Hearing aids Subsidies & Rebates

Are you eligible for Government rebates?

To be considered for the program, you need to be:

An Australian citizen or permanent resident who is 26 years or older and are one of the following:

Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card
Centrelink Sickness Allowance
DVA White Card with hearing loss specified
DVA Gold Card
A member of the Australian Defence Force
NDIS participant, referred by an NDIA planner

A full list of eligibility criteria can be found on the Department of Health – Office of Hearing Services website.

Access the treatment you deserve

Healthcare can be expensive. As a result, too many people hesitate to book the necessary appointments in case their insurance won’t cover them. When it comes to hearing aids and hearing loss treatment, you could be eligible for subsidies and support without even realising it.

Don’t put off your essential treatment any longer – by researching available subsidies and financial benefits, you could discover that hearing services are more accessible than ever.

Pensioners and Veterans
Medicare
Private Health
Worker’s Compensation
National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

For Pensioners and Veterans

Do not let hearing aid prices put you off. You may be entitled to get some rebates towards the cost of hearing aids.

AudioHearing is accredited by the Commonwealth Government to provide FREE hearing services and subsidised hearing aids to eligible Pensioners and Veterans.

Private Health Insurance contributes towards the costs associated with the purchase of hearing instruments depending on the level of cover that you have. Please check with your Medical Health Fund for details.

Medicare

AudioHearing Melbourne can help you beneift from Medicare for hearing assessment, though Medicare are not available for hearing aids devices.

Hearing Services Program

The Australian Government formally established the ‘voucher’ system in 1997, when The Australian Hearing Services Administration Act came into effect.

You may be eligible to receive fully subsidised hearing services if you fall in to any of the following categories:

Senior Australian holding a Pensioner Concession card
receiving a Sickness Allowance from Centrelink
Department of Veteran’s Affairs
Gold card holder
White card holder
a dependent person of either above category
Australian Defence Force member
referred by Disability Employment Services Program
a participant in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

Under the Hearing Services Program, you can expect the following:

a number of tests to assess the status of your hearing and if a hearing device will be of assistance to you
a full subsidised or partially-subsidised hearing aid (make sure you know what you are being offered and if you are required to pay any money)
follow up appointments to ensure your hearing aid is working properly and you are receiving appropriate benefit from it
you may be asked to enter into a maintenance agreement which is a small fee that covers maintenance and batteries for your chosen hearing aid

About Hearing Services Program

Community Services Obligations (CSO)

There are other groups of people eligible to receive fully subsidised hearing services through what is known as the Community Service Obligations (CSO) of the Hearing Services Program. Hearing Australia is the only hearing service provider who can provide hearing care under the CSO program. You may be eligible to receive hearing services through this program if you are:

a person from the above group who:
has complex hearing or communication needs, or
lives in a remote area
an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person who is:
over 50 years of age or
a participant in the Community Development Program and the Community Development Employment Projects
under 26 years of age if:
you are an Australian citizen, or
you are a permanent resident of Australia, or
you are a young NDIS participant

Private Health Insurance

Private Health Insurance contributes towards the costs associated with the purchase of hearing instruments depending on the level of cover that you have. Please check with your Medical Health Fund for details.

HBA:	PH: 13 1243
Medibank:	PH: 13 2331
MBF:	PH: 13 2623
HCF:	PH: 13 1334
NIB:	PH: 13 1463
Australian Unity:	PH: 13 2939

NDIS

People with a hearing impairment, in the better ear, of greater than 90 decibels, meet the disability requirements in Section 24 of the NDIS ACT, and can apply for funding through the NDIS. There are other hearing loss categories that can also access NDIS services. To apply for NDIS access, the person must demonstrate they have reduced functional capacity in one of more of these categories: communication, social interaction, learning, mobility, self-care or self-management. If you are 26 years or older with hearing loss, and fall into one of the following categories, you may be eligible to receive assistance from the NDIS:

Permanent hearing impairment of greater than 90 decibels in the better ear (pure tone average of 500Hz, 1000Hz, 2000Hz and 4000Hz).
Permanent hearing impairment of greater than 65 decibels in the better ear, but must provide evidence of substantially reduced functional capacity.
Hearing impairment of less than 65 decibels in the better ear and who also have another disability may be eligible (and may need to provide evidence of substantially reduced functional capacity).
People who have problems with speaking and listening may also be eligible to receive services (and may need to provide evidence of substantially reduced functional capacity).

Workers compensation

If you work in a noisy environment with noise greater than 85dB, your workplace is required to provide you with appropriate hearing protection and bi-annual hearing tests to monitor your hearing levels. If you have a recorded permanent hearing loss and reported tinnitus, caused by workplace noise, then you have a right to claim compensation for your loss of hearing. The compensation could include not only a sum of money, but the provision of hearing devices and rehabilitation treatment for your hearing loss and tinnitus.