Learning skills for everyday life
How the NDIS supports everyday living skills — building a skill versus ongoing help, how skill-building goals work, and what supports look like.
Everyday living skills are the ordinary things that make a day run — cooking a meal, catching a bus, keeping track of money, staying safe at home. The NDIS can support you to build these skills over time, or to get help with tasks you find hard. This pillar guide explains how that works and points you to the other guides in the collection.
What everyday living skills means under the NDIS
The key idea: building a skill versus having help
How skill-building goals work
What everyday-living supports look like in practice
Choosing where to start
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Capacity Building and Core for everyday skills?
Capacity Building funds support to learn a skill so you can do more yourself — it is goal-based and expected to taper. Core funds ongoing help to get a task done, for as long as you need it. Many everyday supports can be either, depending on your goal.
Can the NDIS teach me to cook, budget or catch a bus?
Yes, where it relates to your disability and is reasonable and necessary. Support to build these skills usually sits in Capacity Building. See the cooking, money and budgeting, and travel training guides in this collection for how each works.
Does the NDIS pay for the groceries, fares or bills themselves?
No. Those are everyday living costs everyone has, so they are not funded. The NDIS funds the disability-related support around them — for example, learning to shop and cook, not the food you buy.
How do I decide which skill to work on first?
Start with the daily task that causes the most stress or reliance on others. Then ask whether you want to learn it yourself or simply have it done, and raise it with your planner or LAC so it links to a goal in your plan.
Do skill-building supports last forever?
Capacity Building supports are meant to be time-limited and taper as your independence grows. If you need lasting help with a task rather than to learn it, that is usually a Core support instead, which has no expectation of fading.
Where do I check what my own plan allows?
Your plan document is the source of truth, and your planner, LAC, support coordinator or plan manager can explain your specific budgets and goals. This collection is a general map, not individual advice.