Frequently asked questions

Please fill out the unsuccessful/retrial form located within the funding approval email sent to you.

If you no longer have access to the original funding approval, please send an email to hearing@enable.co.nz with the following information:

• Have the previous hearing aids/accessories been returned to the manufacturer for a credit?

• If no, does your client have them covered by insurance?

• Has the manufacturer declined the credit?

• Is the trial closed?

• If the trial has not closed, please provide the supplier, model, item JDE number, and rationale.

If the hearing aids have already been ordered/received, then this will need to be treated as a retrial request. See the answer above for how to do this.

If the purchase order has not been used to order hearing aids, please contact hearing@enable.co.nz and request to change the hearing aid model. Information you will need to provide include:

• Client name and date of birth, or NHI number

• The item JDE number (not manufacturer number) of the hearing aids you are requesting. The item JDE number you will require is on the hearing aid price list.

You can submit an application under the service category ‘Hearing aid repairs including parts’ using the model number 207416 for ear moulds.

Please add a note either on the product selection screen or in the rationale to state the manufacturer you would like your client’s ear moulds from.

If you accidentally claimed a hearing aid subsidy before your client had finalised on their hearing aid, you can have this reversed.

Please see the ‘Hearing credits and refunds’ page for information on this.

In order to request early funding for hearing aids, please submit an application under the service category ‘Genuine and Exceptional Circumstances’.

Not all Jobseeker support recipients will be eligible for the hearing aid scheme, as some recipients are not required to actively seek paid employment due to medical reasons.

Your client must be actively seeking paid employment to meet this criterion.

'Section 3.1.3 - Adults aged 16 years and over' of the hearing aid services manual states: "Seeking employment: The person is actively seeking work and is registered for employment with Work and Income, Workbridge or other employment support services. This could include services associated with specific disability organisations such as Deaf Aotearoa and the Blind Foundation."

Please see the Guide to eligibility for public health services page on the Health NZ website for information around accessing public health services.

If a person has any form of ACC cover for hearing loss, they are not eligible for hearing aid subsidies or hearing aid funding through the DSS Hearing Aid Schemes. This applies even if the ACC funding is only for one ear and they want DSS funding for the other ear.

The DSS Hearing Aid Services Manual Section 2.2 Eligibility and Section 88:

"To be eligible for the Ministry’s Hearing Aid Services, the person will meet all of the following: Not be eligible for cover or entitlement through ACC, the ACC and the Ministry jointly, or from Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand."

Clients are unable to 'top up' to higher cost aids because they wish to.

Disability Support Services (DSS) funding for hearing aids is needs based. This means that DSS fund the cost price of the hearing aid which will meet the client’s needs under this scheme.

If the hearing aids you wish to trial on your client are above the Review Price Point ($1600 excl GST) then the application will be reviewed by the Professional Advisor – Hearing. Your choice of hearing aids needs to be cost-effective, and you will need to provide a rationale for the essential need for higher cost hearing aids.

Hearing aids purchased through the internet can not be fitted or funded.

All hearing aids funded by DSS must be WAND (Web Assisted Notification of Devices) registered, and then if suitable added to the approved hearing aid list. This is a process defined by the DSS for hearing aids.

Section 2.3.3 of the hearing manual says: "The Ministry keeps a list of approved hearing aids, the Approved Hearing Aid List, which is managed and regularly updated by the hearing aid services manager on its behalf. All hearing aids available for funding, whether through the Hearing Aid Funding Scheme or the Hearing Aid Subsidy Scheme, must be named on this list."

Enable New Zealand no longer provides printed copies of this guide. These booklets can be ordered on the Disability Support Services website.

To request printed copies, select the blue link on the page titled ‘order printed copies of this guide via Bluestar’ to place an order for your clinic.

Please fill out the 'on behalf of' application form. Find the form and more information on the ‘On behalf applications’ page.

Once completed send the application form to assessor.info@enable.co.nz.

You will need to log into your EMS Assessor Online account and make changes to your profile. You can find the EMS Assessor Online portal on the Online Apps page.

It can take up to 2 business days to add a new client to our system.

We have a team responsible for manually going through each new customer request to ensure all their details are correct and to check that they are not already existing in our system to avoid duplicated records.