Understand what your plan may fund, compare the full cost of care and prepare a clear request for nursing support.
In this guide
Quick answer: The NDIS may fund nursing for an approved disability-related health need. It does not pay for every medical need of an NDIS participant. Check the purpose of the support, funding responsibility and your plan before booking.
Prepare your funding request · Check nursing costs · Prepare your provider questions
Does NDIS cover nursing care?
Nursing may be funded when it is a disability-related support that meets the NDIS criteria and is consistent with your plan. Treatment of a health condition generally belongs to the health system. A need continuing over time does not, by itself, determine who pays. Read the NDIA’s disability-related health guidance.
Start with a specific question: “What do I need help with, who has recommended it, and which service is responsible?” That is more useful than asking whether a provider “takes NDIS” without explaining the proposed support.
Keep three decisions separate: your treating team recommends appropriate care; the relevant funding process determines what can be paid for; a provider confirms whether it can deliver that care in your area. A referral or quote does not settle all three.
What disability-related nursing can involve
Depending on the person’s assessed needs and approved funding, support can relate to continence, wound and pressure care, or other disability-related health needs. It may involve assessment, direct support, training or review. These are examples, not automatic entitlements. NDIA guidance explains the funding boundary.
Be clear about the service you are asking for
- An assessment or report: ask what the appointment and written recommendations include.
- Ongoing visits: ask which tasks are proposed, how often visits are needed and who provides cover.
- Training or a care-plan review: ask who needs to participate and how the outcome will be documented.
A continence assessment can be provided by an appropriate allied-health practitioner or continence nurse; it is different from arranging ongoing nursing visits. Before booking, ask what the assessment, report and any follow-up include. Our NDIS continence assessment guide explains how to prepare, choose an assessor and compare the full quote. The NDIA assessment page sets out the evidence it needs.
For everyday assistance, see our assistance with daily life guide. For products, see the NDIS consumables guide. Ask the provider to separate those purchases from the nursing service in its quote.
What belongs to the health or aged-care system?
The NDIA identifies nursing treatment of a health event and Hospital in the Home as health-system responsibilities. Discharge from hospital does not automatically make follow-up nursing NDIS-funded. Its guidance also states that the aged-care provider is responsible for disability-related health supports for NDIS participants living in residential aged care. See the official guidance.
If responsibility is unclear, ask your treating team and NDIS contact to identify the proposed tasks and who is arranging each one. Before discharge or a provider change, ask for a written handover: the responsible service, next appointment, contact person and what to do if the arrangement falls through.
Which NDIS budget pays for nursing?
The current schedule lists nursing items under both Assistance with Daily Life (01) and Improved Daily Living (15). The item’s existence does not establish funding approval. Check Appendix 3 of the pricing schedule.
“Disability-related health supports” is a description of support, not a separate universal budget. Your plan sets the relevant budgets and any restrictions. Funding periods can also affect when money is available. NDIA’s support-budget guide explains how to read your funding.
- Which approved support and category would pay for this service?
- What amount is available in the current funding period?
- Does the proposed frequency fit the available funding?
- Who can clarify an unclear or missing support before you commit to visits?
NDIS nursing rates: hourly limits and the full quote
These are national hourly maximums for Registered Nurse Level 1 supports in the 2026–27 schedule, effective 24 September 2026. They apply where agency-managed or plan-managed price limits govern the support. Other nursing levels and remote locations have different amounts.
| Visit time | Maximum per hour |
|---|---|
| Weekday daytime | $128.05 |
| Weekday evening | $141.27 |
| Weekday night | $143.90 |
| Saturday | $182.75 |
| Sunday | $210.09 |
| Public holiday | $237.43 |
Source: NDIA pricing schedule, Table 11, pages 26–27. A maximum is not a minimum charge or a quote. Check the practitioner level, item and location; self-managed participants should confirm their agreed price and applicable funding rules.
Ask for a quote you can actually compare
Give each provider the same proposed visit pattern, then ask it to show:
- The practitioner level, hourly rate and length of each visit.
- Any minimum booking or minimum charged duration.
- Any permitted travel and non-face-to-face work, explained separately.
- What an initial assessment, report, training or follow-up would cost.
- Whether consumables are included or purchased separately.
- Cancellation terms and how changes to visit times affect the quote.
A useful comparison question: “For the same proposed week of care, what would the total be, what could change it, and which charges need my agreement?” A lower advertised hourly rate can still produce a different total once the visit arrangements are explained.
Do you need a nurse or a trained support worker?
High-intensity daily personal activities are not all nursing services. The NDIS Commission’s standards describe person-specific plans, relevant professional involvement and worker training. Some activities can be delivered by trained, competent support workers; the appropriate arrangements depend on the task and the participant. Read the Commission’s high-intensity standards.
Ask the treating professional to explain who should assess, perform, supervise and review each task. Do not choose a worker type from price alone or treat a general training certificate as proof that someone can meet your particular needs.
Check the person and the organisation separately
Ask for the nurse’s name and registration number, then check the current status and any conditions on the Ahpra practitioner register. A provider website biography is not a current register check.
Organisation registration is a different check. NDIA-managed supports require a registered NDIS provider. Plan-managed and self-managed participants can generally use unregistered providers, except where mandatory registration requirements apply. Confirm the requirements for the actual service and arrangement using the NDIS Commission’s registration guidance.
Useful questions include: who checks staff competence for my needs, who reviews the plan when something changes, and who is responsible when the usual nurse is away?
How to request nursing support
Use this preparation list with your treating team and NDIS contact. It is a way to organise the conversation, not a promise of approval.
- Describe the need in everyday terms. Explain what you need help doing and how that affects daily life. Ask the clinician to supply the relevant professional evidence.
- Clarify the proposed service. Ask for the task, recommended frequency, practitioner skill and review arrangements.
- Resolve funding responsibility. Ask which system should provide each part of the support and what remains unconfirmed.
- Get a written quote. Include assessment, visits, travel and other proposed charges so the funding discussion uses a realistic total.
- Check the next funding step. If your needs or circumstances have changed, ask about the appropriate plan-change process. The NDIA’s changing-your-plan guidance explains the available routes.
- Confirm arrangements before the first visit. Agree the service, start date, communication needs and handover with the provider and relevant treating team.
Keep reports and care plans for the appropriate professional or funding process. You do not need to send a detailed clinical history to a comparison website just to read provider-selection information.
Questions to ask a community nursing provider
- Area and timing: do you cover my postcode, and can you consider the days, times and start date I need?
- Service fit: can you assess whether you can provide the specific support recommended for me?
- Continuity: will I usually see the same nurse, and what happens during leave or a missed visit?
- Communication: can you accommodate my communication preferences and involve the people I choose?
- Clinical responsibility: who writes and reviews the plan, and who should I contact if my needs change?
- Costs: what is the full quote, and which charges or cancellation terms should I understand?
- Starting and changing: what information do you need, what remains subject to assessment, and how do I end or change the arrangement?
Prepare a useful nursing enquiry
Contact a suitable provider with your postcode, preferred visit times and the broad support you are seeking. Use the questions above to discuss service fit, availability, continuity and the full quote before agreeing to care.
Ready to shortlist providers? Compare 10 community nursing providers by published services, coverage, costs and public review evidence, with links to our detailed provider reviews.
Print the provider checklist →
DisabilityChoice’s nursing matching service is not yet available. Please arrange support directly with your care team or a provider. Share detailed clinical records only through the provider’s agreed secure process.
For other professionals in your support team, see our allied-health guide. Plan management handles approved invoices; it is a separate service from nursing assessment and care.
NDIS nursing: common questions
Can a nurse come to my home?
Ask a provider whether it offers home visits in your postcode and can consider your proposed support. An advertised service area does not confirm that a suitable nurse is available at the times you need.
Is a continence assessment the same as ongoing nursing?
No. An assessment and report answer a particular evidence or planning need. Ongoing visits are a separate arrangement. Ask what is included and read the NDIA’s continence assessment guidance.
Does a provider’s quote mean the NDIS will pay?
No. Treat the quote as information for checking the proposed service and cost. Confirm the relevant funding before agreeing to visits.
Can DisabilityChoice arrange a nurse for me now?
Nursing matching is not yet available through DisabilityChoice. You can use the comparison checklist and contact providers directly. DisabilityChoice is not a clinical or urgent-care service.
Sources and editorial notes
Prepared by DisabilityChoice. Official sources checked 14 October 2026. This guide explains funding and provider-selection questions; it does not assess your clinical needs. Confirm your proposed support with the relevant professional and NDIS contact.
- NDIA: disability-related health supports — guideline dated 31 August 2026; it identifies its current planning-framework scope.
- NDIA: guide to support budgets.
- NDIA: 2026–27 pricing schedule — effective 24 September 2026, Appendix 3.
- NDIA: continence-related assistive technology assessments.
- NDIA: changing your plan.
- NDIS Commission: high-intensity daily personal activities.
- NDIS Commission: provider registration.
- Ahpra: practitioner register.