The Lifetime Support Scheme (LSS) is a no-fault scheme which provides necessary and reasonable Treatment, Care and Support for people with serious injuries as a result of a Motor Vehicle Accident in South Australia.

This SA Government Scheme commenced on 1 July 2014 and is available for eligible children and adults. Motor vehicle levy registrations fund the LSS (the Scheme).

The Lifetime Support Authority (LSA), is responsible for administering the Scheme in accordance with the Motor Vehicle Accidents (Lifetime Support Scheme) Act 2013.

If you have been accepted as a Lifetime Participant, the LSA will fund Treatment, Care and Support needs that are related to your Motor Vehicle Injury for the rest of your life.

Alternatively, if you have been accepted as an ‘Interim Participant’, the LSA will fund Treatment, Care and Support needs that are related to your Motor Vehicle Injury for up to two years. In exceptional circumstances this Interim Participation timeframe may be extended.

Once your injuries are stable, the LSA will assess whether you transition to become a Lifetime Participant, or transition out of the Scheme.

You can be assessed for Lifetime Participation in the Scheme at any time during the Interim Period. This can occur by asking your Service Planner to commence a lifetime assessment or where it is clear to the LSA, on medical advice, that due to the nature of your injuries you require lifetime care. If you need this, your status will change from being an ‘Interim Participant’ to a ‘Lifetime Participant’. If your injuries stabilise and improve to the extent that you are no longer eligible for Treatment, Care and Support under the Scheme, your Service Planner will help you transition to other services if required.

The LSA will fund Treatment, Care and Support needs related to your Motor Vehicle Injury. This may include:

  • medical treatment including surgery, scans, specialist appointments, X-rays and Pharmaceutical Products
  • dental treatment
  • rehabilitation including physiotherapy, occupational and speech therapy
  • ambulance services
  • respite care
  • Attendant Care and Support Services (including personal care and domestic services)
  • Assistive Technologies including wheelchairs, mobility aids, adjustable beds, respiratory equipment, and communication devices
  • prosthetic and orthotic devices and services
  • education and vocational training
  • home, vehicle, and workplace modifications.

Treatment, Care and Support must be ‘necessary and reasonable’ and help with your goals for function and participation in daily life.

For more information on what ‘necessary and reasonable’ means under the Scheme, please refer to:

Information Sheet: Necessary and Reasonable Treatment Care and Support.

The LSA will not fund expenses that are outside the scope of the Scheme as outlined in the Motor Vehicle Accidents (Lifetime Support Scheme) Act 2013, such as loss of wages or benefits, or extra in-hospital expenses such as TV hire.

The LSA will already have arranged a Service Planner for you, who will be your first point of contact with the LSA. Your Service Planner will help you identify your Treatment, Care and Support needs and coordinate your services.

They will work with you and your Service Providers. For more information, please refer to:

Information Sheet: What is a Service Planner and What Do They Do?

As a participant of the Scheme, you will have a say about the type of Treatment, Care and Support that is most appropriate for you, and you will be able to select Service Providers that have been approved by the LSA. Your Family and carers can be included in the decisions if you wish, or if you need their assistance.

You may also be working with Service Providers such as rehabilitation specialists, occupational therapists, psychologists, attendant care, or domestic support workers. Your Service Planner can help you keep track of your Service Providers and communicate with them.

If you are still in hospital your Service Planner and your treating health care team will, in collaboration with you and your Family, coordinate the Treatment, Care and Support that you will need when you go home. This is called your ‘Discharge Plan’. Once you are home your Service Planner will contact you to monitor this transition and to assess and plan your ongoing Treatment, Care and Support.

Prior to your Discharge Plan ceasing, your Service Planner will work with you to develop your ‘MyPlan’, a personal Treatment, Care and Support plan.

Your ‘My Plan’ will be the central reference point for the Treatment, Care and Support that will be provided to you under the Scheme.

For more information, please contact your Service Planner  or the Lifetime Support Authority.