About The Traffic Accident Fund (TAF)
The Traffic Accident Fund (TAF) is fund-raised by the National Safety Council and the Traffic Police. The Centre for Enabled Living (CEL) is the appointed administrator of the Traffic Accident Fund.
The Traffic Accident Fund is designed to support people who have survived a road accident but have suffered a permanent or temporary disability as a result.
Scope
The Traffic Accident Fund can be used:
• To purchase equipment or technical aids for activities of daily living, education and employment,
• To retrofit homes to make them more accessible for persons with disabilities for mobility and rehabilitative purposes.
• To cover taxi/ ambulance expenses between home and rehabilitaton centres*.
• For families whose loved ones have passed away or are suffering from brain damage due to the accident*.
* effective since July 2009
Eligibility
Applicants should be Singapore citizens or permanent residents of Singapore and referred by a Voluntary Welfare Organisation (VWO) or a medical social work department in the hospital.
Applicants should be from low-income families who are not able to afford to purchase the equipment or retrofit homes for mobility or rehabilitative purposes. This option should be exercised within 2 years from the date of the accident.
Families of accident victims who have passed on or are suffering from brain damage as a result of the accident may apply for temporary cash relief of up to $3,000. This is to cover daily expenses while the families await claims from insurance companies or help from other public assistance schemes. Application must be received within 1 month of death / brain damage. Disbursement will take about 15 working days upon submission of the complete documentation.
The reimbursement of transport is applicable only from the applicant's home to the rehabiliation centre and vice versa. It will be valid only during the duration of rehabilitation as qualified by a Voluntary Welfare Organisation (VWO) or a medical social work department in the hospital. In principle approval must be sought from from CEL through the VWOs or medical social worker. Application must be received within two months of start of outpatient rehabilitation. Reimbursement will be on a monthly basis upon receipt of supporting receipts.
Examples of equipment include:
• Walking aids (crutches, walking stick, walking frame)
• Wheelchair (manual, motorised)
• Special mattresses (to prevent bed sores)
• Hospital beds (with adjustable positions)
• Commode (raised toilet seats for those who have knee injuries)
• Prostheses
• Breathing apparatus
• Other assistive devices for daily living
Examples of retrofitting include:
• Handrails
• Ramps
• Widening of doorways for wheelchair access
• Changing of doors for wheelchair users
Funding will be given for equipment / retrofit of not more than $10,000 per person. Individuals can submit more than one application. The amount of subsidy to be approved will be based on the nett household income. For items costing more than $3,000.00, three official quotations will be needed.
Application Process
Applications should be made through a VWO or a hospital's medical social work department using the prescribed TAF application form. Referring agencies must ensure and verify that all information is true and correct.
For equipment that has already been purchased and paid for at the time of application, receipts must be submitted as proof of purchase. CEL and the referral agencies reserve the right to re-assess the application based on the suitability of equipment that has been purchased prior to approval.
For equipment that has not been purchased at the time of application, but for which subsidies are subsequently granted, receipts should be sent to CEL for reimbursement within one month after the purchase.
The timeline for receiving the receipts may be extended for cases where the equipment have been imported from overseas.
For Enquiries
Please contact CEL at:
Tel: 6593-6437
Fax: 6270-7024
E-mail: schemes@cel.sg