NDIS Short term Accommodation
What exactly is short-term accommodation?
Short term accommodation is assistance for when you need to live away from home for a short period of time. This might be to provide caregivers with a break from their caring duty, known as ‘respite,’ or it could be to assist you if your regular support network is unavailable for a short period of time.
A short stay away from home also provides you with a break as well as the opportunity to try new activities, meet new people, and learn new skills.
What is included in short-term accommodation?
Despite its name, short term accommodation is more than simply a place to stay; it also includes the assistance you get while there. This implies it also includes:
- personal attention
- Food
- activities agreed upon by you and the provider
Activities may include art therapy sessions, group exercise activities, or day excursions, depending on the provider.
Your NDIS plan may include short-term accommodation
The NDIS provides funding for short-term accommodation under the Core Support category ‘Assistance with Daily Living.’ The NDIS will determine whether or not short-term accommodation is reasonable and necessary for you (as well as the amount of short-term accommodation funding you may receive in your plan), based on the level of support you require, the informal support you have, your living situation, and your goals.
Examples include:
Someone who has significant support requirements and whose informal supports (such as a family member) need a break (Health care). This contributes to the sustainability of informal assistance.
Someone who wishes to gain independence, thus time away from their typical support network allows them to practise their abilities in a new setting.
A young person who wants to get more involved in their community and might benefit from attending a school vacation camp. This may also aid their informal caregivers who may be required to work during the school vacations.
Typically, the NDIS will cover up to 28 days of short-term accommodation each year. Because short-term accommodation money is flexible, you may spend it all at once or spread it out throughout the year.
The NDIS Price Guide includes typical prices for short-term accommodation
Generally, funding is provided on a group basis, which means you may share services with other individuals unless you need specific assistance due to your disability.
If you already have money in your core budget, you may utilise it for short-term accommodation.
If you need longer-term accommodation assistance, the NDIA may provide extra aids such as medium-term accommodation.
Including short-term accommodation in your strategy
If you wish to include funds for short-term accommodation in your plan, you must contact your NDIA planner or LAC at your planning meeting or review.
You should explain how much assistance you need at this meeting and bring as much ‘proof’ as possible. To provide you with short-term accommodation money, the NDIS normally demands a lot of proof. This may be a therapist’s report on how short-term accommodation could assist you, or a statement from your informal support person detailing their position and why respite care would be beneficial to them. You may also describe how remaining in short-term accommodation would help you achieve your objectives, such as growing more independent or engaging more actively in the community.
You may bring any material that would help the NDIS understand your position and why it is appropriate and essential for you to utilize short-term accommodation.
Locating a source of short-term accommodation
There are several suppliers of specialised short-term accommodation, ranging from modest residences to bigger, hotel-style facilities. The services and assistance they provide might vary greatly. Take your time researching what’s available and which STA suppliers are most suited to your unique requirements. We provide some suggestions for locating and selecting suppliers.
You can utilise non-registered providers if you have a plan manager, but these alternatives are not always the best value. This is due to the fact that they normally do not contain supports, so you would have to spend extra for them. When comparing pricing, be sure to keep this in mind.
Remember that the NDIS considers value for money, so if you wish to use non-registered accommodation, you must be able to demonstrate that the level of accommodation you’ve selected is necessary for your condition. It may be tough to explain why a five-star resort is necessary… Using a large portion of your funds for accommodation would have a huge influence on your budget.
Using your short-term accommodation budget
The best and simplest method to spend your short-term accommodation allowance is to work with a specialised provider that bundles your accommodation, food, care/support, and activities into one bill.
However, for short-term accommodation, you may claim accommodation, food, and activity charges individually as long as you stay within the maximum daily limit.
Short-term accommodation for support employees may be covered up to the maximum daily amount. However, if you travel with informal support personnel, you may only claim your portion of the accommodation under short-term accommodation.
Short-term accommodation is not designed for vacations: the assistance must be related to your condition. If the assistance would help you reach their aims and engage in the community, it’s a good idea to have some supporting documentation on hand in case you need to justify how you spent your cash.
We at Ruhil Care are here to assist you.
If you need assistance understanding and using short-term accommodation funding, please contact us and we will assist you. That’s why we’re here!