High-Intensity Supports on the NDIS: A Participant & Family Guide
What high-intensity supports are on the NDIS, how they're funded, and how to find a worker trained to deliver them safely — a plain-English guide for participants and families.
High-intensity supports are everyday personal supports that carry extra clinical risk — things like complex bowel care, tube feeding, managing seizures, or using a ventilator — so they must be delivered by a worker with specific training and oversight. If you or someone you support has complex health needs, this guide explains what counts as high-intensity, how the NDIS funds it, and how to find…
What 'high-intensity' actually means
High-intensity supports vs disability-related health supports
How high-intensity supports are funded
Who is allowed to deliver them
How to find and check a complex-care worker
Where to go next
Frequently asked questions
What are high-intensity supports on the NDIS?
They're everyday personal supports that carry extra clinical risk, such as complex bowel care, tube feeding, catheter care, seizure support and ventilation. Because a mistake could cause harm, they must be delivered by workers with specific, assessed training, guided by the NDIS High Intensity…
Who is allowed to deliver high-intensity supports?
A support worker can deliver them once trained and assessed as competent for your specific task, working under registered-nurse oversight. Some higher-risk tasks stay with a nurse. What matters isn't a job title but whether the person is competency-assessed for your exact needs, with a nurse behind…
How are high-intensity supports funded?
The worker time is funded from your Core budget, claimed at a higher high-intensity rate that reflects the extra training and oversight. Consumables and any equipment are funded separately. A clinician letter and a task-specific support plan provide the evidence that the support is reasonable,…
What's the difference between high-intensity supports and disability-related health supports?
They overlap. Disability-related health supports is the broad category of health-type needs the NDIS funds because they flow from your disability, like continence, wound care and respiratory support. High-intensity describes the ones carrying enough clinical risk to require specially trained,…
How do I check a worker is safe for high-intensity care?
Ask for evidence of task-specific competency assessment, not just a certificate, who provides their registered-nurse oversight, and how they follow your written plan. Ask how they'd escalate if something went wrong. A genuinely prepared worker gives clear, plan-based answers rather than general…
Related guides
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- How to Get Community Nursing Funded in Your NDIS Plan
- Registered Nurse, Delegated Care or Support Worker: Who Can Do What
- Diabetes Management on the NDIS: Support at Home
- How the NDIS Funds Insulin & Blood Glucose Support
- Health vs Disability: What the NDIS Pays For vs the Health System