Medical Wig Subsidy for Permanent Medical HairLoss

I am writing to ask Queensland Health to consider introducing government assistance for wigs and medically appropriate hairpieces for Queenslanders experiencing permanent or long-term medical hair loss, including people living with severe alopecia.

I understand that Queensland Health is currently reviewing the Medical Aids Subsidy Scheme (MASS). I believe this review provides an important opportunity to reconsider whether wigs and hair replacement should be recognised as a legitimate medical and quality-of-life support for people whose hair loss is caused by a medical condition.

At present, MASS does not provide a general subsidy for wigs. However, permanent medical hair loss can have significant consequences for a person’s wellbeing, confidence, social participation, employment and quality of life.

A medically appropriate wig or hairpiece can provide a practical means of managing the consequences of permanent hair loss and should not automatically be treated as a purely cosmetic purchase.

Existing government programs in other Australian jurisdictions

Queensland would not be required to create an entirely new model.

Other Australian states and territories have already recognised wigs as an eligible form of government-supported equipment or assistance.

New South Wales

NSW Health’s EnableNSW Aids and Equipment Program explicitly includes wigs as assistive technology.

EnableNSW has a dedicated wigs program, including specific funding criteria and a wig equipment request process. NSW Health describes wigs as part of its assistive technology services for people with health needs. (HealthShare NSW)

This demonstrates that a government health system can administer wigs through an established medical equipment framework rather than treating them solely as a cosmetic product.

Victoria

Victoria’s Victorian Aids & Equipment Program, administered through the State-wide Equipment Program (SWEP), also includes wigs.

SWEP states that its Aids & Equipment Program provides subsidised assistive technology and specifically lists wigs among the equipment it can fund. The program is available to eligible Victorians with a permanent or long-term disability or health-related need. (SWEP)

The Victorian Government therefore already provides a direct precedent for treating wigs as subsidised assistive equipment.

South Australia

South Australia provides an especially strong example.

The South Australian Government’s Equipment Program has a dedicated Wigs stream. It allows eligible adults with permanent hair loss resulting from treatment for a major illness, including alopecia or oncology-related hair loss, to receive funding towards either a synthetic or human-hair wig through an approved supplier. (Equipment Program)

The program also has defined replacement periods, with synthetic wigs able to be replaced no more than annually and human-hair wigs generally no more than every five years. (Equipment Program)

This provides Queensland with a particularly practical model that could be examined during the MASS review.

Australian Capital Territory

The ACT also provides another relevant precedent.

The ACT Equipment Scheme (ACTES) provides equipment to eligible people with lifelong or long-term disability, and wigs are expressly included among the equipment available through the scheme. (Canberra Health Services)

The ACT model demonstrates that wigs can be incorporated into a broader government equipment scheme rather than requiring an entirely separate health program.

Tasmania

Tasmania also has avenues for financial assistance involving wigs in certain circumstances, including assistance available to people with alopecia who meet particular eligibility requirements. While this is not directly comparable with the broader dedicated programs operating in NSW, Victoria and South Australia, it provides further evidence that government assistance for medically related hair loss is not unprecedented in Australia. (Variety Australia)

The inequity facing Queenslanders

Queenslanders with permanent medical hair loss currently face a significant disadvantage compared with people living in jurisdictions where government assistance is available.

A person with the same medical condition can potentially access government-supported wig assistance simply by living in NSW, Victoria, South Australia or the ACT, while a Queensland resident may have to meet the entire cost themselves.

This creates an inequity based on state of residence.

Queensland should not necessarily be expected to copy another jurisdiction’s program exactly. However, the existence of these programs demonstrates that government-funded assistance for medically related hair loss is both possible and administratively achievable.

Queensland parliamentary history

The issue has also already been raised in the Queensland Parliament.

In 2023, Queensland Parliament asked whether financial assistance or grants could be provided to people with alopecia to help with the cost of wigs, including through MASS.

The Queensland Government confirmed at that time that MASS did not subsidise wigs, while also indicating that the Minister’s office had engaged with the Australia Alopecia Areata Foundation regarding the issue.

The issue was subsequently pursued again, including discussion of options for future funding.

Given the current review of MASS, I respectfully ask Queensland Health to revisit this issue rather than allowing the previous position to remain unchanged.

Proposed Queensland medical hair-loss subsidy

I respectfully suggest that Queensland consider establishing a dedicated medical hair-loss subsidy within MASS, or an equivalent Queensland Government program.

Eligibility could include Queensland residents who have:

a medically diagnosed condition causing significant hair loss;
permanent or expected long-term hair loss;
hair loss caused by a medical condition or medically necessary treatment; and
certification or recommendation from an appropriate medical practitioner or specialist.
The program could provide a capped subsidy towards an appropriate wig or hairpiece, with replacement assistance based on the expected lifespan of the product.

A means-tested approach could also be considered to ensure assistance is prioritised for people who cannot reasonably afford the cost themselves.

Request to Queensland Health

I respectfully ask Queensland Health to:

Consider wigs and medically appropriate hairpieces as potential eligible items under the future MASS framework.
Consider establishing a dedicated subsidy for permanent or long-term medically caused hair loss.
Examine the NSW, Victorian, South Australian and ACT programs when developing possible Queensland eligibility and funding models.
Consult with the Australia Alopecia Areata Foundation and people living with severe alopecia.
Consider a means-tested or capped subsidy.
Consider different replacement periods for synthetic and human-hair wigs, as South Australia already does.
Ensure people with permanent medical hair loss are not disadvantaged because hair replacement is traditionally classified as a cosmetic product.
Provide an opportunity for people living with alopecia and other permanent medical hair-loss conditions to contribute to the future design of the scheme.
Permanent medical hair loss is not simply a cosmetic inconvenience. For many people, it is a lifelong consequence of a medical condition that can affect dignity, confidence, mental wellbeing, social participation and employment.

Queensland has the opportunity to address an existing inequity and bring its support arrangements into closer alignment with other Australian jurisdictions.

I respectfully ask Queensland Health to consider this issue as part of the MASS review and future policy development.

Thank you for considering my submission.

Yours sincerely,

Claire Reivers

Queensland