Can you use NDIS funding to pay family members to provide care?

There are exceptions, of course, but the NDIA considers funding a family member to provide supports to an NDIS participant “detrimental to family relationships”.

What does that mean? Let’s take a closer look.

An NDIS participant can receive supports in many ways.

Formal supports are professional services provided by NDIS providers and other organisations. These are the supports that can be funded by the NDIS. An example would be the supports you receive from Leora carers, from domestic assistance to high care, or the assistance provided by your allied health professionals, such as your occupational therapist.

Mainstream supports are government funded services outside the NDIS, such as education, health, mental health or other community services. These are services that all Australians can use, whether or not they have a disability.

Informal supports are the help and support you get from friends, family and the community. To quote the NDIA:

The care you would receive from a family member would fall under informal supports. This is the kind of care that is provided freely, and which comes from the special bond you have with family.

The NDIA considers informal supports to be critical to the wellbeing of NDIS participants. Family members can also be your fiercest advocates, providing you emotional and practical support so you can get the help you need to live a fulfilling life.

However, there are potential problems if your family member becomes your paid carer, such as:

Generally, the NDIA will only fund family members to provide supports in exceptional circumstances, such as when:

The NDIA will consider the circumstances of each case, but they would generally not fund a family member to provide personal care or community access support unless all other options have been exhausted.

Remember as well that if your funding is Agency-managed, you can only access supports from registered providers. This means your family member, in the above exceptional circumstances, will have to be a registered provider to receive payment.

While you generally can’t use your funding to pay your family members to care for you, you can use funding in your plan to give them respite, or a short break from their caring responsibilities.

This can also give you time to be away from the family home, meet new people and learn new skills.

Some examples include:

You can choose to use your Core budget on a range of supports like Short Term Accommodation to suit your needs.

Leora is experienced in caring for NDIS participants or icare clients with high care needs. 

Reach out to us for a chat by calling 1300 65 11 33 or by filling out our form.