Sometimes a short stay away from home:

• Gives you a chance to try new things.
• Can be a place to make new friends or develop new skills.
• May help to maintain your current living situation by giving your informal supports a break.

STA may suit your needs if your usual support network isn’t available for a short period.

Short Term Accommodation includes:

• Personal Care
• Accommodation
• Food
• Activities you and the provider agree to.

How many days of STA and how is STA funded?

Usually, the NDIS fund up to 28 days of STA per year. You can use your STA funding flexibly. For example, you might want to use it in a block of up to 14 days at a time or for one weekend a month.

If you already have funding in your Core budget, you can use this for Short Term Accommodation.

You can choose to use your Core budget on a range of supports like STA to suit your needs. You should think about the best way to use your budget to pursue the goals in your plan. For example, If you use your CORE budget for STA and the NDIA have not allowed for this in your total budget value, it can mean that you may not have enough for your funded supports. So always check that you have enough funding to cover contracted supports before STA is booked.

Learn more about using your plan.

If you need short term out of home care talk to your support coordinator, local area coordinator, early childhood partner or planner. Learn more here: Home and living

How does the NDIS make decisions about including funding for STA?

All NDIS supports need to meet the NDIS Funding Criteria. When the NDIS think about Short Term Accommodation they consider if:

• The need for Short Term Accommodation is related to your disability (STA is not for holidays, STA is not for housing crisis situations. STA is only funded when the need for this is related to your disability, such as for respite or skill building.)
• It helps you pursue your goals (E.g., increasing independence or building your skills)
• It helps you to participate in the community (E.g., it might help you meet new people and develop your independence or social skills.)
• It’s value for money (the cost of Short Term Accommodation and how it will benefit you over time. Whether you can share supports with other people. And how many people you can safely share your supports with. This helps the NDIS decide what level of support for STA they fund in your plan.)
• How much support your family and other informal supports provide. (The NDIS consider your informal support network, including your family, friends and community networks and their ability to support you long term, when deciding how much funding to provide).

Short Term Accommodation for Children?

The NDIS may fund STA for children if it meets the NDIS Funding Criteria. Depending on the child’s needs and their family, or carers. The whole family situation is considered. The NDIS might fund STA for children who need more support than other children their age. For example, parents usually help young children with toileting, this isn’t expected for a teenager or adult with a disability.

What about supports for children at risk of needing accommodation outside the family home?

The NDIS may fund more than 28 days per year if children are at risk of going to residential care. However, they will not fund more than 30 days at a time or more than 60 days per year.

First the NDIS will look at what a mix of supports might help a child and a family to stay together. This might include:

• Short Term Accommodation including respite.
• Personal Care in your home
• Supports to access the community.
• Supports to help manage behaviours of concern.