If you or someone you love has a disability, it’s not always obvious which system is responsible for your care at any given moment — the NDIS, or the hospital and public health system. This mix-up causes real confusion for participants and families, especially during a hospital admission.
This guide explains, what the NDIS covers at home, what the health system covers in hospital, and what happens at the point where the two meet.
Quick Summary
- The NDIS funds ongoing, disability-related nursing care in your home — it is not a hospital or emergency service.
- Hospitals and the public health system are responsible for treating illness and injury, including emergencies and surgery.
- While you’re admitted to hospital, the health system is generally responsible for your day-to-day disability support needs too — not the NDIS.
- The NDIS can help arrange the right supports so you can safely leave hospital as soon as possible.
- Regular in-home nursing can sometimes help prevent the kind of complications that lead to a hospital stay in the first place.
The Basic Rule: Two Different Systems
Australia has two separate systems working alongside each other for people with disability: the NDIS, and the mainstream public health system (which includes Medicare, GPs, and public hospitals).
The rule of thumb is simple: the NDIS supports you to live your everyday life with a disability; the health system treats you when you’re unwell or injured.
The Australian Government sets out exactly how these two systems divide responsibility in a document called the Applied Principles and Tables of Support (APTOS). It’s a technical document, but the everyday version is this: hospitals have an obligation to meet the needs of every patient, including making reasonable adjustments for people with disability — so the health system, not the NDIS, is expected to cover your care while you’re actually admitted.
What NDIS In-Home Nursing Covers
At home, NDIS-funded community nursing is there to help you manage ongoing, disability-related health needs — the sort of care you need every week or every day, not just during a medical emergency. Common examples include:
- Wound and pressure care, including dressing changes
- Catheter and continence care
- Medication support and monitoring
- Tube feeding and nutrition support
- Training family members or support workers to safely manage a health task
This nursing support usually sits in your Core Supports budget as a “stated” nursing support, meaning it’s locked in specifically for nursing.
What Happens to Your NDIS Supports While You’re in Hospital?
This is where most confusion happens. In general, the NDIS does not fund support workers or personal care while you are an inpatient — even if you have complex, high support needs. This is because hospitals have their own obligation to care for every patient, including people with disability.
There are some narrow exceptions. The NDIS may fund reasonable and necessary supports to:
- Give guidance and training to hospital staff on supporting a participant with complex behaviour support needs.
- Train hospital staff to communicate with a participant who has complex communication needs.
Good to know: These exceptions are about preparing hospital staff to support you, not replacing them with your usual support workers. If you think you might need this kind of arrangement, it’s worth raising it with your Support Coordinator well before a planned hospital admission.
Getting Ready to Leave Hospital: NDIS Discharge Support
Even though the NDIS generally doesn’t fund your day-to-day care in hospital, it plays an important role in getting you home safely and as quickly as medically possible.
- Tell hospital staff you’re an NDIS participant as soon as you’re admitted.
- You, a nominee, or your support network can also contact the NDIS directly to let them know.
- If your disability-related support needs have changed, the NDIS can vary or reassess your plan so the right supports are in place for a safe discharge.
- You may be offered a short-term “interim” NDIS plan to support your discharge, which can include things like support coordination or medium-term accommodation, where eligible.
Checklist: What to Have Ready If You’re Admitted to Hospital
- Your NDIS participant number and current plan details.
- Contact details for your Support Coordinator or plan manager, if you have one.
- A short written summary of your disability-related support needs and routines.
- Contact details for your regular nursing provider, if relevant to your ongoing care.
- Any communication aids or equipment you rely on day to day.
Why In-Home Nursing Can Help You Avoid Unnecessary Hospital Trips
One of the quiet benefits of good in-home nursing is fewer hospital visits. Regular, proactive care — checking a wound before it becomes infected or catching an early sign of a problem — can prevent the kind of complication that ends in an emergency department visit or hospital admission.
This matters for participants and families alike: hospital stays are stressful, disruptive, and carry their own risks, particularly for people with complex support needs who rely on familiar routines and faces.
Early clinical intervention can reduce avoidable hospital presentations by identifying health concerns before they become emergencies.
What This Can Look Like in Real Life
The following is a general example to illustrate the difference. It is not based on a real person.
Marcus has a neurological condition and receives regular in-home nursing for medication management, funded through his NDIS plan. One weekend, he develops a high fever and is taken to the emergency department, where he’s admitted for three days to treat an infection.
While Marcus is in hospital, the hospital’s own nursing staff manage his day-to-day care, including his usual medication routine — this is the health system’s responsibility, not something billed to his NDIS plan. Before discharge, Marcus’s Support Coordinator speaks with the hospital’s discharge team to make sure his usual in-home nursing support is ready to resume the day he goes home.
Once home, Marcus’s regular NDIS-funded nursing care picks back up, helping him recover and reducing the chance of another hospital trip.
Which One Applies to Me Right Now?
A simple way to work out which system applies:
- If you’re unwell, injured, or need emergency or hospital-based treatment → this is the health system’s responsibility.
- If you need ongoing, planned help managing a stable disability-related health task at home → this is what NDIS in-home nursing is for.
- If you’re being discharged from hospital and need your supports adjusted or restarted → contact the NDIS and your Support Coordinator as early as possible.
Key Terms Explained
| Term | What It Means |
| APTOS | Applied Principles and Tables of Support — the official document that sets out which system (NDIS or health) is responsible for which supports. |
| Interim plan | A short-term NDIS plan used to support a safe and timely discharge from hospital. |
| Stated support | NDIS funding that is locked in for a specific purpose, such as nursing, and can’t be shifted to cover other costs. |
| Support Coordinator | A person who helps you understand and use your NDIS plan, including during hospital transitions. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the NDIS pay for a support worker to sit with me in hospital?
Generally, no. The health system is responsible for your care while admitted, including reasonable adjustments for disability. There are narrow exceptions for staff training and guidance, but not for replacing hospital care with your usual support worker.
Does my NDIS plan keep paying providers while I’m in hospital?
This depends on your service agreements and the specific supports involved. It’s best to talk to your provider and Support Coordinator as soon as you’re admitted, so arrangements can be paused or adjusted correctly.
Can the NDIS speed up my hospital discharge?
The NDIS aims to reassess or vary your plan as quickly as possible once it’s notified, so you don’t spend longer than medically necessary in hospital.
What if my disability support needs change because of what happened in hospital?
Tell your NDIA planner or Support Coordinator as early as possible. Your plan can be reviewed to reflect new or changed needs before or after you leave hospital.
Does regular in-home nursing reduce my chances of being hospitalised?
It can. Proactive, ongoing nursing care is often aimed at catching small issues before they become emergencies, though outcomes will always depend on your individual health needs.
Get Support from a Trusted South Australian Team
At ABE Nursing and Support Services, our Registered and Enrolled Nurses provide respectful, person-centred in-home nursing care for NDIS participants across South Australia, helping you stay well, safe, and confident at home.
Contact ABE Nursing and Support Services today for a free, no-obligation conversation.
