Finding a Nurse for Wound Care at Home (NDIS)
Wound care nurse NDIS guide: the credentials, wound plan and oversight to look for, plus the questions to ask before care starts at home.
A complex or chronic wound needs careful, regular management to stop it getting worse — and often that starts with a registered nurse. This guide shows you how to find a wound care nurse who can treat a wound at home under the NDIS, what to look for, the questions to ask, and how a nurse and a trained support worker can share the care safely once your wound is stable.
When you need a nurse vs a trained worker
Where to find a wound care nurse
What to look for in a wound care nurse
The wound management plan and reviews
Questions to ask before care starts
How the nurse and workers share the care
Searching on Novida
Where to go next
Frequently asked questions
When do I need a nurse for wound care rather than a support worker?
A registered nurse should assess a complex or new wound, decide the treatment, write the wound management plan and manage anything unstable, infected or deteriorating. Once the wound and dressing routine are stable, a competency-assessed support worker may take over simple dressing changes under the…
How do I find a wound care nurse who works with NDIS participants?
Search directories like Novida for community nurses and nursing providers with wound care experience, ask your GP, hospital or support coordinator for a referral, or approach a nursing agency. Look for wound-management experience and someone who can also train and oversee your support workers.
Does the NDIS fund a wound care nurse at home?
Yes, when the wound is chronic and disability-related — like a pressure injury from limited mobility — the NDIS can fund the nurse time to treat it at home, plus the dressings. Acute medical treatment of a wound, or a surgical wound in its early healing, stays with the health system.
What should a wound management plan include?
It should describe the wound, the cleaning and dressing method, how often dressings are changed, the products used, signs of infection or deterioration to watch for, and when to escalate. It also sets out which tasks a support worker can do and which stay with the nurse, and when the wound will be…
Can a support worker take over wound care once it's stable?
Yes. Once a nurse judges the wound stable and the routine straightforward, a support worker trained and assessed as competent for that specific dressing can carry it out under the nurse's ongoing oversight. The nurse continues to review the wound and steps back in if it changes.
Related guides
- Complex Wound Care on the NDIS: A Participant Guide
- Disability-Related Health Supports on the NDIS: What's Funded
- Finding a Worker or Nurse Trained in Diabetes Management
- How to Find a Support Worker Trained in High-Intensity Supports
- How the NDIS Funds High Intensity Daily Personal Activities (HIDPA)
- Questions to Ask About High-Intensity Support (Training, Safety & Evidence)