Home and living
How does NDIS short-term accommodation (respite) work now?
· Written by the Forward Planning Plus team · Last reviewed 22 October 2026
NDIS Registered Provider #4050161030 · Valid invoices processed in 1–2 business days* · Queensland-based team
Need a plan manager for your STA and other supports?
Who this is for: participants who live with family or carers, parents of children on the NDIS, carers, and support coordinators.
General information only. This isn't legal, financial or clinical advice.
What is short-term accommodation?
The NDIA calls STA "an NDIS support that gives you time apart from your usual care arrangements, like your family, friends or carers". It's for at least one night, while someone else supports you and the people who usually help you have a short break.
It can pay for:
- supports for everyday activities, like showering, cooking and toileting
- standard accommodation, like a hotel, motel, short stay rental, cabin, cottage, hostel or respite accommodation
- support in your own home, or a homestay with a support worker, if you usually need overnight support.
You should generally use it in your home state or territory. If you live in a remote area, the NDIA may fund STA outside it.
Who can get STA funding?
The NDIA's guideline says it needs to know that you:
- live with, or get daily drop-in support from, your primary informal supports (family, friends or a carer), and
- get disability-related support from them for more than 6 hours a day, on a long-term basis.
It also needs at least one of these to apply:
- you receive high intensity supports (for example, complex bowel care, enteral feeding or ventilator management)
- you need intensive or complex positive behaviour support, or specialist behavioural intervention support
- you live where other in-home supports aren't widely available
- your carer's wellbeing or ability to keep caring is at risk, for example because they're ageing or unwell
- your carer has other caring responsibilities, like young children or another family member with disability.
The NDIA won't fund STA if, for example, you live alone without drop-in supports, you get more than 18 hours of paid support at home each day, you live in supported independent living (SIL), or you have funding for primary or supplementary individualised living options (ILO).
Like every NDIS support, STA must meet the NDIS funding criteria. The NDIA says it usually thinks about other supports first, like personal care at home.
How many days can I get?
Usual amount
What the NDIA says: Up to 28 days a year
Per stay
What the NDIA says: Up to 14 days at a time
Using it
What the NDIA says: Flexibly, for example a block of days or one weekend a month
More than 28 days
What the NDIA says: Possible in exceptional circumstances
Making it last
What the NDIA says: Spend it in line with your plan so it lasts the whole plan. Using more support than you need means it runs out sooner
Can I use STA for a holiday?
No. The NDIA is clear that STA isn't for holidays. You can't use it for:
- cruises, holiday packages, holiday accommodation or airfares
- passports, visas, or travel and vehicle insurance
- accommodation or travel for family members or support workers supporting you on holiday
- theme parks, music, theatre, cinema, sporting events or conferences
- food or meals. You buy or bring your own meals during STA
- activities, tickets or entry fees (STA can pay for the support you need to take part, not the activity itself).
What you can do on a holiday: the NDIA says you can usually keep using your plan for the NDIS supports you need while you're away. For example, your support worker might support you there.
What about STA for children?
The NDIA says it funds STA for children (under 18) only in exceptional situations. It considers whether the child needs a lot more daily care than other children of the same age, and whether it will help the family keep caring.
- STA doesn't replace normal parenting, like helping a young child to the toilet or to sleep, and it can't be used for babysitting.
- In exceptional situations, where a child is at risk of not being able to stay in the family home, the NDIA may fund more than 28 days, but generally not more than 60 days a year.
How is STA priced now?
The current NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026–27 (effective 24 September 2026) splits STA into two parts:
Support (labour)
What it covers: Help with self-care or community access during a stay of up to 14 days. Hourly items by time of day
National maximum: From $73.58 an hour (standard, weekday daytime) to $163.46 an hour (standard, public holiday). Sleepover: $311.79 each. Higher "high intensity" items apply where the support meets that definition
Accommodation
What it covers: Standard accommodation with no extra inclusions, for each overnight stay
National maximum: $162.85 a day for the participant. A support worker accommodation item has the same limit
Remote and very remote areas
Remote and very remote areas have higher limits.
What changed? The old 2025–26 price guide described STA items that included "accommodation, food and negotiated activities" in one daily price. Those items aren't in the 2026–27 schedule. The NDIA says it "will shortly publish updated pricing and claiming guidance documents", so ask your provider for an itemised quote that shows the support hours and accommodation separately.
If your STA is plan-managed or NDIA-managed, these are maximum prices, and the NDIA can't pay a claim for more. The NDIA also says you should only pay for the supports you actually use.
How do I get STA in my plan?
- Talk to your my NDIS contact, or raise it at your check-in.
- If your situation has changed, or your plan doesn't have the STA you need, you can ask for a change to your plan.
- STA goes into your plan as flexible funding in your Core budget. Our guide to Core, Capacity Building and Capital budgets explains what that means.
- The NDIA says the types of providers you can use depend on how your funding is managed. With plan management, you can use registered or unregistered providers, but providers who deliver intensive and complex behaviour supports must be registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. See how plan management works.
Don't agree with a decision? The NDIA will give you written reasons. You can ask for an internal review within 3 months of getting your plan.
Want a plan manager for your STA and other supports?
How Forward Planning Plus can help
Forward Planning Plus is a registered NDIS plan manager (NDIA registration 4050161030) with a Queensland-based team. Plan management is at no cost to you.
- Valid, correctly submitted invoices processed within 1–2 business days.
- Our portal sends low-funding alerts.
- We work alongside your support coordinator.
- We call back within 24 hours on business days. Call 0405 589 006, Mon–Fri 9am–5pm AEST.
Related reading:
Frequently asked questions
How many days of short-term accommodation does the NDIS fund?
The NDIA says it generally funds up to 28 days of STA a year, for up to 14 days at a time. More may be funded in exceptional circumstances.
Can I use NDIS short-term accommodation for a holiday?
No. The NDIA says STA isn't for holidays. It can't pay for holiday accommodation, airfares, cruises, meals, or activities and entry fees.
You can usually keep using your plan for the NDIS supports you need while you're away.
Does NDIS short-term accommodation include meals?
No. The NDIA says you need to buy or provide your own meals during STA. Food and groceries are day-to-day living costs.
Who can get short-term accommodation funding?
The NDIA's guideline says you need to live with, or get daily drop-in support from, your primary informal supports, get more than 6 hours of disability-related support a day from them, and meet at least one other factor, such as high intensity support needs or a carer whose ability to keep caring is at risk.
How is NDIS short-term accommodation priced in 2026–27?
Under the Pricing Schedule effective 24 September 2026, STA has hourly support items (from $73.58 an hour, standard weekday daytime, national) and a daily accommodation item ($162.85 a day, national) for each overnight stay.
Can children get NDIS short-term accommodation?
Only in exceptional situations, the NDIA says. STA doesn't replace normal parenting responsibilities or babysitting. Where a child is at risk of not staying in the family home, the NDIA may fund more than 28 days, but generally not more than 60 days a year.
All read 22 October 2026.
Last reviewed: 22 October 2026
General information only. This isn't legal, financial or clinical advice. For questions about STA in your plan, talk to your my NDIS contact or support coordinator. Always check the latest on ndis.gov.au.