Independent Living Specialists Reviews 78

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The manager helped to get a very good foot pad for my walking stick. he also explained beautifully how to fix it to my stick. Good and efficient support
The manager helped to get a very good foot pad for my walking stick. he also explained beautifully how to fix it to my stick. Good and efficient support
Date of experience

I had a scheduled delivery coming in the morning between 9 - 11 and l had told them l need to help my elderly mum and was not to be alone with the driver. On the day of the delivery 11 came and no delivery. I called my care company that organised it with ILS and they told me the driver was running late. So we tried to work out what to do. They said it was coming now later in the day at 3 30 in the afternoon. I was busy as lhad kids at this time and l had said to make it at 4. They didn't even respect me and mum this time too. He came at 3.30 and left the heavy objects, some chairs and other equipment outside the front door so close to the door l couldn't even open it. I had to get my brother to come and help me move the equipment inside for my mum. I later saw that on the top of the docket my number was there so he could have called me and also the notation saying to come between 9 - 11. Your driver is definitely not a respectful person and l really hope your company thinks about people as people. People make times because that is for a reason. You should be working around these poor people not we work around you. Your driver and your company will not be used by my mum's care package anymore.

I had a new walker delivered yesterday and used it this morning and while crossing the road one wheel went flying off. I managed to get off the road and a kind man got the wheel off the road for me and helped me home.
The response from this company was 7 drivers being off sick so.maybe it will be replaced next week. I did get a SORRY from them but dealing with them in the past I shouldn't have bothered to try again. Their idea of customer service leaves a lot to.be desired. I have learnt my lesson and will be getting my scooter and electric bed elsewhere.
A warning on the walker
It is a Hero brand and please get the wheels checked

One of the NDIS support team for my husband recently authorised the purchase of a small wheelchair for my husband. The purchase was cooordinated from the national office. Its just before Xmas and organising to be home for a full day to take receipt of the delivery is problematic. I visited my local Dee Why office and had all the invoice and other details at hand to request the order be re-scheduled for delivery to the Dee Why office in the new year, as that would be much simpler to coordinate getting the equipment. I went into the store - the store was empty and two young ladies on the front desk. I explained my request to the first lady and she spent a few minutes telling me she didnt think it would be possible, and then when the other lady got off the phone the other lady said "of course we can do that", when I then thanked her for the positive attitude in comparison to just being told 'no no no' by the first lady, the second sales assistant turned on me and told me that she found what I was saying about her colleague was "not appropriate". This is a bit "ageist"but I think they were both quite young and really dont understand the concept of either (1) listening or (2) if you just repeat what someone else has said to you in can hardly be considered to be "not appropriate" if it was ok for your colleague to sit there and say to a customer!
Whilst the Dee Why store is very conveniently located for me, I will be going out-of-my-way to use other companies located at Frenchs Forrest and Warriewood before I even set foot in that store again

Always helpful and warm environment to meet your needs.

I attempted to rent a scooter from ISL in September 2025. First, an incorrect model was delivered. 2 days later this model was collected and a replacement scooter was provided. The replacement scooter was defective and simply did not work. Then the defective scooter was also collected. Basically, they waisted my time and at the end did not provide any functional scooter.

After this incident, one month later, in October 2025, ISL sent a invoice directly to my plan managers seeking to get payment for a rented scooter! I contacted them explaining that I didn't have any scooters from them and I didn't rent anything. They apologised and said it was a mistake. One day later I received a message saying that they need to collect a non-existent scooter from me.
What kind of business is this? First, delivering non-functional defective scooter, then one month later attempting to get payment for a scooter that was not rented, and then also insisting to collect a non-existent scooter from me.

Does this all sound like a little "mistake"? Delivering non-functional scooter to a disabled person, then collecting it without providing any replacement and then one month later seeking payment for "rent" that did not even happen.

They sent an invoice directly to my plan managers, meaning they were trying to get paid without my knowledge. I guess it was also just a little "mistake".

Can’t fault the showroom team. Lovely, polite and helpful.

Cannot say the same for delivery. Failed completely to deliver a hired wheelchair for my elderly mother visiting.
Showroom team explain how the delivery team call to ensure delivery can be made.
Delivery team do not call, and then tell you next delivery is a week later…
I’d advise you look elsewhere for anything that you might need from this company.

Still awaiting refund too…

And still waiting for the refund with zero response from the vendor other than we will request a refund… then, no refund, and no further responses…

I strongly advise avoiding this fraudulent company purporting to support vulnerable people, taking money, delivering nothing, and failing to refund cash.

This will become a legal matter shortly.
The people running this business are either incapable or criminal. Buyer beware.

Following the latest response, I have been having an email conversation with ILS. It appears the right arm and left arm have no idea what the other is doing.

Shambles.
Still waiting for my refund…

My wife and I were looking for a Air Cushion in Oct 2025. We went to a company in South Geelong as it was closer to where we live. The customer service was terrible. We went to ILS in North Geelong and immediately was greeted with a smile. The store looked great and clean. A young girl named Stevie immediately took us to the air cushions on display. We were very impressed with her wide knowledge of products, she answered all our questions with such confidence. Unfortunately they did not have the product we wanted in stock, however she made an order for us, telling us that should we were not committed to the order. We received a call a few days later to view our product, Stevie was not at the store at that time, but other team members including the manager was present and the customer service was still great, greeted with a smile and the service was also great. Thank you Stevie, Yvonne, Helen and another lady for such a great experience. Highly recommended to the North Geelong store. Glenda and Charles

Billed for something that I didn't have. It took 7 phone calls to get my money back and 5 days to get the money back.

I was served by a lovely woman Kerrie at the morphett vale shop, who was very helpful, respectful and knowledgeable. She made the scary experience of buying a walker as a young person less scary and very comfortable.

Very bad customer service and the worst delivery person ever. He is arrogant, rude, and does not understand how to deal with elderly people who need help.
Find another Company.

Not at all impressed with their billing been over charged twice for a wheelchair hire.
No invoice supplied showing charges

we purchased items from ILS in April through a recommendation from Balmain hospital for my father who is a recent below knee amputee.
One of those items is a slide board for $449. It cracked within days of us.
I spent days attempting to get some rectification of this situation and eventually we procured a slide board elsewhere.
I eventually made contact with an Alison Smith from ILS who agreed to a refund for the object. I gave bank details and a representative of ILS came to the home where my Dad was and collected the item.
Five weeks later no refund and I again have left messages to no avail.

I am a disabled person and purchased an Icare IC777 Trendelenburg Deluxe bed from Independent Living Specialists (ILS) in Fyshwick, ACT for over $8,000. The bed came with a two-year warranty, but it was defective from the start. Loud, alarming noises came from the frame, and I narrowly avoided a serious injury when the bed mechanism suddenly collapsed onto my foot.
My occupational therapist inspected the bed and confirmed it was unsafe and potentially dangerous to anyone using or adjusting it. When I returned to ILS to report the issue, I was told there was only an eight-day warranty, completely false and contrary to Australian consumer law.
I was treated very rudely in the store and was asked to leave when I insisted on my rights under the law. As a vulnerable customer, I felt dismissed and ignored. I strongly advise others to be cautious when dealing with this company, especially if you require reliable equipment and professional after-sales support.

If I had my way it would be no rating. Purchased a small rubber foot for my walking stick for $19. Then I was charged $22 for postage from NSW to Cairns Queensland. I could’ve purchased a whole new walking stick for the same price….
I don’t have a vehicle hence the reason I jumped on the Cairns branch web page thinking I would be charged a small fee for postage and that it would arrive the next day. After they took my money I then learned that it was coming out of Sydney. Bloody bunch of rip off artists if you ask me.

As an Occupational Therapist and daughter of a person living with Motor Neurone Disease (diagnosed in 2020), I cannot recommend the services of Independent Living Specialists (ILS) Lane Cove for adult equipment hire and servicing based on our recent experience.

My mother (diagnosed with MND), father, and her support worker undertook a four-hour journey to Sydney so my mother could visit my sister's newly purchased apartment — a significant and sentimental moment for us all. In preparation, her treating OT (not me) arranged hire of essential equipment through ILS Lane Cove, including a powered bedframe and alternating air mattress — both medically necessary due to her high risk of pressure injuries.

The experience quickly deteriorated into a distressing and completely unacceptable ordeal due to ILS’s failure to deliver timely and appropriate support.

At 1:00am, the alternating air mattress fully deflated. I was informed at 8:00am and waited until their opening hours at 9:00am to urgently contact ILS. After repeated calls, I finally got through. I explained the situation in detail, confirmed that troubleshooting had already been completed (power supply, CPR valve, etc.), and made it clear that a repair or replacement was urgently required.

The response? I was told no one would be available until Monday (this was Saturday). When I raised serious concerns about this delay — particularly in a metropolitan area and for a high-pressure care risk patient — I was told "this doesn’t happen." When I pointed out that it was happening, the response shifted to “well, it doesn’t happen often,” with no proactive solution offered.

I had to request escalation and a call back. An hour passed with no update, so I called again — only to be greeted with “oh hi, I was just about to call you.” No, I was calling you to follow up.

Eventually, I was told that an on-call technician could attend. I immediately sent photos and a detailed description of concerns by email of the issue. I followed up minutes later to confirm receipt of the email, which was acknowledged.

However, hours passed with no further contact. I made three more unanswered calls to ILS to confirm if someone had been dispatched. Out of desperation, I contacted the hotel directly, who confirmed a technician had indeed attended. Hours later, I contacted ILS again for a progress update, and was told they had no information — not the name or contact of the technician, nor any confirmation of what was done. They also had no record of the issue being resolved.

Later that day, after their showroom had closed and no further updates were provided, I personally attended the hotel. The outcome? Nothing had been repaired. The mattress was still fully deflated, the pump was beeping with a red alert, and my mother was left with an unsafe and inappropriate care environment.

In the absence of any alternative, we were forced to use a standard mattress, placing my mother at serious clinical risk. My father and her support staff are left to complete 2-hourly manual pressure area checks overnight and are departing Sydney a day earlier than anticipated to return home — a situation that was entirely preventable if ILS had listened and responded to the verbal and written concerns I had provided early that morning.

This is not just poor customer service — it is a complete failure in duty of care. As a health professional, I find it unconscionable that a provider operating in the complex care space could display such disregard for client safety and family advocacy. The emotional, physical, and clinical impact of this event was significant and entirely avoidable.

I strongly urge anyone — especially those caring for vulnerable individuals — to look elsewhere for equipment hire and support services. Based on this experience, ILS Lane Cove cannot be relied upon to provide responsive, competent, or compassionate care when it is most needed.

This company retains credit card details and makes unauthorised charges for goods not ordered. They do not respond to customer complaints so your only recourse is through your bank. Very disappointing given its mainly aged care and disability services.

Independent Living Specialists are not to be trusted. I ordered and paid for delivery of a special chair for my retuning husband after open-heart by pass surgery. Inexplicable texts confirming; then postponing delivery. Calls not answered, no response to emails. There are many other much better suppliers. Use them and save your loved one & yourself heartache.

Absolutely useless. Ordered products 5 weeks ago. They got Paid within a week of order. So far 5 weeks later and my wheelchair is so broken I cant leave the house and very loud metal grinding noise as castors deteriorate further. Yes they knew this issue when ordering. Why can I get the products at half the price and express posted to me. But they cant organise anything in anywhere. Never again. do not use them.

Do not trust these people, they will not do anything without asking for a debit/credit card and when they do they will keep stealing money from you, because their accounts department has got everything wrong... do not trust them, you also cannot ever speak to someone who will fix things, you just get told by the office that, no one answered the phone and then nothing is done, I have had someone answer the phone who said they would resolve it for the 4th time, but no they have taken more money