PBF Fund Don’t let spinal cord injury paralyse your entire family

Driving to work, painting the house, surfing, riding a bike… all ordinary activities that have all led to extraordinary injuries - in particular, spinal cord injury.

Everyday in Australia, someone suffers a spinal cord injury, one of the most debilitating injuries anyone can ever suffer.

While a lot of people think the injury only happens to people taking part in risky activities such as speedway, the reality is it can happen to anyone, anywhere.

Almost half of all spinal cord injuries happen in road crashes, while 34 per cent are due to falls and the rest happen during sport and recreational activities.

The injury usually leads to paralysis in your legs and trunk and sometimes your arms as well. It also disables your bladder, bowel and sexual function.

The effects aren’t just physical; it also has a devastating financial and emotional impact on the entire family.

In the first year alone, the cost of looking after a paraplegic is $260,000 and doubles for a quadriplegic.

Unfortunately, insurance and workers compensation payments can take months and sometimes even years to be processed.

How would you and your family manage?

National charity, the Paraplegic Benefit Fund Australia (PBF), is a member-based charity that is working hard to ease some of the financial and emotional trauma for people with spinal cord injuries.

For less than $1 a week, any PBF member who sustains a permanent spinal cord injury is eligible to claim $100,000 to help cover some of the early costs while patients undergo rehabilitation.

The benefit aims to help with things like mortgage repayments, modifications to the house and car so the wheelchair can get in and other medical costs.

So what if you never need PBF?

You will know that your money is being used by a charity to try to prevent the injury in the first place and to also help others who have sustained it.

PBF uses its members’ fees to fund its award-winning injury prevention program, educating teenagers, employees and the community in general about the risks on the road, in the workplace and in the aquatic environment.

PBF has a gifting program which helps buy equipment such as wheelchairs, hoists, specialised beds and computers. It also funds research into a cure for spinal cord injury.

To join or for more information, call 1800 809 780 or visit www.pbf.asn.au and join online.  Don’t forget to tell us that you are members of NASR to receive a discounted membership.

PBF - because a spinal cord injury can paralyse your entire family.

General Advice Warning
Any advice on this web site is general advice only and does not take into account any person’s objectives, financial situation or needs.  You should consider the appropriateness of the advice to your circumstances and obtain and consider the PBF PDS before making any decision to join PBF.