For assistance with any part of your application contact your local Variety office on 1300 482 743

IMPORTANT: Please read information below to assist you in completing your application online.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN 

Welcome the Variety Victoria Individual Application Form.  All submissions received by will be assessed, with outcome notification expected late June/early July. 

Variety Victoria Individual Guidelines

• Download Guidelines here

Introduction

Variety Victoria provides assistance towards the purchase of mobility equipment, communication devices and essential medical and health equipment to support children who have a medically diagnosed chronic illness or disability.

Eligibility

 You are eligible to apply for a personal grant provided that:

 The beneficiary:

• is a resident in Victoria
• is aged 17 or under as at the round closing date (has not turned 18)
• has a disability or long-term health condition as recognised by a designated health The family household income is below $200,000 per annum (this includes child support payments, rental income, investment income or any other income that is received by any parent/carer who is financially responsible for the

Previous recipients can apply for another grant 2 years after the date listed on their original outcome letter.

Variety Victoria recommends consulting with your NDIS planner, GP, specialist or social/support worker before starting an application so they can best support you through the process. Please show them these policy guidelines or refer them to our website for more information - www.variety.org.au/vic

NDIS

Is your child part of the NDIS?

• YES

As part of the application, you will be asked to identify why the item you are requesting are not covered

by the child’s NDIS plan. Reasons may include, but are not limited to:

• planning meeting has yet to
• funds already allocated to other
• item was not supported by the NDIS (decline letter will need to be provided)
• wait time for NDIS decision has become detrimental to the

• NO

Applications are welcome from children aged 0-17 years who have been medically diagnosed with a chronic illness or disability and are not approved under the NDIS.

FUNDING REQUESTS

The applicant may only apply for one item as part of their grant request. This must be directly related to the child’s diagnosis and supported by a GP or allied health professional (please see ‘Documentation’ below). The item listed on the application will form the basis of the grant and if successful, cannot be amended after the approval date. Examples of grant requests are, but not limited to:

• FREEDOM – mobility equipment
  • Special needs strollers and pushchairs
  • Wheelchairs – powered/electric/manual/sports (must be assessed, prescribed, and trialled by a licensed OT)
  • Bikes – including modified bikes, trikes and scooters
  • Carrot Car Seats
  • Hi-Lo chairs
  • Gait trainers, walkers and standers
  • Assistance dogs. Assistance dogs will only be considered if they help to give mobility and independence for children living with a Therapy dogs, minddogs, mental health dogs, psychiatric assistance dogs, and emotional support animals will not be approved.
    • Applicant must have been approved for an assistance dog by an accredited assistance dog provider.
• FUTURE – provides children with an intellectual or physical disability access to equipment
  • Communication devices including iPads
  • Learning aids
  • Sports Wheelchair
• CARING – helps families care for their seriously ill children at home
  • Nebulisers
  • Insulin pumps
  • Robotic feeders
  • Specialised beds and mattresses
  • Sensory equipment (must be prescribed by an OT)
• WIGS – applications are through Variety NSW. variety.org.au/wigs

Grants we will not fund:

Services or equipment not directly related to a child’s special/extra needs and which are not deemed medically/developmentally necessary

• Travel expenses – including public transport and petrol
• Warranties, insurance, maintenance, service agreements, batteries, repairs
• Administrative fees or operational costs
• Sports equipment that is non-adaptive or not sure support special needs
• Expenses that have already been initiated or have already occurred prior to submission or written approval
• Incomplete application forms
• Equipment from non-Australian distributors that cannot be invoiced directly to Variety or services outside Australia
• Capital works
• Installation costs
• Cars, car modifications or e-bikes

Application

 Applications are open for the designated time period.

• Must be submitted via the online application form
• An application can be started by a parent/carer, healthcare professional, social worker, support worker, teacher but must be signed and submitted by the primary parent/carer. Applicants will be expected to submit a truthful and factual application and attach relevant documentation as evidence.

Documentation

Applicants need to ensure their application addresses all required criteria and information.

Support letters must be on letterhead and signed and dated.

Incomplete applications risk being delayed or in some cases, denied.

 All grant requests require the following documents:

1. Confirmation of the child’s diagnosis/condition on letterhead from a GP, paediatrician, or medical
2. Support letter from a relevant healthcare professional (such as an occupational therapist, speech therapist, physiotherapist or paediatrician) to address the following criteria:
   • A description of the requested item and the need
   • How the request will support the overall care plan and benefit the child
   • Evidence of a trial of the equipment, or why a trial is not appropriate
   • The anticipated outcomes of receiving the equipment for child and family

This document must be dated within six months of the application.

1. For equipment to be used in a school setting – a support letter from the school principal, wellbeing officer or designated representative to address the following criteria:
   • How long they have known the child
   • How the request will support the child at school
   • How the request will benefit the child, class and staff
2. Proof of denied NDIS funding as applicable 
3. Two quotes for the requested equipment from suppliers that you wish to These must be no older than three months at the time of submission and must remain valid throughout the assessment process. Variety Victoria already has agreements with suppliers and may choose to source the equipment from another source.
4. Proof of household Income:

For all applicants: your most recent ATO Income statement.

PLUS

• If unemployed and receiving Centrelink payments: your most recent activity (You can view, download or request a copy of your activity statement via your Centrelink online account through myGov).
• If employed (full time, part time or casual) and receiving wages: your most recent This must show your annual income.

• If employed and receiving Centrelink payments: your most recent payslip and Centrelink activity statement.

• If self-employed your most recent Tax Return.

If parents are separated and one is still contributing to the child's needs (but living outside the household), their financial documentation is also required.

Contribution

 Where an applicant is not requesting the full amount for an item, they must identify in their application how much money they are able to contribute (either personally or through other means of support). For instance, if the total quote for an item is $1000 and an applicant selects to contribute $150, the amount requested for a Variety Grant would equal $850.

Post-Submission and Assessment

 Variety Victoria grants are open at set periods through the year. They are reviewed by the Kids Support department and eligible submissions are assessed by the Kids Support Grants Committee. Approved applications are then submitted to the Variety Board for ratification. Please allow up to 10 weeks following the round closure date for the process to be complete.

Each application is assessed by the Kids Support team on its own merit and equal weighting is given to both the financial situation and the needs of the beneficiary.

Decision

Outcome letters are emailed to applicants following assessment by the Kids Support Committee.

Unsuccessful Applicants

• Reasons pertaining to unsuccessful applications are at the discretion of the Kids Support Committee and will not be disclosed to the
• Unsuccessful applicants may be eligible to reapply in the next round.

Successful Applicants

 Next step instructions will be provided to successful applicants in their outcome letter.

• Successful applicants have 12 months from the date of approval on their outcome letter to use their grant.
• No retrospective funding is
• The supplier specified in the application must provide the applicant with a tax invoice payable to Variety Victoria for the approved item and amount (Please note: Variety Victoria does not provide money directly to applicants).
• It is the responsibility of the parent/carer to action all appropriate steps after receiving the outcome letter (as directed).
• Any unspent funds will be forfeited after the expiry date of the

Outcome Reporting

 Variety takes great care and pride to ensure that their grants are correctly used to the positive benefit of our children. Applicants will be invited to sign a media release form to grant Variety Victoria the right to use any image or testimonial you have supplied to us on our website or through social media.

As we rely on donations and sponsors to fund our projects, this not only provides us with transparency, but is also a great way to say thank you to those who have helped and encourage any future support for even more children.

A short survey will be emailed when the grant period is completed after 12 months.

If you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact the Kids Support team on kidssupport@varietyvic.org.au

If you need more help using this form, download the Help Guide for Applicants or check out Applicant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

NAVIGATING (MOVING THROUGH) THE APPLICATION FORM

On every screen (page of the form) you will find a Form Navigation contents box, this links directly to every page of the application. Click the link to jump directly to the page you want.

You can also click 'next page' or 'previous page' on the top or bottom of each page to move forward or backward through the application.

SAVING YOUR DRAFT APPLICATION

If you wish to leave a partially completed application, press 'save and close' and log out. When you log back in and click on the 'My Submissions' link at the top of the screen, you will find a list of any applications you have started or submitted. You can reopen your draft application and start where you left off.

You can also download any application, whether draft or completed, as a PDF. Click on the 'Download PDF' button located at the bottom of the last page of the application form.

SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION

You will find a Review and Submit button at the bottom of the Navigation Panel. You need to review your application before you can submit it.

Once you have reviewed your application you can submit it by clicking on 'Submit' at the top or bottom of the screen or on the navigation panel. You will not be able to submit your application until all the compulsory questions are completed and there are no validation errors.

Once you have submitted your application, no further editing or uploading of support materials is possible.

When you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your submitted application attached. This will be sent to the email you used to register.

If you do not receive a confirmation of submission email then you should presume that your submission has NOT been submitted.

Hint: also check the email hasn't landed in your spam or junk email folder.

ATTACHMENTS AND SUPPORT DOCUMENTS

You may need to upload/submit attachments to support your application. This is very simple, but requires you to have the documents saved on your computer, or on a storage device.

You need to allow enough time for each file to upload before trying to attach another file. Files can be up to 25MB each; however, we do recommend trying to keep files to a maximum of 5MB – the larger the file, the longer the upload time.

COMPLETING AN APPLICATION IN A GROUP/TEAM

A number of people can work on an application using the same log in details as long as only one person is working at a time. Ensure you save as you go.

SPELL CHECK

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