Can the NDIS fund help with grocery shopping?
Yes for the help — no for the groceries. The NDIS can fund a worker to help you shop or build shopping skills, but the food itself is yours to pay.
It splits neatly in two. The NDIS *can* fund the **support** to do your grocery shopping — a worker helping you shop, or helping you build the skills to shop independently — where it's reasonable and necessary because of your disability. It *doesn't* fund the **groceries themselves**, because food is an everyday living cost everyone has.
The short answer
How the NDIS decides
What's covered — and what isn't
How to ask, and what evidence helps
A realistic picture
Frequently asked questions
Will the NDIS pay for my groceries?
No. The food itself is an everyday living cost that everyone has, so it's never funded. What the NDIS can fund is the disability-related help you need to actually do the shopping, or to learn to do it independently.
Can a worker do my shopping for me if I can't leave home?
Yes, where it's reasonable and necessary. A support worker can shop on your behalf when your disability prevents you getting to or around the shops and no one else can reasonably help. You still pay for the groceries.
Is online grocery delivery covered?
The delivery fee for food is treated as part of the ordinary cost of buying groceries, so it's generally not funded. Support to set up and manage online shopping as a skill could be, under capacity building.
Should I ask for ongoing help or skills-building?
It depends on your goals. Ongoing help suits stable, longer-term needs; skills-building suits a goal of greater independence. Your planner or OT can help you choose, or combine both in your plan.