Key points
- Daily living supports are funded from the Assistance with Daily Life category in your Core Supports budget.
- They cover help with personal care and household tasks, such as showering, dressing, meals, cleaning, laundry and yard maintenance.
- Core funding is usually flexible across its 4 categories, but not with Capacity Building or Capital, and transport is less flexible.
- Improved Daily Living Skills is a different, Capacity Building budget for building skills, and it's reduced in new or reassessed plans from 1 October 2026.
- Essential day-to-day supports, such as help with eating, dressing, toileting, laundry and cleaning, aren't affected by those reductions.
What NDIS daily living supports are
NDIS daily living supports help you with the everyday tasks you need to do at home and to look after yourself. In your NDIS plan, they're usually funded from the Assistance with Daily Life category, sometimes shown as Daily Activities, in your Core Supports budget.
Core Supports are the most flexible part of most plans. They pay for the support you need every day, rather than therapy, equipment or home modifications.
Infographic
The 4 Core Supports categories
Daily activitiesAssistance with Daily Life
Help with everyday needs, personal care, household cleaning and yard maintenance.
Consumables
Everyday items such as continence products and low-cost assistive technology.
Social and Community Participation
A support worker to help you take part in social and community activities.
Transport
Help to travel to work or other places that help you pursue your goals.
What Assistance with Daily Life covers
Daily living support is shaped around you and your routine. It can include help with:
- Personal care: showering, bathing, dressing, grooming and toileting
- Eating and drinking, and preparing meals
- Taking medication as prescribed
- Household tasks: cleaning, laundry and keeping your home safe
- Yard maintenance, where you can't do it because of your disability
- Getting up in the morning and ready for bed at night
- Support in shared living arrangements, including supported independent living
Some daily living supports are high intensity, for example complex bowel care or enteral (PEG) feeding. These need support workers with extra training and are funded at a different rate.
Core budget flexibility, explained
In most plans you can use your Core funding across any of the 4 Core categories. For example, if you use less help at home one month, you might use more for community activities. Core funding can't be moved into Capacity Building or Capital budgets.
Some funding isn't flexible. Transport funding often has limits on how it's used, and some supports may be 'stated' in your plan, which means they can only be used for that support. Check your plan, or ask your provider or my NDIS contact if you're not sure.
Daily living supports vs daily living skills
These two sound alike but are funded differently. Assistance with Daily Life pays for someone to help you with tasks. Improved Daily Living Skills, a Capacity Building category, pays for therapy and training to help you build skills so you can do more yourself.
Infographic
Assistance with Daily Life vs Improved Daily Living Skills
Assistance with Daily Life
- Budget
- Core Supports
- What it pays for
- Help with everyday tasks, such as personal care and cleaning
- Who usually delivers it
- Support workers
- Changes from 1 October 2026
- Essential day-to-day supports aren't affected
Improved Daily Living Skills
- Budget
- Capacity Building
- What it pays for
- Therapy and training to build skills, such as cooking or travel skills
- Who usually delivers it
- Allied health professionals and skill-building programs
- Changes from 1 October 2026
- Budgets reduced in new or reassessed plans
| Question | Assistance with Daily Life | Improved Daily Living Skills |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | Core Supports | Capacity Building |
| What it pays for | Help with everyday tasks, such as personal care and cleaning | Therapy and training to build skills, such as cooking or travel skills |
| Who usually delivers it | Support workers | Allied health professionals and skill-building programs |
| Changes from 1 October 2026 | Essential day-to-day supports aren't affected | Budgets reduced in new or reassessed plans |
What changed on 1 October 2026
From 1 October 2026, the NDIA is reducing budgets for Social, Economic and Community Participation and for Improved Daily Living Skills as plans are created or reassessed, and from 1 February 2027 as plans are renewed. The impact is different for every participant.
The NDIA has said essential day-to-day supports like help with eating, drinking, dressing, toileting, laundry, cleaning, nurse care and medication are not affected. People with total budgets above a set amount who receive 24-hour funded supports can ask for a plan variation.
What daily living support costs
The NDIA sets price limits for daily living supports. Registered providers charge at or below those limits, and rates are higher in the evening, overnight, on weekends and on public holidays. New price limits are published each year.
Before you start, ask for a written service agreement that shows the support you'll get, when, the rate for each time of day, and any notice period for cancellations.
- Which line item and rate will you charge for each shift?
- Do you charge for travel, and how much?
- What's your cancellation policy?
- How will I see what I've been charged?
Daily living support in Point Cook and Wyndham
Our Melbourne West team provides daily living support in Point Cook, Werribee, Tarneit, Hoppers Crossing, Truganina and across Wyndham, with consistent workers who get to know your routine. We support people in other areas of Melbourne's west and Australia-wide too.
- Daily living supportHelp at home, shaped around you
- NDIS support in Point CookNear our office
- NDIS plan budgets explainedCore, Capacity Building and Capital
- Understanding NDIS fundingWhich budget usually pays for what
Common questions
Which NDIS budget pays for daily living support?
Usually the Assistance with Daily Life category in your Core Supports budget, where it's included in your plan.
Can I use daily living funding for community activities?
In most plans, Core funding is flexible across its categories, so you may be able to. Check your plan for any stated supports or limits.
Is cleaning covered by the NDIS?
Household cleaning can be funded where you can't do it because of your disability and it's included in your plan.
Were daily living supports cut on 1 October 2026?
The reductions apply to Social, Economic and Community Participation and Improved Daily Living Skills budgets. The NDIA says essential day-to-day supports such as help with eating, dressing, toileting, laundry and cleaning aren't affected.
Sources
We checked this article against these official sources. Dates show when each page was last updated. Links open in a new tab.
- Support budgets in your plan · NDIS (ndis.gov.au) · 24 April 2024
- What are NDIS supports · NDIS (ndis.gov.au) · 24 August 2026
- What is NDIS funding · NDIS (ndis.gov.au) · 11 September 2026
- Changes to support budgets from 1 October · NDIS (ndis.gov.au) · 17 September 2026
- New price limits set for NDIS supports · NDIS (ndis.gov.au) · 24 September 2026
This is general information, not advice about your situation. NDIS rules are changing in stages until 2028, so check ndis.gov.au or talk to our team before making decisions.