How to Get Respite in Your NDIS Plan
To get respite in an NDIS plan, show the NDIA how much disability-related care the family gives, what that's doing to the carers, and what support would help. Raise it with your my NDIS contact or at a check-in meeting, bring reports that describe the participant's support needs, and ask for a change to the plan if your situation has changed.
Step 1: Write Down a Typical Day and Night of Care
The NDIA needs to understand when and how often support is needed. A simple care diary is the clearest way to show it.
- List the care you give across 24 hours: personal care, meals, supervision, medication, night waking
- Note roughly how long each takes and how often it happens
- Mark anything that needs two people or special skills
- For a child, note what's beyond what other children the same age need
- Keep it going for a week or two if you can
Step 2: Describe the Effect on the Family
The NDIA considers whether family and other informal supports can keep supporting the participant long term, and the risk to the family's wellbeing without a break.
Be honest about your own health, sleep, work and other caring responsibilities, such as other children or another family member with disability. These are factors the NDIA lists in its guideline on short term accommodation, and they help explain why in-home respite is needed too.
Step 3: Gather Evidence From Professionals
Reports that describe the participant's disability support needs carry weight.
The NDIA says it looks at assessments, reports and information from providers and allied health professionals about when and how often support is needed. An occupational therapist, psychologist, behaviour support practitioner or GP who knows the person can describe the level of support they need.
Step 4: Say What Would Help
Be specific about the support you're asking for, and link it to the participant's goals.
- For example: a 4 hour weekday shift each week and one sleepover a fortnight
- Explain how it helps the participant too, like doing activities they enjoy with a worker, or building independence
- Explain how it keeps the family able to care in the long term
The NDIA needs supports to help the participant pursue their goals and take part in the community. A goal like keeping my living arrangements with my family, or trying new things outside the home, can connect respite to the plan.
Need a Break at Home?
We'll connect you with a registered NDIS provider who can send a support worker to your home.
Step 5: Raise It With the NDIA
Talk to your my NDIS contact, or bring it up at your check-in meeting. If the plan doesn't have the support you need or your situation has changed, ask for a change to the plan.
A support coordinator, if the plan has one, can help you prepare. You can call the NDIA on 1800 800 110.
What If the NDIA Says No?
Ask for the reasons, check your evidence answers them, and ask for a review if you think the decision is wrong.
The NDIA's guidelines include a section on reviewing its decisions. In the meantime, Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 may be able to help you as the carer.
Questions People Ask
Who do I talk to about adding respite to an NDIS plan?
Your my NDIS contact, or your support coordinator if the plan has one. You can also raise it at your check-in meeting.
What evidence helps get respite funded?
A clear description of the care the family gives, and reports from allied health professionals or doctors that describe when and how often the participant needs support.
Can I use existing Core funding for respite?
Yes, if it's an NDIS support in line with the plan. The NDIA says flexible Core support can pay for a support worker at home to give informal supports a break.
Keep Reading
- NDIS respite fundingWhich part of an NDIS plan pays for in-home respite, how flexible Core funding works, what the NDIA looks at first, and what respite funding can't buy.
- NDIS respiteHow NDIS respite works: support workers at home paid from Core funding, short stays away from home, who qualifies, and where carers fit into the plan.
- Respite for parentsRespite for parents of a child with disability: what the NDIS funds at home, what it treats as normal parenting, the tests for children, how to ask.
- How much respite the NDIS fundsHow much respite the NDIS funds: no set hours for in-home respite, how the Core budget limits it, the 28 day guide for short stays, and when more can be funded.
- Respite for carersRespite for carers of someone with disability: what the NDIS can fund at home, what Carer Gateway offers carers directly, and how the two work together for you.
- How it worksHow we connect you with a respite provider, and what happens to your details.
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