Registered Nurse, Delegated Care or Support Worker: Who Can Do What
Delegated care NDIS explained: when a nurse must deliver a task, when it can go to a trained support worker, and who keeps clinical oversight.
One of the most common questions families ask about complex care is simple: does a nurse have to do this, or can a support worker? The honest answer is "it depends on the task and the person" — and the concept that ties it together is delegated care. This explainer sets out the three roles behind complex support, what each can safely do, and how delegation and oversight keep everyone safe.
Three roles, one team
What a registered nurse does
What "delegated care" means
What a competency-assessed support worker can do
When a task must stay with a nurse
How delegation and oversight work in practice
What this means for your funding
Where to go next
Frequently asked questions
What is delegated care on the NDIS?
Delegated care is where a registered nurse assesses a support worker as competent to carry out a specific clinical task — such as bowel care, catheter care or tube feeding — and delegates it to them, while keeping oversight. The worker follows a plan and the nurse remains responsible for checking…
Does a nurse have to deliver complex care, or can a support worker?
It depends on the task and the person. Many high-intensity tasks can be safely delegated to a support worker who is trained and assessed as competent, under nurse oversight. Others — higher-risk or unstable situations — must stay with a registered nurse. The care plan and nurse assessment decide…
What can a competency-assessed support worker do?
With proper training, assessment and nurse oversight, a support worker can deliver many high-intensity supports — complex bowel care, catheter care, enteral feeding, seizure medication, subcutaneous injections and more — for a specific person and set-up. Competency is task-specific: being assessed…
When must a task stay with a registered nurse?
When it involves clinical judgement, an unstable or unpredictable condition, complex wound assessment, or a task that can't safely be delegated. A nurse also does the initial assessments, writes or approves plans, trains and re-checks workers, and steps in when something changes. The nurse decides…
How does delegated care affect my funding?
It can make support more affordable and flexible — a competency-assessed worker's time is generally funded at a lower rate than a nurse's, with nursing funded for the oversight, training and tasks that must stay clinical. Your plan can fund both, so the right person does each part of your care.
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