Carers and the NDIS
You are part of the picture.
The NDIS funds the participant, not the carer — but the supports a participant receives are often what makes it possible for a carer to keep going. Knowing how to weave the two together can save a family.
Respite (sometimes called STA)
NDIS plans can include funding for short-term accommodation and assistance (STA), which is the NDIS’s version of respite. The participant stays somewhere else for a few nights, with support, while their family carer rests.
Carer Gateway also offers respite for unpaid carers in Australia, separately from the NDIS.
Carer support & burnout
Open in the app
In-home support
Personal care, household assistance and community access supports are funded under Core supports in the participant’s plan. Used well, they can take real load off the family carer.
Talking to support workers honestly
Good support workers care about the whole household. Tell them when you’re struggling. Ask them what they’re seeing. Many families find the support workers in their home become some of the most important relationships of all.
Carer Gateway is also for NDIS carers
If you’re caring for an NDIS participant, you are also eligible for free Carer Gateway support — counselling, peer groups, coaching, emergency respite. The two systems are completely separate.
Carer Gateway
Call 1800 422 737 · 8am–5pm Mon–Fri (emergency respite 24/7)
See all 53 guides in Care & end of life →
From bluetulipco.com/library/end-of-life/carers-and-ndis — printed 1 October 2026.
General information only — not a substitute for legal, medical, financial, or therapeutic advice. Read the full disclaimer.
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