NDIS Guide
Improved Daily Living skills are one of the most useful — and most misunderstood — parts of an NDIS plan. If your plan includes Capacity Building funding, this is likely where your therapy and skills training sits. This guide explains exactly what Improved Daily Living covers, what it doesn’t, and how to make the most of it. For a broader overview of how NDIS budgets are structured, start with our guide to NDIS budget categories.
Quick answer
- Improved Daily Living is a Capacity Building NDIS budget category that funds therapy, assessments, and training to help you build independence over time.
- It covers allied health services (OT, physio, speech therapy), skills development, assessments, and carer training — not support workers or home modifications.
- It’s different from Assistance with Daily Life (Core Supports): ADL funds the help you need right now; Improved Daily Living funds skills so you can do more yourself.
- To include it in your plan, raise it at your next planning meeting or request a mid-plan variation through your LAC or the NDIA on 1800 800 110.
What are Improved Daily Living skills under the NDIS?
Improved Daily Living (IDL) is the name participants and providers use for a Capacity Building support category formally known as CB Daily Activity — support purpose 08 in your NDIS plan. It funds therapy, training, and assessments whose aim is to build your skills and independence, rather than simply providing ongoing assistance.
The core idea is that Improved Daily Living supports are temporary by design. An occupational therapist teaching you a safer technique for getting dressed, a speech therapist working on your communication skills, a physiotherapist helping you build the strength to move around your home more safely — these all fall under IDL. The goal is always to increase what you can do independently over time.
IDL sits inside your Capacity Building budget, which is separate from your Core Supports budget. You cannot move money between the two. If your plan includes a Capacity Building allocation, look for the line item labelled “CB Daily Activity” or “Improved Daily Living” — that is what you have to work with for therapy and related supports.
The NDIS funds IDL where it is reasonable and necessary for you — which means it must connect to specific goals in your plan. A funding amount with no matching goals is unlikely to be approved at review.
What NDIS Improved Daily Living funding actually pays for
Improved Daily Living covers four main categories of support. Every item must link to a goal in your NDIS plan to be considered reasonable and necessary.
01
Allied health therapies
Occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy, psychology, podiatry, dietetics, and other registered allied health services. These are the most common use of IDL funding. Sessions may be in-clinic, in your home, or via telehealth.
02
Assessments and reports
Functional capacity assessments, AT (assistive technology) assessments, home modification assessments, and therapy reports required for plan reviews. These can represent a significant portion of your IDL budget — plan ahead if reports are coming up.
03
Skills development training
Structured training in everyday tasks — cooking, managing money, using public transport, social skills programs. This can be delivered one-on-one or in group settings, and does not have to be delivered by a registered therapist.
04
Carer and family training
Training for the people who support you — so they can assist more effectively and safely. This is particularly relevant for parents of children with disability and carers who provide significant hands-on support.
Improved Daily Living vs Assistance with Daily Life — why the distinction matters
The two categories sound similar, which is why participants often confuse them. Getting this wrong can mean claiming from the wrong budget line, which creates problems at invoice processing.
Assistance with Daily Life (Core Supports) funds the help you need right now to manage daily tasks — showering, dressing, meal preparation, community access. This support is ongoing. If you need a support worker to help you shower every morning, that comes from your Core budget, and it does not build toward a point where you no longer need support.
Improved Daily Living (Capacity Building) funds the work that might reduce how much Core support you need over time, or that improves your quality of life and independence in a lasting way. An occupational therapist teaching you adaptive techniques for showering independently is building a skill — even if you still use some support afterwards, you are more capable than before.
You cannot move funds between Core and Capacity Building, so if your IDL runs out before your Core does — or vice versa — you cannot top it up by drawing from the other bucket. This makes tracking your IDL balance important, especially if you have multiple therapy providers.
How to get Improved Daily Living funding in your NDIS plan
If Improved Daily Living is not already in your plan, there are two main pathways to add it.
At your planning meeting: This is the most straightforward path. Come prepared with evidence — a letter from your GP or specialist, an OT recommendation, or quotes from allied health providers for planned therapy. Be specific about which goals therapy will support. Vague requests (“I want more therapy”) are harder to fund than specific ones (“I need ongoing speech therapy to support my goal of communicating more independently at work”).
Mid-plan variation: You do not have to wait for your annual review. Contact your Local Area Coordinator (LAC) or call the NDIA directly on 1800 800 110 and request a change of circumstances review. You will need supporting evidence — typically a letter from a health professional explaining why the support is necessary and what goals it addresses. Processing a mid-plan variation typically takes 4–8 weeks.
One important note: the NDIS funds Improved Daily Living where it is reasonable and necessary for your situation. The NDIA will look at whether the support connects to your plan goals, whether similar support is available through mainstream services (like Medicare-funded therapy), and whether the amount requested is proportionate to your needs.
If your request is declined, you have the right to request an internal review and, if still unsatisfied, to apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal. For guidance on navigating plan reviews, see our NDIS plan review tips.
How a plan manager helps you get more from your Improved Daily Living budget
Participants with multiple therapy providers quickly discover that tracking an IDL budget is not simple. You might have an OT, a speech therapist, a psychologist, and a physiotherapist all submitting invoices against the same CB Daily Activity line — each on different schedules, different amounts, and sometimes with different service agreement terms.
A plan manager takes on all of that administration. They receive invoices from each provider, check them against your service agreements and the NDIS pricing arrangements, process claims with the NDIA, and give you real-time visibility into how much IDL budget remains. Instead of guessing whether you can afford another block of therapy sessions, you can see the answer in your plan manager’s portal.
This matters especially near the end of a plan period. Running out of IDL funding before your plan anniversary — with no remaining budget for an upcoming OT assessment needed for your plan review — is a common problem. A plan manager’s budget tracking makes it preventable.
Plan management is funded separately by the NDIA at approximately $104.45 per month from an Improved Life Choices budget — it does not reduce your IDL, Core, or Capital budgets by a dollar. If you are working with multiple allied health providers, plan management pays for itself in time saved within the first month. Use our comparison of NDIS plan managers to find a provider suited to participants with complex therapy needs.
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Find my plan manager — submit a free inquiryFrequently asked questions about NDIS Improved Daily Living
Is Improved Daily Living the same as CB Daily Activities?
Yes — they are the same budget category with two different names. “CB Daily Activities” is the formal NDIS term used in your plan and the NDIS portal. “Improved Daily Living” and “Improved Daily Living Skills” are the names used in support catalogues and by most providers and LACs. When you see either name, they refer to support purpose 08 in your Capacity Building budget.
Does Improved Daily Living funding cover support workers?
No. Support workers who assist with daily tasks are funded under Assistance with Daily Life in your Core Supports budget. Improved Daily Living covers therapy, training, and assessments — services delivered by allied health professionals or skills trainers whose goal is to build your capacity, not provide ongoing assistance. If your plan includes both Core and Capacity Building budgets, a support worker and a therapist can work with you toward the same goal, but they draw from different budget lines.
Can I use my Improved Daily Living funding for home visits?
Yes, in most cases. Many allied health providers — occupational therapists in particular — routinely deliver sessions in your home, which is often clinically more effective than clinic-based assessment. Your provider will specify in your service agreement whether home visits are included, and the NDIS pricing guide sets the allowable rates. Travel costs charged by providers are also claimable under IDL if they appear on a valid invoice.
Do I have to spend all of my Improved Daily Living budget before the plan ends?
No — unused Capacity Building funds do not roll over, but you are not penalised for not spending them. However, at your next planning meeting, the NDIA will typically use your actual spending as a guide when setting the next plan’s allocation. If you consistently underspend your IDL budget, future plans may include less. Track your budget throughout the year and, if you have remaining funds near your plan anniversary, consider using them for assessments or reports that will support the next plan review.
Can I use Improved Daily Living funding for group therapy or group programs?
Yes. Group-based skill development programs and group therapy sessions are claimable under IDL where they connect to your plan goals. Group programs are often more affordable per session than individual therapy, and many participants use a mix of individual and group sessions to stretch their IDL budget further. Ask your provider whether group options are available and how they bill against the NDIS pricing guide.
What is the difference between plan management and support coordination for my IDL budget?
Plan management handles the financial administration of your entire NDIS plan — processing invoices, paying providers, and tracking your IDL budget balance. A support coordinator helps you find, connect with, and build relationships with the providers delivering your therapy. The two roles are complementary: a support coordinator might help you identify the right OT for your goals, and your plan manager then handles all invoicing and payments with that OT. See our guide to finding a plan manager if you need one for your IDL supports.