You might still manage the back step, but only when someone is there. Perhaps you have stopped using the garden or wait for a family member before showering. Home modifications for seniors are worth considering when the house begins to limit everyday life.
The question is, where should you start?
Start with what you want to keep doing
Before choosing a modification, think about what has become harder. When doing an everyday task, are you avoiding something, using more energy or needing extra help? Being able to finish a task does not necessarily mean it is comfortable or manageable.
Your priorities might be showering privately, preparing lunch or getting outside when you choose. These give an occupational therapist (OT) a clearer starting point than a list of products.
Families may see things differently. One person worries about falls while another worries about cost or changing a familiar home. Australian research links preferences for aging in place with family connections and satisfaction with home and neighbourhood [1].
Start the conversation with what matters to the person living there, and involve them in decisions.
Understand the difficulty before choosing the solution
Searching for accessibility home modifications brings up plenty of ideas, but the right choice depends on what is making a task difficult for the person.
Imagine someone who has stopped hanging washing outside. A ramp might seem the answer. But is the difficulty the step, opening the door while using a walking frame, carrying the basket or fatigue on the return trip? Each calls for different considerations when it comes to modifications to a home.
A home modification assessment with an OT helps work this out. Equipment or a different way of completing the task may help and sometimes building work is needed. Trialling suitable options can clarify what is useful before committing to a permanent change.
Prioritise home modifications for seniors around daily needs
Repeated near falls, unsafe physical assistance or difficulty using the toilet or entrance deserve early attention. Other changes can be weighed against their likely benefit, cost and disruption.
A Cochrane review found that home hazard reduction programs reduced the rate of falls by about 38% in older people at higher risk [2]. Australia’s 2025 falls best practice guidelines recommend tailored OT home safety interventions for people at increased risk, following assessment [3]. This supports individual advice based on a person’s needs is important, rather than assuming every home needs the same changes.
For practical hazard checks, see our fall prevention and home safety checklist.
Make a home modification plan that can be reviewed
Ask your OT what needs attention now, what can wait and what would prompt a review. If your mobility or support needs are changing, consider whether today’s decision leaves room for additional equipment or assistance you may need later.
Before arranging work, confirm costs, property permissions and any funding approval. Our aged care home modifications page explains the available support and what the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) Scheme covers.
Research reinforces the need to check outcomes after home modifications are in place. A 2025 randomised trial of a combined OT, nursing and home modification program showed improved mobility after hospitalisation, though it did not significantly improve overall daily activity independence and benefits varied between individuals [4]. Building work alone may not be sufficient.
This reinforces the importance of agreeing on a practical goal upfront, such as getting to the washing line and back without waiting for help. Once a change is in place, test it during your usual routine. If you’re still avoiding the task or need the same level of assistance, let your OT know. Adjustments or further support may be needed.
Talk with Occupational Therapists at Optimal Living Therapy
You do not need to know which home modification you want before contacting us.
We can chat through what has become difficult and what you would like to keep doing and discuss whether a home modification assessment would help.
What happens after a home modification assessment?
- Your occupational therapist will prepare a report that includes their recommended modifications to the home, the reasons why, any measurements taken and any estimated costs.
- Any relevant documentation is submitted to the funding body for review.
- If approved, builders are engaged to carry out the work.
Call (08) 6117 4266 or use our contact page to get in touch. For NDIS enquiries, use our NDIS referral form.
Research and sources
Numbered references correspond to the article. Research and Australian guidance checked on 29 September 2026.
- Clark WA, Ong ViforJ R and Phelps C (2024; first published online 2023). Place Attachment and Aging in Place: Preferences and Disruptions. Research on Aging, 46(3–4), 179–196.
Australian HILDA survey analysis. Supports the discussion of family, neighbourhood and housing connections; does not establish that home modifications prevent relocation.
- Clemson L et al. (2023). Environmental interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CD013258.
The 38% figure refers to the rate of falls in higher-risk groups receiving home fall-hazard reduction interventions, not a 38% reduction in every individual’s risk.
- Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (2025). Preventing Falls and Harm from Falls in Older People: Best Practice Guidelines for Community Care in Australia.
See Environment, printed page 24, for tailored OT-delivered home safety interventions. The guidelines also address other contributors to falls.
- Szanton SL et al. (2025). CAPABLE for People After Hospitalization: A Randomized Trial. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 73(12), 3663–3669.
Trial involving 268 low-income adults after hospitalisation. Mobility improved, but the overall daily activity outcome was not significantly better; this limits broad promises about independence.
