Core Supports budget: Assistance with Daily Life Explained

The Core Supports budget is one of the three support budgets that may be included in your National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan. NDIS Core Support helps with everyday tasks, making it easier for participants to live independently and encouraging more community participation.

What is Assistance with Daily Life?

Assistance with Daily Life (ADL) is one of the categories within the Core Supports budget. The different supports in this category help you with daily activities that may otherwise be difficult or dangerous for you to complete.

This may be in the form of someone assisting you in completing tasks, or someone supervising you to provide necessary support if and when you need it.

Examples of Assistance with Daily Life Support

These Core support services cover a broad range of services, accounting for many aspects of your day-to-day life, grooming, and chores:

• Help with personal care – the things you do to get ready for your day and for personal hygiene, like showering, washing hair, and dressing
• Assistance with eating and drinking
• Support to help you participate in the community, like having someone to drive you places or to accompany you on public transport
• Help with household chores like cleaning, helping with laundry, or connecting you with a laundry service if you are unable to do this yourself
• Assistance with food preparation and meals
• Help to get to appointments and other everyday activities

Eligibility for Assistance with Daily Life

To receive ADL funding in your Core Supports budget, you must be an NDIS participant with an approved plan, who needs short-term or recurring support with daily tasks.

The support you would like to receive must be ‘reasonable and necessary’ in relation to your disability needs. You can request funding for this Assistance with Daily Life at your next NDIS planning meeting, or you can request a review of your current plan at any time.

Changes under the PACE system

Some areas of support funded by Assistance with Daily Life previously, have now been moved to different budgets under the PACE format. For example, Supported Independent Living (SIL) is now funded under Capacity Building support category.

What is not covered by NDIS Assistance for Daily Life funding?

‘Everyday costs’ will not be covered by your NDIS funding, for this category or others. This means costs that everyone must pay, for items or services not directly related to your disability needs. Some examples of this include:

• Rent, board or mortgage payments.
• Food or grocery bills (including delivered meals).
• Personal care and toiletry items unrelated to your disability.
• Household items like cleaning supplies.
• Entertainment and event tickets (such as concerts, movies, and other recreational activities).

NOTE: Your budgets can only be used for supports that are approved NDIS Supports, or in some specific cases (and with written agreement from NDIS) for replacement supports. 

The value of a good Service Agreement

Assistance with Daily Life is the type of support most participants use at high volume, which means associated fees like travel costs or cancellation fees can quickly stack up if you’re not careful. 

A service agreement helps both participants and providers because it sets out the expectations on both sides. It clearly outlines costs and eventualities, including travel and cancellations, ahead of time – so there are no surprises when the invoice arrives.

You should always sign a comprehensive service agreement with every provider you use. That way, if there is ever a point of contention, there is a document signed by both parties which can be used to settle the matter.

At the very least, it supplies peace of mind – and can bring more peaceful resolutions if you ever find yourself at odds with a support provider!

Choosing providers for Assistance with Daily Life

Because your provider will be coming into your home and potentially helping with more personal tasks like bathing, grooming and dressing, it’s important to select someone you feel comfortable and safe with.

When researching potential service providers and support workers, the flexibility you have for choosing who to go with depends on how your NDIS Plan is managed:

Agency Management

If you are agency-managed, you will only be able to use NDIS-registered providers. You’re also unable to negotiate on price to stretch your funds further, as the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) will directly manage your plan.

Self-Management

Self-managed participants are able to choose from either NDIS-registered providers or non-registered ones, and can negotiate rates outside of the Pricing Arrangements & Limits. However, the tradeoff is that you are fully responsible for the financial management of your plan; this can take a lot of time and effort compared to agency or plan management models.

Plan Management

For plan-managed participants, there is more choice available than agency management and less admin than self-management. You have to stick to the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, but you can select providers from a wider pool including non-NDIS registered providers – and you don’t have to worry about keeping records, juggling provider invoicing, or navigating the complex NDIS funding system alone.

Common myths about NDIS Assistance with Daily Life:

1. “NDIS automatically provides daily living assistance to everyone.” As with any aspect of your NDIS plan, you will only have funding to receive support in line with your goals. You will need to discuss this funding at your planning meeting to have it included.
2. “Core Supports can be used for anything, it’s flexible!” While your Core Support budget is more flexible than Capital supports or Capacity Building funding, you must still use it as per your NDIS plan – and you must comply with guidelines around pricing, provision of service, and what is considered an NDIS support.
3. “I can’t change my mind about my ADL support provider if it isn’t working out.” As we mentioned earlier, compatibility and your comfort is important for daily supports. As an NDIS participant, you have the right to choice and control over decisions regarding your NDIS supports – meaning you can change providers if you feel you need to.

NDSP helps you make the most of your NDIS budget

Working with NDSP makes tracking your budgets and getting the best value out of your plan a breeze. As an NDSP plan management client, you can:

• Maintain control over the providers you want to use (within the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Limits)
• Stress less about over or underspending your budgets: We’ll track your progress for you, and let you know if anything needs attention.
• Always rely on prompt payment to providers, as we process their invoices to the NDIA through our efficient system
• Have a live view of your budgets and spending 24/7 through our easy-to-navigate Nappa portal
• Get time back you would have otherwise spent on financial administration – and spend it doing what you love!

Do you have questions about the NDIS, or how NDSP’s services and support can help your Plan journey run smoother? Our friendly team has answers. Why not get in touch with us today (or give our team a call on 1800 63 63 77) and find out more?