Can my funding pay for subscriptions, apps, or AI tools?

Nothing in the rules rules them out. The 1 April 2026 operational policy defines an item as “equipment, technologies, physical or digital objects (e.g. noise cancelling headphones) or subscriptions (e.g. a gym membership) that helps overcome disability related barriers”. So apps, software, and subscriptions sit inside the system, not outside it.

The test is the same as for anything else: the spending must be reasonably attributable to your eligible disability and help you overcome the barriers it creates, it must fit your funding plan, and it cannot be something another government agency already provides in a timely way.

Three things to know before you subscribe to anything.

First, equipment needs prior approval regardless of price, and the line between a digital item and equipment is not spelled out. Your host makes that call.

Second, the policy requires approval for “repeat purchase of items of a similar nature or intent” before the previous one has expired. Whether a monthly rolling subscription counts as a repeat purchase is not stated anywhere. The gym membership example suggests ordinary subscriptions are a normal use of funding, but the honest answer is that the policy does not settle it, and your host decides.

Third, keep the receipts and be able to say what barrier the tool addresses. “This app holds my routines because my working memory does not” is a complete answer. That is true for any app, AI tool, or subscription: the question is never the technology, it is the barrier.

If your host says no and you think the purchase clearly meets the test, you can ask them to explain the decision, and you can raise it with your NASC.