Can the NDIS pay for a support worker to cook and clean?
Yes. A support worker helping with cooking, cleaning and household tasks is funded under Assistance with Daily Life when it's reasonable and necessary.
Yes. A support worker helping you cook, clean and manage other household tasks is exactly what **Assistance with Daily Life** (in your **Core** budget) is for. It's funded where it's reasonable and necessary because of your disability and there's no informal support who could reasonably do it. The food and household consumables, though, stay your cost.
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
Is one support worker for both cooking and cleaning normal?
Yes, that's very common. A single support worker can help across cooking, cleaning, laundry and other household tasks under Assistance with Daily Life. Core funding is flexible, so you can direct their time to whatever you need most.
Does the NDIS pay for the food and cleaning products the worker uses?
No. Groceries and consumables like cleaning products are ordinary living costs you pay yourself. The NDIS funds the worker's time and the disability-related help — not the everyday items everyone buys.
How many hours will the NDIS fund?
There's no fixed number — it depends on your assessed needs, your household and what's reasonable and necessary. An OT report describing the help you need across the week is the best way to justify the hours in your plan.
Can the worker help with skills so I need less support later?
Yes. Where a goal in your plan is independence, support can include building your own cooking and household skills, which may draw on capacity building. Talk to your planner or OT about balancing hands-on help with skills-building.