Does the NDIS pay carers?

No. The NDIS funds supports for the person with disability, not payments for family or friend carers. A participant's plan may fund support workers or other services that give a carer some relief, but that funding exists because the participant needs the support. For support aimed at you as a carer, look to Carer Gateway or Services Australia.

What is the difference between Carer Gateway and the NDIS?

The NDIS supports the person with disability through funded supports in a participant plan. Carer Gateway is a separate Australian Government program that supports the unpaid carer with counselling, peer support, coaching, practical help and respite. One is about the participant's needs; the other is about the carer's wellbeing. You can use both at the same time.

Do I need to be on the NDIS to use Carer Gateway?

No. Carer Gateway supports unpaid carers regardless of whether the person they care for is an NDIS participant. You can care for someone with disability, a medical condition, mental illness, or who is frail aged. You can contact Carer Gateway directly by phone or online to find out what support is available in your area.

Is Carer Payment the same as Carer Allowance?

No. Carer Payment is an income support payment for people who cannot work because they provide constant care, and it is income and assets tested. Carer Allowance is a supplementary payment to help with the extra costs of caring and can be paid on top of some other income support. Both are delivered by Services Australia and have different eligibility rules.

Can I get a Centrelink carer payment and Carer Gateway at the same time?

Yes. They are separate systems with separate rules. A Centrelink carer payment through Services Australia is income support, while Carer Gateway provides services like counselling, peer support and respite. Using one does not stop you using the other, and the person you care for can also be an NDIS participant at the same time.

Can an NDIS plan give me a break from caring?

Sometimes, indirectly. If a participant's plan funds support workers or other supports, the carer often gets some relief while those supports are delivered. However, this is not carer respite as such; the funding is based on the participant's assessed needs. For respite aimed at the carer, Carer Gateway is the more direct place to ask.

Where do I go to contact each system?

For the NDIS, contact the NDIA or visit ndis.gov.au. For carer support such as counselling and respite, contact Carer Gateway by phone or through its website. For Carer Payment or Carer Allowance, contact Services Australia through Centrelink. Each has its own application process, so approach each one separately for the support it provides.

Carer Gateway vs the NDIS: support for carers explained

How support for unpaid carers differs from the participant’s NDIS supports and carer income payments.

If you care for someone with disability, it is easy to assume that everything you need will come from one place. In practice, support in Australia is split across three separate systems, and each one is designed to do a different job.

This guide explains the difference between the NDIS, Carer Gateway and the Centrelink carer payments handled by Services Australia. Knowing which system does what can save you time and help you get support for both the person you care for and yourself.

In this guide

The NDIS funds supports for the person with disability, not payments for carers.
Carer Gateway is a separate Australian Government program that supports unpaid family and friend carers.
Carer Payment and Carer Allowance are income support through Services Australia (Centrelink).
These are three different systems for three different needs, and you can use more than one.
An NDIS plan can sometimes include supports that also give a carer a break, but the NDIS is not carer support.

Three different systems

It helps to picture support for a caring situation as three separate doors. Behind the first door is the NDIS, which funds reasonable and necessary supports for the person who has a permanent and significant disability. Behind the second door is Carer Gateway, a national program for the unpaid carer, the family member or friend who provides that ongoing care. Behind the third door are the Centrelink carer payments, run by Services Australia, which are about income support.

The three systems are not competitors and they do not replace each other. A family might use all three at once: one for the person with disability, one for practical and emotional support for the carer, and one to help with the household budget. Because they are run by different parts of government, they each have their own way of applying, their own rules and their own contact points.

The most common source of confusion is expecting the NDIS to look after the carer directly. It does not. The NDIS is built around the participant. Once you understand that, the other two systems make much more sense.

What the NDIS is for

The NDIS, the National Disability Insurance Scheme, provides funding to eligible people with disability so they can access supports and services. The scheme is delivered by the National Disability Insurance Agency, or NDIA. Its focus is the participant: their goals, their daily living needs and their independence.

A participant's plan may fund things like assistance with daily activities, therapy, capacity building, equipment or supports that help them take part in the community. All of these are assessed against whether they are reasonable and necessary for that person, not against what would make a carer's life easier.

That said, some funded supports do have a flow-on benefit for carers. If a participant has support workers helping them during the day, the family carer naturally gets some breathing room. But the funding is there because the participant needs the support, not as a payment or service for the carer. If you want to check eligibility or how plans work, the official source is ndis.gov.au and the NDIS Our Guidelines.

What Carer Gateway is for

Carer Gateway is an Australian Government program made specifically for unpaid carers: people who look after a family member or friend with disability, a medical condition, a mental illness, or who is frail aged. It exists to support the carer as a person in their own right.

Through Carer Gateway you can access services such as counselling, peer support groups where you meet other carers, coaching to help you manage the caring role, and tailored support packages that can include some practical help. Carer Gateway can also help arrange respite so you can take a break, attend an appointment or simply rest.

Importantly, you do not need the person you care for to be an NDIS participant to use Carer Gateway. The two are separate. You can reach Carer Gateway by phone or through its website to talk through what is available and connect with your local delivery partner.

Carer Payment and Carer Allowance

The third system is income support for carers, delivered by Services Australia through Centrelink. There are two main payments, and they are different from each other.

Carer Payment is an income support payment for people who cannot work in paid employment because they provide constant care for someone with a severe disability or medical condition, or who is frail aged. It is income and assets tested, like other Centrelink pension-type payments. Carer Allowance is different again: it is a supplementary payment to help with the extra costs of daily caring, and it can be paid on top of some other income support.

Because these are payments rather than services, eligibility is assessed by Services Australia, and the person you care for usually needs a medical assessment. You can hold a Centrelink carer payment while also using Carer Gateway, and while the person you care for is on the NDIS. To check the current rules and rates, go to Services Australia rather than relying on figures you read elsewhere.

How they work together

In real life these systems overlap around one family. Imagine a parent caring for a young adult with disability. The young adult may be an NDIS participant with a plan that funds support workers and therapy. The parent may separately register with Carer Gateway for counselling and a peer support group, and may also claim Carer Allowance through Services Australia to help with everyday costs.

None of these cancels out the others. The NDIS plan is assessed on the participant's needs, Carer Gateway supports the carer's wellbeing, and the Centrelink payments help with income. The trick is to apply to each one on its own terms rather than expecting one door to open all three.

If you are not sure where to start, a good approach is to sort out the participant's NDIS supports through the NDIA, then contact Carer Gateway about your own support, and finally check with Services Australia about carer payments. Independent advocates and your local support networks can help you navigate all three.

Frequently asked questions

Does the NDIS pay carers?: No. The NDIS funds supports for the person with disability, not payments for family or friend carers. A participant's plan may fund support workers or other services that give a carer some relief, but that funding exists because the participant needs the support. For support aimed at you as a carer, look to Carer Gateway or Services Australia.
What is the difference between Carer Gateway and the NDIS?: The NDIS supports the person with disability through funded supports in a participant plan. Carer Gateway is a separate Australian Government program that supports the unpaid carer with counselling, peer support, coaching, practical help and respite. One is about the participant's needs; the other is about the carer's wellbeing. You can use both at the same time.
Do I need to be on the NDIS to use Carer Gateway?: No. Carer Gateway supports unpaid carers regardless of whether the person they care for is an NDIS participant. You can care for someone with disability, a medical condition, mental illness, or who is frail aged. You can contact Carer Gateway directly by phone or online to find out what support is available in your area.
Is Carer Payment the same as Carer Allowance?: No. Carer Payment is an income support payment for people who cannot work because they provide constant care, and it is income and assets tested. Carer Allowance is a supplementary payment to help with the extra costs of caring and can be paid on top of some other income support. Both are delivered by Services Australia and have different eligibility rules.
Can I get a Centrelink carer payment and Carer Gateway at the same time?: Yes. They are separate systems with separate rules. A Centrelink carer payment through Services Australia is income support, while Carer Gateway provides services like counselling, peer support and respite. Using one does not stop you using the other, and the person you care for can also be an NDIS participant at the same time.
Can an NDIS plan give me a break from caring?: Sometimes, indirectly. If a participant's plan funds support workers or other supports, the carer often gets some relief while those supports are delivered. However, this is not carer respite as such; the funding is based on the participant's assessed needs. For respite aimed at the carer, Carer Gateway is the more direct place to ask.
Where do I go to contact each system?: For the NDIS, contact the NDIA or visit ndis.gov.au. For carer support such as counselling and respite, contact Carer Gateway by phone or through its website. For Carer Payment or Carer Allowance, contact Services Australia through Centrelink. Each has its own application process, so approach each one separately for the support it provides.

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Official NDIS sources

Novida is an independent directory, not the NDIA. We explain each form in plain English and link you to the official copy — always download and submit the current version from the official website, as forms are updated from time to time.