What Is Respite Care?
Respite care is when someone else takes over the care of the person you look after, so you can have a break. It can be a few hours, a whole day or overnight. For people with disability on the NDIS, respite is most often a support worker who comes to the home, or a short stay somewhere else, paid for from the participant's plan.
What Does Respite Care Involve?
A trained person steps in to give the support you normally give. Carer Gateway describes respite as care by family, friends or a respite service, at home, in the community, at a centre or in a residential setting.
The break can be short, like a few hours each week, or longer, like a weekend. Some families use it for a regular evening off. Others use it so a parent can go to their own medical appointments, spend time with their other children or simply sleep through the night.
Respite is about the carer having time to rest and recharge, but it should be a good experience for the person being supported too. Done well, it's a chance for them to do things they enjoy with someone new.
What Kinds of Respite Are There?
The main difference is where the support happens: in the person's own home, out in the community, or in a short stay away from home.
| Type | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| In-home respite | A support worker comes to the home and takes over the care, for a few hours, a day or overnight, while the carer goes out or rests. |
| Overnight in-home respite | A worker stays the night. A sleepover shift means they can sleep and get up when needed; an active overnight shift means they stay awake. |
| Community respite | A support worker takes the person out to an activity, a class or a day program. |
| Short-term respite away from home | The person stays somewhere else for one night or more. The NDIS calls this short-term accommodation, now also called short term respite. |
| Emergency respite | Care at short notice when the usual carer suddenly can't continue, for example because of illness. |
This site is about in-home respite: support that comes to the person's own home, so they can stay with their own routines, room and belongings.
Need a Break at Home?
We'll connect you with a registered NDIS provider who can send a support worker to your home.
Who Is Respite Care For?
Anyone who gives unpaid care to a family member or friend. This site covers respite for families and carers of people with disability, usually funded through the NDIS.
That includes parents of children with disability, partners, adult children, siblings and friends. The NDIS funds supports for the participant, so respite is paid from the participant's plan rather than the carer's.
Caring for an older person?
Respite for older people is arranged through My Aged Care, not the NDIS. If you need emergency respite for an older person, My Aged Care says to call Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737.
How Is Respite Care Paid For?
For NDIS participants, from the plan. In-home respite usually comes from the flexible Core supports budget. Short stays away from home are funded as short-term accommodation, also in the Core budget.
The NDIA's guideline on short term accommodation says you may be able to use flexible Core funding for a support worker to help you at home when your informal supports can't, or to give them a break. Our page on NDIS respite funding explains how that works and what the NDIA looks at.
Outside the NDIS, Carer Gateway can tell you about respite options and local services. It says some respite services are free and others cost money.
How Do You Find Respite Care?
Check what's in the NDIS plan, then find a provider who can send a worker at the times you need. A support coordinator can help, or you can tell us what you need and we'll pass it to a registered provider.
It helps to know the times you'd like a break, how often, what care is needed and whether anything needs special training, like PEG feeding or behaviour support. Our guide to questions to ask a respite provider has a checklist.
Questions People Ask
What does respite mean?
A short break. In caring, respite means someone else looks after the person you care for so you can rest or do other things.
Can respite care be done at home?
Yes. In-home respite is when a support worker comes to the person's home and takes over the care, during the day, in the evening or overnight.
Does the NDIS pay for respite?
It can. In-home respite is usually paid from the flexible Core budget in the participant's plan. Short stays away from home are funded as short-term accommodation.
Is respite care free?
For NDIS participants, respite is paid from the plan rather than out of pocket, as long as the plan has enough funding. Some community respite is free; Carer Gateway can tell you what's local.
Is respite just for the carer?
No. It gives the carer a break, but it should also be a positive time for the person being supported, with someone they get to know.
Keep Reading
- Respite care at homeWhat in-home respite looks like: a support worker comes to your home, takes over the care for a few hours or overnight, and you get a real break.
- 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.
- Overnight respiteOvernight respite at home on the NDIS: what a sleepover shift is, when you need an active overnight worker instead, how each is charged, and how to set one up.
- 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.
- 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.
- How it worksHow we connect you with a respite provider, and what happens to your details.
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