How the NDIS Funds Personal Care & Self-Care Supports
NDIS personal care funding explained: where self-care supports sit in your Core budget, standard vs high-intensity rates, and how the hours are worked out.
Personal care — help with showering, dressing, toileting, grooming and getting ready for the day — is one of the most common supports the NDIS funds, and for many people it's the difference between managing at home and not. This guide explains, in plain English, where personal care sits in your plan, how standard and high-intensity care are funded differently, and how the hours are worked out so…
Where personal care sits in your plan
Standard vs high-intensity personal care
What personal care can cover
How the hours are worked out
Managing the funding: who books and pays your workers
What personal care funding doesn't cover
Getting it set up right
Frequently asked questions
Where does personal care sit in my NDIS plan?
Personal care — help with showering, dressing, toileting and grooming — is funded from your Core budget, usually under Assistance with Daily Life. Core is flexible, so you can generally direct these funds across your daily support needs. The amount is based on your assessed need.
What's the difference between standard and high-intensity personal care funding?
Standard personal care is everyday help without clinical risk. High-intensity personal care involves extra clinical risk — such as complex bowel care, PEG feeding or ventilation-related support — so it must be delivered by a specifically trained, competency-assessed worker and is claimed at a higher…
How are personal care hours worked out?
Hours are based on your assessed functional need — how much help you need with each task, how often, and how long it takes — evidenced by assessments and reports. It helps to think through a typical day and week so the funding reflects your real routine, including mornings, evenings and weekends.
Does the NDIS fund the products as well as the support?
The NDIS funds the support (the worker time), not everyday items like soap or shampoo, which are ordinary living costs. Disability-related consumables such as continence products can be funded separately, usually after a continence assessment. It's worth separating support hours from consumables…
Can I choose who provides my personal care?
Yes. Choice and control are central to the NDIS — you can choose your provider or worker, and direct how your care is done. How much say you have over booking and pricing depends on whether your plan is agency-managed, plan-managed or self-managed, with self-management giving the most flexibility.
Related guides
- Overnight Complex Care: Active Overnight vs Sleepover for Clinical Needs
- Palliative & End-of-Life Care on the NDIS: A Participant & Family Guide
- Choosing & Directing Personal Care Workers (Your Rights)
- 2:1 (Two-Person) Support on the NDIS: When It's Funded
- 24/7 & Around-the-Clock Complex Care on the NDIS: A Participant & Family Guide
- Assistive Technology for Complex & High-Intensity Needs on the NDIS: A Participant & Family Guide