NDIS household tasks: what's funded and what isn't
The short answer
The NDIS pays for household tasks — cleaning, washing, changing the sheets, cooking, and sometimes tidying the yard — when your disability is the reason you cannot do them yourself. It comes out of your Core Supports budget. It does not pay for housework you simply would rather not do, for cleaning up after other adults in the house, for repairs and renovations, or for anything your landlord or body corporate is meant to do.
"Does the NDIS pay for cleaning?" is one of the most common questions participants ask, and the honest answer is: it depends on why you cannot clean.
The test the NDIA applies
The NDIS funds supports that are reasonable and necessary, and a central part of that test is whether the need arises from disability. For household tasks, the question is narrow and specific:
Is the participant unable to do this task themselves because of their disability?
If yes, it is generally fundable. If the participant could do it but would rather not, it is not — no matter how reasonable the preference. This is also why the funding covers the participant's share of household work rather than the whole household's: a participant living with two other adults is not funded to have the family home cleaned.
What is usually funded
- Cleaning — floors, bathrooms, kitchens, living areas and periodic deep cleans
- Laundry — washing, drying, ironing and linen changes
- Meal preparation — cooking, batch preparation and meal planning
- Grocery shopping — with the participant, or on their behalf
- Bins, recycling and general tidying
- Yard maintenance — where an unmaintained yard creates a safety or access problem
What is not funded
- Day-to-day living costs — the groceries themselves, cleaning products, utilities. The NDIS pays for the support, not the shopping.
- Tasks for other household members — cleaning a housemate's or partner's room, washing their laundry.
- Home repairs, renovations and maintenance — these are not household tasks. Disability-related home modifications are a separate funding stream with their own assessment process.
- Landlord or body corporate responsibilities — common area cleaning, structural repairs.
- Large-scale garden works — landscaping, tree removal, garden improvement.
- Anything unrelated to disability — including help a person of that age would ordinarily need anyway.
How much is typically funded
There is no standard allocation, because the funding follows assessed need rather than a formula. It is shaped by:
- What the participant can do independently and what they cannot
- Whether others in the household already share the work
- The size and type of the home
- Whether informal supports are already meeting some of the need
Plans commonly fund somewhere between two and five hours a fortnight for household tasks alone, but that is a description of what is common, not a rule — plans with significantly more are routine where need supports it.
Evidencing it at a plan review
Household task funding is refused more often for weak evidence than for weak need. What helps:
- An occupational therapy functional assessment that explicitly addresses domestic tasks — not just mobility and personal care.
- Specific examples. "I cannot stand at the sink for more than four minutes before my back gives out" carries more weight than "cleaning is hard".
- The consequence of the task not being done — falls risk, infection risk, inability to prepare food safely.
- What informal supports actually cover, and honestly where they do not. An ageing parent doing all the housework is not a sustainable informal support, and saying so is not ingratitude.
Getting more from the funding you have
Combine visits. A worker doing personal care and household tasks in one visit is more efficient than two separate attendances.
Watch the day of the week. Weekend and public holiday rates are higher under the NDIS Pricing Arrangements. A Sunday clean costs materially more of your budget than the same clean on a Wednesday.
Be specific about priorities. If the funded time cannot cover everything, decide in advance what matters most — bathroom and kitchen hygiene usually beat dusting — rather than leaving it to the worker to guess.
Household tasks with VSG Home Care
VSG Home Care is registered for household tasks and delivers them across Melbourne's northern suburbs, on their own or combined with personal care in a single visit. Same worker, same day each week, so the arrangement is predictable rather than something you re-organise every fortnight.
Common questions
Yes, when disability is the reason the participant cannot clean their own home. It is funded from Core Supports under Assistance with Daily Life. It is not funded simply because a participant would prefer not to clean, and it does not cover cleaning for other adults in the household.
Sometimes. Yard maintenance can be funded where the participant cannot do it because of disability and where an unmaintained yard would create a genuine safety or access issue. It is assessed more restrictively than indoor tasks, and large landscaping or garden improvement work is not funded.
Yes, and it is usually the most efficient use of funding. A single worker covering both in one visit means one travel charge and one familiar person rather than two separate call-outs.
Looking for an NDIS provider?
VSG Home Care is a registered NDIS provider in Craigieburn serving Melbourne's northern suburbs. The first conversation is free and commits you to nothing.