Financial assistance for patients
Financial support from the Australian government can help you cover dialysis costs, travel costs, and carer support costs. To find out exactly what you’re eligible for, please speak to your social worker or healthcare team.
Services Australia
Services Australia delivers government payments and services including Medicare, Centrelink, and disability support. Visit Services Australia or call 132 307 to find out what government payments and services are available.
- Healthcare costs: Medicare covers haemodialysis treatment in public hospital or satellite units and most supplies for peritoneal dialysis. Private health insurance may offer expanded coverage for private dialysis and home-based treatments.
- Medicine costs: most medicines needed for kidney disease are covered for a lower cost on the Pharmacy Benefits Scheme.
- Centrelink: This service offers income support for those with age-related or disability-related hardships. Centrelink also provides carer cost assistance.
- Crisis payments: If you are in severe financial hardship due to domestic violence or sudden homelessness, you may be eligible for crisis payments.
Search for additional support in your community by accessing Centrelink’s Service Finder.
Transportation support
Transportation costs can add up, especially if you have a long commute and frequent dialysis sessions.
Ask your GP, nephrologist, or dialysis unit to connect you with a local social worker, who is skilled in identifying transport options in your local community.
- For remote and rural patients – you may be able to recoup travel and accommodation costs for medical treatment far away from home. This is called the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme (PATS), and the amount of assistance varies per state. For more information, you can view this Guide to Patient Assistance Transport Schemes compiled by the National Rural Health Alliance.
- For patients requiring local dialysis-related travel – you may be able to apply for financial assistance or transport assistance. Support can include taxi vouchers, corporate shuttles or private cars. Please check with your individual unit about what is offered in your location.
Housing and utilities
For patients doing home dialysis – you may be eligible for concessions on your water and electricity bills. These vary by state and territory. You may also be eligible for the Essential Medical Equipment Payment program that helps to cover costs associated with running your dialysis machine.
Your state government may also offer support with electricity costs. Visit your local government website to learn more about available energy bill concessions.
Private health insurance
Some private health insurance policies cover chronic kidney disease, including dialysis and certain medications. To compare and find out more, visit the Federal Government Private Health website, or call 1300 737 299.
If you already have private health insurance, call your provider directly.
Using your superannuation
If you have kidney disease and are under financial stress, you may be able to access your preserved superannuation early if:. Eligibility depends on your circumstances. You may be able to withdraw early:
- on compassionate grounds to pay for medical treatments
- if you’ve been diagnosed with a terminal medical conditions
- when you have severe financial hardship.
To learn more about accessing your superannuation early, visit the Australian Taxation Office website.
Dialysis and work
Work can be good for your mental health. If you have kidney disease and need dialysis, read our tips on how to cope at work.
There are many benefits to staying in employment, even when you need dialysis treatment. Staying in touch with colleagues, using your skills and making a valued contribution at the workplace is all part of living a full life.
As a first step, you should discuss your work commitments with your health care team. You may then need to adjust your hours or role in line with their recommendations, but in most cases, you’ll find employers are willing to help. Your doctor will give you a letter of support to show them.
Managing your time and energy
Once you’re balancing work and dialysis, be sure to keep your manager informed of your condition as much as you can. You may find some days are tiresome; dialysis is time-consuming and can often leave you feeling flat.
To help, some things you can consider include:
- doing home haemodialysis in the comfort of your own surroundings
- changing your work hours or times to fit with your haemodialysis schedule
- doing peritoneal dialysis bag changes in a suitable location at work, or using a machine to do dialysis overnight
- easing slowly back into work after a transplant operation, so that you have plenty of time to recover and adjust to the anti-rejection medications.
To find out more about overcoming the daily challenges of kidney disease, download our living with kidney failure handbook.
Last updated: December 2025
