health professional

Independent continence information
National Continence Helpline

Svelte sizing, product information or ordering
Svelte

CAPS eligibility or payment
Services Australia

The National Continence Helpline provides free and confidential information from nurse continence specialists on 1800 33 00 66, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 8 pm AEST. Times may vary by state or territory and the service is closed on national public holidays.

For Svelte product, sizing or ordering questions:

info@getsvelte.com.au
1800 783 583

Considering Svelte?

If you are looking for pull-up continence underwear for a mobile or semi-mobile adult, check your size with Find Your Fit or view Svelte pull-up continence underwear.

If your NDIS funding is plan-managed, use the NDIS Purchasing Information page or contact Svelte on info@getsvelte.com.au or 1800 783 583 to start an order.

If your NDIS funding is NDIA-managed, Svelte products are available through BrightSky Healthcare.

Official sources used for this guide and further information:

• NDIS: Core Supports and Consumables
• NDIS: Continence-related assistive technology assessment
• NDIS: How to find and choose a provider
• NDIS: Continence Provider List
• NDIS: Misleading promotion of “NDIS-approved” products
• NDIS: Supported Decision Making Policy
• NDIS: How to self-manage your funding
• NDIS: What is plan-managed funding
• NDIS: What is NDIA-managed funding
• NDIS: What is NDIS funding
• Services Australia: Continence Aids Payment Scheme
• Services Australia: When CAPS is not available
• Continence Health Australia: National Continence Helpline