Equipment Trials Policy

Background to our Policy

We at Accessibility Online understand that in some circumstances and with some products you will have a desire to “try before you buy” and request to trial a product. We are also aware that many funding bodies require treating therapists to recommend suitable equipment based on a successful trial first.

Trials can be time consuming for our Accessibility Online health professionals to arrange, then to attend and follow up.  Despite careful planning trials can also be unsuccessful, meaning expensive products have now been delivered, unpacked, assembled and potentially marked or scratched. This is a cost of providing direct trials to our valued customers and health professionals that we need to take into consideration. As a result, equipment trials add to the cost of the products supplied to the home and hospital healthcare industry as a whole. To keep our online prices low, the costs of equipment trails are not factored into our online costs to all customers.

We want to ensure all products sold by Accessibility Online are "fit for purpose" in the clients own environment, are appealing to each client and meet the individual needs/requirements as determined by their personal health professional.

We recommend clients and therapists utilise the Independent Living Centres to initially source and trial products, as many of our own or similar models are available at these centres. We have invested in providing display stock into these various centres to assist therapists and end-users to trial equipment. These centres are based in each capital city in each state or territory and are a free service. To contact your nearest Independent Living Centre click here.

How We Can Help You

At Accessibility Online our vision is to work together in partnership to assist all our customers and their health professionals. To ensure the end users’ right to choice and the effective matching of the product to the individual, Accessibility Online will provide products for trial through a range of pathways. To this end we offer:

  1. Training & Workshops regarding seating, pressure care, lifting, mobility and wheelchair products to Health Professionals for FREE.
  2. We sub-contract occupational therapists around Australia to conduct OT Assessments in the home environment of the clients in order to trial equipment. This will bear an additional cost of the standard recommended fees of Private Occupational Therapists and be invoiced regardless of item purchase.
  3. We encourage Organisations to have an account with Accessibility Online and work towards preferred supplier status with Accessibility Online to assist with Trials, assembly assistance and many other pre-sales activities. To discuss this further, please contact our Marketing Manager, Kerrie Thomsen.
  4. Organisations that hold Preferred Status Accounts with Accessibility Online benefit in the form of multiple order discounts, attractive pricing for demo products and accessibility packages of loan equipment. These loan equipment items are then readily available for all patients in the hospital or centre when needed to trial. The rehabilitation products in our package include options from categories such as wheeled walkers, wheelchairs, Hilo beds, tilt in space shower commodes, mobile hoists and alternating air mattresses.

Our Policy

  1. We will ship products for trial to hospitals, community support services and nursing care facilities which have opened Customer Accounts with us. We ship to customers free of charge. If the product is not suitable or fails to be recommended we request that the therapist or manager confirms that the client, insurer or facility will fund the shipping costs for return of the item. We assist with the practical aspects of having the product shipped back to our warehouse. All packaging must be kept during the trial period in case of return of the product as the item must be packed and protected for shipping. If the product is determined to be suitable by the Health Professionals payment terms apply and a tax invoice will be issued and the standard shipping costs will be added to the cost of the item.
  2. We honour our offers of 7 and 30 day refunds. To read more go to our Return Policy.
  3. Trialed products are not eligible for special pricing, the list price online or any other sale offers. Trialed products must be purchased at a Quoted price prepared by our Occupational Therapy Call Centre team following a successful trial and please note the quote will accommodate the full cost of the trial activities in the price.