CAPS Eligibility Criteria

For the purpose of CAPS, you are eligible for CAPS if you are five years of age or older and meet  requirements A, B or C below and meet the criteria on the CAPS Application Form:

A.  Eligible neurological conditions

You have permanent and severe loss of bladder and/or bowel function (incontinence) due directly to an eligible neurological condition. A list of eligible neurological conditions is provided below.

Or

B. Other conditions

You have permanent and severe loss of bladder and/or bowel function (incontinence) caused by an eligible "other" condition (for example, bladder prolapse). A list of eligible other conditions is provided below.

And

You have a Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card, or if you are under 16 years of age, your parent/guardian has a Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card.

Or

C. Other conditions

You have permanent and severe loss of bladder and/or bowel function (incontinence) caused by an eligible "other" condition (for example, bladder prolapse). A list of eligible other conditions is provided below.

And

You have a Department of Veterans Affairs Pensioner Concession Card, or if you are under 16 years of age, your parent/guardian has a Department of Veterans Affairs Pensioner Concession Card.

Applicants will need to complete a CAPS Application Form which includes a Health Report from a health professional.

Useful Links

• CAPS Eligible Neurological Conditions
• CAPS Eligible Other Conditions
• Not Eligible for CAPS

CAPS Eligible Neurological Conditions

• Category 1: Spina Bifida and Syringomyelia
• Category 2: Cerebral Palsy
• Category 3: Intellectual Disability
• Category 4: Paraplegia and Quadriplegia
• Category 5: Acquired Neurological Conditions
• Category 6: Degenerative Neurological Diseases
• Category 7: Bladder (Bowel) Innervation Disorders

Category 1: Spina Bifida and Syringomyelia

• Arnold-Chiari Syndrome 
• Arthrogryposis 
• Caudal Regression Syndrome 
• Developmental Cord Disorder 
• Holoprosencephaly 
• Malformation of Spinal Cord 
• Sacral Agenesis 
• Spinal Agenesis 
• Spinal Cord Congenital Abnormality 
• Spinal Dysraphism 
• Spinal Hemangioma 
• Vater Syndrome/Vacterl Syndrome

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Category 2: Cerebral Palsy

• Dystonic Cerebral Palsy 
• Hereditary Spastic Paralysis 
• Spastic Quadriplegia

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Category 3: Intellectual Disability

• 2-Hydroxyglutaric Aciduria 
• Agenesis of Corpus Callosum 
• Alpers Disease 
• Angelman Syndrome 
• Apert Syndrome 
• ATRX Syndrome 
• Bardot Biedl Syndrome 
• Batten Disease 
• Beare-Stevenson Syndrome 
• Cats Cry Syndrome/Cri Du Chat Syndrome 
• CDKL5 Gene Mutation 
• Cerebral Migration Disorders 
• Charge Syndrome 
• Chime Syndrome 
• Chromosomal Abnormalities/Disorders 
• Chromosome 1 Deletion 
• Chromosome 13q Deletion Syndrome 
• Chromosome 15q Duplication Syndrome 
• Chromosome 18q Deletion Syndrome 
• Chromosome 1p36 Deletion Syndrome/Mono 1p36 
• Chromosome 22 Ring 
• Chromosome 2q Deletion Syndrome 
• Chromosome 6 Ring Syndrome 
• Chromosome 8 Abnormality 
• Chromosome 9p Deletion Syndrome 
• Chromosome 9q Deletion Syndrome 
• Chromosome Xp Duplication 
• Cockayne Syndrome 
• Coffin-Lowry Syndrome 
• Cognitive Impairment 
• Cohen Syndrome
• Congenital Hydrocephalus 
• Congenital Neurological Infections 
• Cornelia de Lange Syndrome 
• Costello Syndrome 
• Cowden Disease 
• Developmental Delay  
• Developmental Delay associated with Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Developmental Delay associated with Aspergers Syndrome 
• Down Syndrome/Trisomy 21 
• Dravet Syndrome 
• Edwards Syndrome/Trisomy 18 
• Fragile X Syndrome 
• Fumarase Deficiency 
• GLUT1-DS Condition 
• Glutaric Aciduria Type 1 
• Goldenhar’s Syndrome 
• Hunter Syndrome 
• Hurler-Scheie Syndrome 
• Hypomyelination 
• Incomplete Corpus Callosum/Aicardi Syndrome 
• Inversion Duplication of Chromosome 8 
• Jacobsen Syndrome/11q Chromosome Deletion 
• Joubert Syndrome 
• Kabuki Syndrome 
• Langer-Gideon Syndrome 
• Lawrence Moon Biedel Syndrome 
• Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome 
• Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome 
• Lissencephaly 
• Lowe Syndrome 
• Mannosidosis 
• Maple Syrup Urine Disease 
• Meningitis 
• Menkes Syndrome 
• Microcephaly 
• Mitochondrial Deficiency 
• Molybdenum Cofactor Deficiency 
• Mowat-Wilson Syndrome 
• Mucolipidosis IV 
• Myotonic Dystrophy (Type 1) 
• Neonatal Hypoxia 
• Neonatal Onset Multisystem Inflammatory Disease 
• Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus 
• OHDO Syndrome 
• Opitz Trigonocephaly Syndrome 
• Ohtahara Syndrome 
• Ouvrier Syndrome 
• Pallister-Killian Mosaic Syndrome 
• Periventricular Leukomalacia 
• Peroxisome Biogenesis Disorder 
• Phelan McDermid Syndrome/22q 13 Deletion Syndrome 
• Phenylketonuria 
• Polymicrogyria 
• Pontocerebellar Hypoplasia
• Prader-Willi Syndrome 
• Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Deficiency/Leigh's Disease 
• Rare Congenital Neurological Syndromes and Conditions 
• Rasmussen's Disease 
• Rett Syndrome 
• Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome 
• Schizencephaly 
• Sensory Integration Disorder/Dysfunction 
• Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome 
• Smith-Magenis Syndrome 
• Sotos Syndrome 
• Sturge-Weber Syndrome 
• Subcortical Band Heterotopia 
• Translocation of Chromosome 2 
• Translocation Trisomy 5/18 
• Trichothiodystrophy 
• Trisomy 10 
• Trisomy 13  
• Trisomy 20p 
• Trisomy 47 
• Trisomy 4p 
• Trisomy 9 
• Tuberous Sclerosis 
• Turner Syndrome 
• Urea Cycle Defect 
• Valproate Embryopathy 
• Velocardiofacial Syndrome 
• West Syndrome 
• Williams Syndrome 
• Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome 
• X-Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy 
• Young-Simpson Syndrome

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Category 4: Paraplegia and Quadriplegia

• Paraparesis 
• Spinal Cord Compression  
• Spinal Cord Infarction 
• Spinal Damage 
• Syringomyelia 
• Tetraplegia 
• Transverse Myelitis

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Category 5: Acquired Neurological Conditions

• Acquired Brain Injury 
• Adhesive Arachnoiditis 
• Alcoholic Encephalopathy 
• Alzheimer's Disease 
• Arachnoiditis 
• Ascending Polyneuropathy 
• Astrocytoma 
• Autonomic Neuropathy Disease 
• Basal Ganglia Infarction 
• Benign Meningioma 
• Brown-Sequard Syndrome
• Cauda Equina Lesion 
• Cerebral Abscess (Cryptococcus) 
• Cerebral Aneurysm 
• Cerebral Anoxia 
• Cerebral Toxoplasmosis 
• Cerebral Tumour 
• Cerebrovascular Disease 
• Chronic Hypoxia 
• Chronic Inflammatory Demyelination Polyneuropathy (CIDP) 
• Cortical-Basal Ganglionic Degeneration 
• Dementia 
• Developmental/Motor Dyspraxia 
• Diabetic Autonomic Neuropathy 
• Diabetic Neuropathic Bladder 
• Dorsal Pontine Band Syndrome 
• Encephalitis 
• Ependymoma  
• Epilepsy 
• Focal Cerebral Degeneration 
• Glioblastoma Multiforme 
• Glioblastoma of Spine 
• Hepatic Encephalopathy 
• Hydrocephalus 
• Hypoxic Brain Damage 
• Inoperable Neurogenic Incontinence 
• Intracerebral Haemorrhage 
• Korsakoff’s Syndrome  
• Leuco Posterior Encephalopathy 
• Lewi Body Disease 
• Macroencephaly 
• Malignant Meningioma 
• Metastatic Carcinoma with Neurological Syndrome 
• Multiple Systems Atrophy 
• Myopathy 
• Nemaline Myopathy 
• Oligodendroglioma 
• Pachymeningitis 
• Picks Disease 
• Pilocytic Astrocytoma 
• Poliomyelitis 
• Polymyoneuropathy 
• Primary Dystonia (case by case) 
• Progressive Systemic Sclerosis 
• Sacral Neuroplexy 
• Sacral Plexopathy 
• Schizophrenia (Catatonic) 
• Spinal Canal Disease 
• Spinal Chordoma 
• Spinal Ependymoma 
• Spinal Sacral Chordoma 
• Spinal Tumour 
• Stroke/Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) 
• Subarachnoid Haemorrhage 
• Subdural Haematoma
•  Vascular Dementi

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Category 6: Degenerative Neurological Diseases

• Alexander Disease 
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis 
• Ataxia Telangiectasia 
• Cauda Equina Syndrome 
• Cervical Canal Stenosis 
• Cervical Myelopathy 
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) 
• Cytochrome C Oxidase Deficiency 
• Dejerine-Sottas Disease 
• Demyelinating Neuropathy 
• Demyelination of White Matter 
• Fahr's Disease 
• Friedreich’s Ataxia 
• Guillain Barre Syndrome 
• Huntington Chorea/Disease 
• Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy 
• Idiopathic Axonal Neuropathy 
• Kugelberg-Welander Syndrome 
• Machado Joseph Disease 
• Metachromatic Leukodystrophy 
• Mitochondrial Myopathy with Encephalopathy 
• Morquio Syndrome 
• Motor Neurone Disease 
• Multiple Sclerosis 
• Muscular Dystrophy 
• Myoneural Disorders 
• Neuroaxonal Dystrophy 
• Neurofibromatosis NF 
• Neurogenic Bowel 
• Niemann-Pick Disease Type C 
• Pallister-Hall Syndrome 
• Parkinson Disease 
• Parkinsonism 
• PEHO Syndrome (Progressive encephalopathy with oedema, 
• hypsarrhythmia and optic atrophy) 
• Pelizaeus Merzbacher Disease 
• Primary Lateral Sclerosis 
• Progressive Supranuclear Palsy/Steele Richardson Syndrome 
• Sanfilippo Syndrome 
• Sarcoidosis of the Brain 
• Shy-Drager Syndrome 
• Spinal Cord Syndrome 
• Spinal Degeneration 
• Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1 
• Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2 
• Spinocerebellar Degeneration 
• Stiff-Mans Syndrome 
• Striato-Nigral Degeneration 
• Vascular Myelopathy 
• Wallerian Degeneration of White Matter 
• Wilson's Disease

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Category 7: Bladder (Bowel) Innervation Disorders

• Atonic Bladder/Hypotonic Bladder 
• Bladder Exstrophy 
• Bladder Innervation Urgency 
• Cloacal Exstrophy 
• Cystocele (not suitable for surgery) 
• Dysfunctional Voiding 
• Dystonic Bladder 
• Ectopia Vesica 
• Hirschsprung's Disease 
• Linear Sebaceous Nevus Genetic 
• Myasthenia Gravis 
• Neurogenic Bladder 
• Neuronal Intestinal Dysplasia 
• Neuropathic Bladder 
• Post Bladder Surgery 
• Prostatectomy with nerve removal 
• Prune Belly Syndrome 
• Pudendal Nerve Palsy 
• Radical Prostatectomy 
• Schmidli Autonomic Neuropathy 
• Slow Transit Constipation 
• Smooth Muscle Myopathy 
• Sphincter Deficiency  
• Spinal Stenosis

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CAPS Other Eligible Conditions

Category 8: Other - Pensioners Concesion Card Required

• Anal Carcinoma 
• Anal Fistula 
• Anorectal Malformation 
• Anterior Prolapse 
• Bilateral Nephrostomy Tubes 
• Bladder Cancer 
• Bladder Instability 
• Bladder Muscle Dysfunction 
• Bladder Neck Dysfunction 
• Bladder Neck Fibrosis 
• Bladder Prolapse 
• Bowel Cancer 
• Bowel Prolapse 
• Cervical Cancer 
• Chronic Urinary Retention 
• Congenital Epispadias 
• Detrusor Instability 
• Detrusor Overactivity 
• Enterocutaneous Fistula 
• Faecal Incontinence Post-Colectomy 
• Hypertonic Bladder 
• Imperforate Anus 
• Irradiated Rectum/Radiation Proctitis 
• Metastatic Ovarian Carcinoma 
• Post Ileorectal Anastomosis 
• Post Ileal J Pouch Anastomosis 
• Posterior Urethral Valve Syndrome 
• Prostate Cancer 
• Prostate Disease 
• Rectal Prolapse 
• Rectal Ulcer Syndrome 
• Severe Ulcerative Proctitis 
• Spastic Bladder 
• Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP) 
• Urethral Stenosis 
• Urinary Fistula 
• Uterine Cancer 
• Uterine Prolapse 
• Vaginal Prolapse 
• Vesico-Vaginal Fistula 
• Vulva Cancer

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Not Eligible for CAPS

• The applicant is not an Australian citizen or a permanent Australian resident.
• The applicant is a high care resident in an Australian Government funded aged care home.
• The applicant is receiving an Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) or an EACH Dementia (EACHD) package and continence products are negotiated as part of the applicant’s care plan.
• The applicant is eligible for assistance with continence products under the Rehabilitation Appliances Program (RAP) which is available through the Department of Veteran’s Affairs.
• The applicant’s incontinence is one of the following types:
  
  • Transient incontinence (not permanent);
  • Incontinence that can be treated with an existing conservative treatment regime (eg pelvic floor exercises or bladder re-training), medication or surgery;
  • Confined to night time bed wetting (enuresis).
• The applicant’s incontinence results from a condition other than an eligible neurological condition AND the applicant does not have Centrelink or DVA Pensioner Concession Card entitlement. 

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