Does the NDIS pay for respite care?

The short answer

Yes, when it is in your plan. The NDIS funds respite as short term accommodation (STA) in the Core budget, generally up to 28 days a year and 14 days at a time. It is funded when reasonable and necessary, which includes how much unpaid support your family provides. If not, you can ask for a plan change.

Respite care is one of the most searched NDIS questions in South Australia, and the honest answer has two parts. The NDIS can pay for respite. It does not pay for it automatically, and the amount, the staff ratio and the number of days all depend on what the NDIA has agreed in your plan.

This guide sets out the current rules as published on ndis.gov.au and in the NDIA's short term accommodation guideline (27 July 2026), the way the 2026-27 pricing schedule prices a respite stay, and the practical steps to ask for it, including what to do if there is nothing in your plan today.

Respite is funded as short term accommodation in your Core budget

The NDIS does not have a support called respite. The support is short term accommodation, usually shortened to STA, and the NDIA's own guideline describes it as short term respite. It is defined as support that lets you and your primary informal supports have time apart, so that the people who usually care for you can keep doing so.

STA sits in the Core budget alongside personal care and household help. In most plans it is not a separate line; it is part of the flexible Core amount, with 28 days a year as the guide for how much has been included. Some plans describe it more specifically. Either way, the funding has to last the length of your plan, and the NDIS notes you can use it all early if you choose more support than you need.

The NDIS can also fund respite-style support at home: a support worker staying overnight in your own house so your carer can go away. That is still STA, and it is sometimes the better option for a person who does not cope with new places.

When the NDIA decides respite is reasonable and necessary

Every NDIS support has to meet the funding criteria in the NDIS Act. For STA, the guideline lists what the planner weighs: whether the support relates to your disability, helps you pursue your goals and take part in the community, is value for money, is effective and beneficial for you, and, specifically, how much support your family and other informal supports provide.

That last factor is where carer need enters. The NDIS participant page says you may get STA funding if you live with your primary informal supports or get daily drop-in support, and those supports give you more than 6 hours a day of disability-related help. The guideline's examples turn on whether the caring arrangement is at risk: a parent who cannot get a break because their adult child seeks them out through the night, or a carer whose own health is failing.

The NDIA will usually consider in-home supports before STA, particularly for children. For a child, STA is funded only in exceptional situations, such as where there is a risk the child cannot remain in the family home, and the guideline is explicit that it does not replace normal parenting or babysitting.

What the daily rate covers, and what it does not

From 1 July 2026 the pricing arrangements were replaced by a Minister's pricing determination and a pricing schedule, and the schedule effective 24 September 2026 unbundled STA. Instead of one all-in daily price, a provider now claims two things: an accommodation component and the support hours.

The NDIA funds the support at the ratio you usually have. If your plan was built around shared daytime support, respite will usually be funded at a shared ratio, and a provider quoting 1:1 for a person who normally shares will not fit the budget. The figures below are maximums for NDIA-managed and plan-managed participants as at the 2026-27 schedule; the NDIA updates the schedule, so check the current document before relying on them.

Accommodation: support item 01_250, Short Term Accommodation - Participant Accommodation, up to $162.85 per day nationally ($227.99 remote, $244.28 very remote). The schedule says this covers standard accommodation with no extra inclusions for each overnight stay.
Support: hourly items at standard rates (for example $73.58 per hour on a weekday daytime nationally) or high intensity rates where your needs meet that definition, plus a sleepover item of $311.79 where the overnight worker sleeps on site rather than working through the night. Shared support is divided between the participants sharing the worker.
Not covered: food or meals, event tickets, outings that are holidays rather than community participation, and any travel or accommodation for family members or support workers on a holiday with you.

How to ask for respite at a plan meeting

You can raise STA at a plan meeting, at a plan reassessment, or between plans through a plan variation request. The NDIA decides on evidence, so the preparation is the same in each case.

If STA is refused or funded at a level that does not work, you can ask for an internal review of the decision. Do it promptly; the NDIS website explains the timeframe and the form.

Write a one-page carer statement: who provides the unpaid care, how many hours a day, what the care involves overnight, and what is at risk if it stops (health, employment, the living arrangement itself).
Ask your GP, occupational therapist or psychologist for a brief report that links your support needs to the need for time apart from your usual carers.
Describe how you would use it: a fortnight once a year, one weekend a month, or in-home overnight support. Flexible use is allowed, but the planner needs a picture.
Say what has already been tried, such as in-home support, day programs and community access, and why those have not given the carer enough of a break.
Ask for the decision in writing, including the number of days and the ratio the NDIA assumed.

If there is no STA in your plan

First, check how your Core budget is described. Core funding is flexible across its categories unless a support is stated, and the NDIS says you can use flexible budgets to meet a short-term change in circumstances. Many participants pay for a respite stay from unspent Core without a specific STA line. Confirm this with your plan manager or my NDIS contact before you book, because funding periods and stated supports can limit it.

Second, if the need is ongoing, lodge a plan variation request with the carer statement and clinical report. If your circumstances have changed significantly, the NDIA may treat it as a plan reassessment instead. You can submit through the NDIS service hub, by post to NDIA, GPO Box 700, Canberra ACT 2601, or in person at an NDIS office.

Third, use the carer system in parallel. Carer Gateway (1800 422 737) is the Australian Government program for carers and is separate from the NDIS. It arranges carer support, including respite, through regional organisations in South Australia, and it does not wait for an NDIS decision.

Respite in South Australia: what is actually available

In Adelaide, respite for NDIS participants is mostly delivered in dedicated short stay houses run by SIL providers, with a smaller number of stays in motels or cabins with a support worker. Shared stays with two or three guests are the norm; 1:1 stays exist but are priced accordingly. Providers who run both respite and long-term SIL homes, ResicareSA among them, sometimes offer short stays as a way to trial a home before a permanent move.

Outside Adelaide, options thin out quickly. Families in the Riverland, Yorke Peninsula, Upper Spencer Gulf and South East often find the nearest respite room is in the city or a few hundred kilometres away, which turns a two-night break into a four-day exercise. Ask providers with regional homes about short stays directly, book planned respite well ahead, and record travel distances in your evidence; they are a legitimate part of why a particular arrangement is value for money.

Regional carers also have local carer services funded through Carer Gateway. Carers SA covers the western suburbs and most regional areas, and Carers and Disability Link covers the Adelaide Hills, Barossa, Clare Valley and Yorke Peninsula. The SA Department of Human Services publishes the current list and phone numbers.

What to do next

Five steps, in order, will get most families from a question to a booked stay.

Read your plan and find the Core budget. Note whether STA is mentioned, whether any supports are stated, and how much Core is unspent.
Write the carer statement and ask for one clinical report. Keep both to a page or two.
Call your my NDIS contact or support coordinator and say which route you are taking: book from flexible Core now, or lodge a plan variation.
Ask two or three providers for written quotes that separate the accommodation day rate from support hours and state the ratio. In SA, include at least one provider close to home if you are regional.
If a carer is near breaking point, call Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 today, and tell the NDIS on 1800 800 110 that the request is urgent.

Questions people ask

Does the NDIS pay for respite care?

Yes, when it is in your plan. The NDIS funds respite as short term accommodation (STA) in the Core budget, generally up to 28 days a year and 14 days at a time. It is funded when it is reasonable and necessary, which includes how much unpaid care your family provides. You can ask for it at a plan meeting or through a plan variation.

How much does NDIS respite cost per day?

Under the 2026-27 NDIS pricing schedule the accommodation component is capped at $162.85 per day nationally, and support hours are claimed separately at hourly rates (standard weekday daytime is $73.58 per hour, shared between participants where support is shared). A 1:1 stay therefore costs several times a shared stay. Check the current schedule before budgeting.

What are the NDIS respite rules on days?

The NDIA generally funds up to 28 days of short term accommodation per year, used in blocks of up to 14 days at a time or spread across the year. Funding must last the length of your plan. For children, STA is funded only in exceptional situations and generally not beyond 60 days a year.

Can I use my Core funding for respite if STA is not listed?

Often, yes. Core funding is flexible across its categories unless a support is stated, and STA is a Core support. Confirm with your plan manager or my NDIS contact first, because stated supports and funding periods can restrict it. If you need respite regularly, ask for it to be considered properly through a plan variation.

Does NDIS respite cover meals?

No. The NDIS lists food and meals among the things STA funding cannot be used for, and the 2026-27 pricing schedule describes the accommodation component as standard accommodation with no extra inclusions. Providers may offer meals, but they should be charged to you privately and shown separately from the NDIS claim.

Can a carer get respite without the NDIS?

Yes. Carer Gateway (1800 422 737) is the Australian Government carer program and is separate from the NDIS. In South Australia it works through regional carer organisations such as Carers SA and Carers and Disability Link, which provide carer support including respite and emergency help. It can run alongside an NDIS request rather than waiting for one.

Is respite available for children on the NDIS?

Sometimes. The NDIA funds short term accommodation for participants under 18 only in exceptional situations, for example where a child's disability-related support needs are well beyond what is typical for their age and there is a risk the family cannot sustain care at home. In-home supports are considered first, and STA does not replace normal parenting or babysitting.