“I need help around the house.”
“I want to get out into the community more.”
“I’d like to become more independent.”
These can sound like straightforward requests, but within an NDIS plan they can involve different supports.
Current guidance from the National Disability Insurance Scheme divides plan funding into four support budgets: Core, Capacity Building, Capital and Recurring supports. Within those budgets are different support categories, including Assistance with Daily Life and Assistance with Social and Community Participation.
For participants and families in Melton, Melton South, Melton West, Brookfield, Cobblebank, Kurunjang, Rockbank, Caroline Springs and surrounding western Melbourne communities, understanding the difference can make conversations with providers much clearer.
What Is NDIS Assistance with Daily Life?
Assistance with Daily Life generally relates to disability-related support with everyday activities.
A support worker may, depending on the participant’s needs, goals and funded supports, assist with activities such as:
- personal care;
- general hygiene and dressing;
- meal preparation;
- household tasks;
- shopping or errands;
- some daily activities and appointments; and
- developing greater independence with everyday routines.
The NDIA’s current support-worker guidance confirms that workers can provide personal care, household and daily-activity assistance depending on the participant’s individual circumstances and NDIS plan.
The key word is assistance.
The purpose is not necessarily for a worker to take over every activity.
For some participants, substantial direct assistance may be necessary. For others, support might involve prompting, teaching, supervision or helping the participant gradually perform more of a task themselves.
What Might Daily Living Support Look Like at Home?
Consider a fictional participant in Melton who finds preparing meals difficult because of their disability.
Support could potentially look very different depending on their needs.
One participant may need a worker to prepare a meal because they cannot safely complete the activity.
Another may be able to prepare the meal if someone helps organise ingredients, prompts the steps and assists with difficult tasks.
Another participant may be working towards preparing simple meals independently.
The appropriate approach depends on the individual.
A useful question is therefore not simply:
“Can an NDIS support worker cook for me?”
It is:
“What disability-related assistance do I need with preparing meals, and how does that relate to my goals and funded supports?”
That creates a more participant-centred conversation.
What Is Assistance with Social and Community Participation?
This support category focuses more directly on helping participants engage in community and social activities.
The NDIA’s current support-worker guidance says workers may help participants attend social events or participate in activities that increase community participation. Examples given by the NDIA include attending markets or social craft groups.
But community participation can be much broader.
Depending on the person’s interests, disability-related needs and plan, it could involve assistance to participate in:
a community group;
a recreational activity;
a hobby;
a local event;
social activities;
volunteering;
activities that develop confidence; or
other appropriate community opportunities.
The important point is that the participant’s goals and preferences should drive the activity.
Community Participation Is More Than “Going Out”
Good community participation is not simply putting somebody in a car, driving around for a few hours and calling it an NDIS outcome.
Ask what the participant actually wants from the support.
For example, a participant in Melton might say:
“I want to make friends.”
That goal could lead to exploring activities where the participant has genuine opportunities to meet people with similar interests.
Another participant may say:
“I want to feel confident going to the shops.”
Their support might focus on practising shopping routines, communication, handling purchases or navigating the environment.
Another may want to participate in sport, faith activities, volunteering or a hobby.
The destination is only part of the support.
The purpose matters.
Daily Living and Community Participation Can Work Together
The two categories should not necessarily be viewed in isolation.
Imagine someone whose goal is greater independence.
At home, their support might involve developing skills around getting ready for the day.
In the community, support could involve practising shopping, navigating familiar places or participating in activities.
Over time, those experiences can reinforce one another.
The NDIA also recognises that some therapy supports may help improve independence with everyday activities, including personal care, communication, social interaction, decision-making and community living skills such as using public transport.
Different supports can therefore contribute to the same broader participant goal while serving different functions.
What About Transport to Community Activities?
Transport can create confusion.
Having Assistance with Social and Community Participation does not mean every transport expense should automatically be treated as community-participation support.
The NDIS has a separate Recurring supports budget, and transport is currently the only recurring-support category.
For eligible participants who cannot travel or use public transport independently, recurring transport may help with taxis, rideshare and other private travel to work, study, day programs, community activities and social or recreational activities.
Support-worker transport arrangements can involve different rules again.
Before starting regular community activities, ask the provider exactly how worker time, transport and any additional eligible charges will be handled.
Independence Doesn’t Mean Doing Everything Alone
The word “independence” is sometimes misunderstood in disability support.
Independence does not necessarily mean:
“You should no longer need help.”
For one participant, greater independence might mean learning to make breakfast.
For another, it might mean choosing what they want for breakfast and directing a worker who prepares it.
For somebody else, it could mean communicating their preferences using their chosen communication method.
NDIS Practice Standards require person-centred supports that respect participant self-determination, informed choice and decision-making. They also require communication about supports to be provided in a way the participant is most likely to understand.
The measure of independence should therefore relate to the individual, not an arbitrary standard.
Seven Questions to Ask Before Starting Daily Living Support
Before setting up regular assistance, participants and families can ask:
- What specific activities do I need assistance with?
- What would I like to become more confident doing?
- What should the worker do for me, and what would I like to do myself?
- How will the support relate to my NDIS goals?
- Which part of my plan is expected to fund the support?
- What will the service cost, including any applicable additional charges?
- How will we know whether the support is working well?
These questions can help move the discussion away from simply purchasing hours.
What If You Want to Join Ordinary Community Activities?
Not every activity in a participant’s life needs to be a disability-specific program.
The NDIS describes community connections as helping people find supports and opportunities in their local community. These can include services outside the NDIS, and community connections are available even to people who are not eligible for the Scheme.
That distinction can be useful.
A participant may enjoy an ordinary local sporting club, library activity, neighbourhood group, faith community or recreational organisation.
Where appropriate, NDIS-funded assistance might support a participant’s disability-related needs in accessing community life rather than replacing community life with disability-only activities.
For a participant in Melton, that can mean asking:
“What already exists in my community that I would actually enjoy?”
Choice and Control Still Apply to Everyday Support
Receiving help with personal or household activities does not remove your right to make decisions.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission says participants have the right to quality supports that meet their needs and provide choice and control. Participants also have rights to dignity, respect and freedom from abuse, exploitation and violence.
That applies to everyday interactions.
If a worker is helping with shopping, the participant should be supported to make their own choices wherever possible.
If support involves community activities, the worker’s preferences should not determine where the participant goes.
If support occurs at home, privacy and dignity remain important.
Person-centred support is often visible in these small everyday decisions.
For Families and Carers
Family members often provide significant daily assistance before formal supports are established.
When discussing the participant’s needs, it can help to describe exactly what happens during an ordinary week.
Instead of saying:
“She needs help with everything,”
consider explaining:
“She needs physical assistance getting dressed each morning, prompting through meal preparation, help completing particular household tasks and support to participate in community activities twice a week.”
Specific information gives providers and other people supporting the participant a clearer understanding of what assistance is actually required.
It also helps distinguish between tasks the participant cannot currently complete, activities they can complete with assistance and things they can already do independently.
For Support Coordinators and Referral Partners
A useful referral should describe the purpose of the requested support rather than simply the number of hours available.
For example:
“Participant has Core funding and needs a support worker.”
provides limited information.
A more useful referral—with appropriate participant consent—might explain that the participant wants disability-related assistance with morning routines and meal preparation while also building confidence accessing local community activities.
Current NDIA guidance says Support Coordinators should help participants plan and coordinate their supports, establish and maintain services, and become increasingly independent in managing those supports.
Understanding the participant’s goals makes provider matching much more meaningful.
Talk to BHA Disability Services
If you are an NDIS participant, family member, carer, Support Coordinator, plan manager, allied health professional or referral partner looking for relevant disability support in Melton or Melbourne’s western suburbs, BHA Disability Services welcomes enquiries.
Tell BHA Disability Services about the participant’s goals, the everyday activities where disability-related assistance is needed, community interests and the relevant supports available in the participant’s NDIS plan.
BHA Disability Services can discuss the services it actually provides and whether they may be appropriate for the participant’s circumstances.
The starting question should not simply be “How many support hours do you have?”
A better starting point is:
“What would you like your support to help you do?”
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Assistance with Daily Life in the NDIS?
Assistance with Daily Life is an NDIS support category relating to everyday disability-related assistance. Depending on the participant’s needs and plan, support workers may assist with personal care, household tasks, meal preparation and other daily activities.
Can an NDIS support worker help me at home?
Potentially, yes. Current NDIA guidance says support workers can provide personal care and household assistance, including activities such as hygiene, dressing, cooking, cleaning and errands, depending on the participant’s needs and funded supports.
Can an NDIS support worker take me into the community?
Support workers may help participants attend social events and participate in community activities where this is consistent with their needs, goals and NDIS supports.
Is community participation the same as NDIS transport funding?
No. Community participation support and recurring transport serve different purposes. Eligible recurring transport funding may help participants who cannot travel or use public transport independently pay for private transport such as taxis and rideshare.
Does community participation have to be a disability-specific group?
Not necessarily. Community and mainstream supports can also play an important role. The NDIS specifically recognises connections with community and mainstream services alongside NDIS-funded supports.
Can Support Coordination help me organise daily living supports?
Where Support Coordination is funded in your plan, a Support Coordinator can help you understand and use your supports, choose providers, establish services and build confidence managing your supports.
For current official information, see the NDIS guide to support budgets, NDIS explanation of what a support worker does and NDIS information about community connections.
