Quality Respite Care for Participants and Carers in Perth
Caring for someone with a disability is rewarding — and demanding. NDIS respite care gives primary carers a planned break while ensuring their loved one continues to receive attentive, high-quality support. At Help Alliance, we provide in-home and community respite across Perth's northern suburbs, and can help you work out how a short-term accommodation (STA) stay fits alongside them.
As an NDIS provider, we also deliver support coordination, self-care assistance, community participation, and SIL — and our Support Coordinators can help you connect with SDA housing providers, so participants and families have a trusted partner across every stage of the NDIS journey.
Types of NDIS Respite Care in Perth
In-Home Respite
A qualified support worker comes to the participant's home so carers can take a break — for a few hours, overnight, or across a weekend. No disruption to the participant's environment.
Short-Term Accommodation (STA)
An NDIS support type where the participant stays in a supported setting away from home, typically in blocks of up to 14 days and generally up to 28 days a year. Since 1 July 2026 the bundled daily rate is gone — support during a stay is claimed hourly, from $73.58 on a weekday daytime. Talk to us about how STA could fit alongside your in-home and community respite hours.
Community Respite
Support workers accompany participants to social outings, recreational activities, and community programs — giving carers a break while participants build skills and friendships.
How Many Days of Respite Does the NDIS Fund?
The short answer most families are looking for: NDIS guidance is that Short-Term Accommodation is generally funded for up to 28 days a year, most often used in blocks of up to 14 days at a time.
28
Days a year (guide)
The usual STA benchmark in an NDIS plan. It is guidance rather than a legislated entitlement — what you receive depends on your circumstances and your carer's situation.
14
Days per stay (typical)
STA is normally funded in blocks of up to a fortnight. Longer continuous stays are unusual and need a clear reason agreed in advance.
Core
Where it sits in your plan
STA is funded from your Core Supports budget under Assistance with Daily Life, alongside your in-home and community support hours.
Ways families actually use their 28 days
- →Two blocks of a fortnight — one during school holidays and one later in the year, when carer fatigue tends to peak.
- →One weekend a month — roughly 24 to 28 days across a year, giving carers a predictable, recurring break.
- →Occasional single nights — held in reserve for medical appointments, family events, or a carer's own recovery after illness.
- →A held reserve — some families deliberately keep a week unspent in case of an unplanned carer emergency later in the plan year.
Worth knowing: in-home and community respite hours are funded separately from your STA days. Using a support worker at home for an afternoon does not draw down your 28-day allowance — those hours come from your general Core Supports. If your plan does not yet have respite funding in it, a Support Coordinator can help you build the case ahead of your next plan reassessment.
What NDIS Short-Term Accommodation Funding Covers
This section explains how STA funding works under the NDIS generally, whichever provider you book a stay with. Broadly the same elements of a stay are funded — but from 1 July 2026 the all-inclusive daily rate is gone and the support during a stay is claimed hourly instead. Your provider can confirm exactly what is covered for your booking.
What an STA stay is claimed at in 2026-27
Under the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2026-27, effective 1 July 2026, Short-Term Accommodation support is claimed at the same national price limits as ordinary disability support work. There is no longer a single daily STA figure to quote.
| When the support is delivered | STA price limit 2026-27 |
|---|---|
| Weekday daytime | $73.58 per hour |
| Weekday evening | $81.07 per hour |
| Weekday night (worker awake) | $82.57 per hour |
| Saturday | $103.54 per hour |
| Sunday | $133.50 per hour |
| Public holiday | $163.46 per hour |
| Sleepover (overnight cover) | $311.79 per night |
These are the standard STA items. Separate High Intensity STA items apply where a participant needs complex support, at higher limits again. Price limits are the maximum a provider can charge a plan — they can charge less, and remote and very remote loadings apply in some regions. Because the rate follows the day and time, a stay across a long weekend costs considerably more than the same number of nights midweek.
Accommodation
The place the participant stays for the length of the booking. Because the bundled daily STA price no longer exists, there is no single published figure covering this — ask your provider to set out in writing how the accommodation itself is costed for your booking.
Food and everyday living costs
How everyday living costs during a stay — meals, utilities — are funded now that the bundled daily rate has ended is not something we can state from the published schedule. Ask your STA provider to set this out in writing before you book, and raise dietary and mealtime support needs at the same time.
Support workers, including overnight
Support for the duration of the stay is claimed as hourly items that vary by day and time of day — $73.58 an hour on a weekday daytime through to $163.46 on a public holiday. Overnight cover is typically claimed through a separate sleepover item at $311.79 a night. Ask your provider which items they will use for your stay.
Activities
The day-to-day activities agreed as part of the stay — outings, recreation, and social opportunities, so STA is something the participant looks forward to rather than merely tolerates.
What changed on 1 July 2026: the bundled all-inclusive STA day rates ended on 30 June 2026. A stay booked from 1 July 2026 onwards is claimed as hourly support items — the same $73.58 to $163.46 ladder used for ordinary support work, plus $311.79 a night for a sleepover — so your invoice will look different even if the stay itself is unchanged. Two practical consequences: the total cost of a stay now depends much more directly on how many support hours the participant actually needs and which days the stay falls on, and providers have generally been advised they need your agreement before moving an existing service agreement onto the new structure — check with your provider. If you have a stay booked, it is worth asking your provider to walk you through the new breakdown before it starts. This reflects the arrangements as at July 2026; transitional arrangements applied to some existing bookings, so confirm current arrangements with your provider and check the NDIS pricing arrangements for the current published schedule.
What STA does not cover: costs unrelated to disability support. That means flights, event or holiday tickets, and a family carer's own travel and accommodation are not funded through STA. Day-to-day living expenses you would incur anyway also sit outside NDIS funding. If you are unsure how respite fits within the rest of your budget, our guide to NDIS funding categories breaks down what each budget can and cannot pay for.
Planned Respite vs Emergency Respite
Both are legitimate uses of your funding, but they work differently — and it is worth understanding emergency respite before you need it.
Planned respite
Booked in advance, usually weeks or months ahead. The lead time is what makes the stay good: it lets a provider match the right support workers, learn the participant's routines and communication style, arrange a meet-and-greet, and build activities around their interests.
- → Consistent, familiar support workers
- → Time for an introductory visit, where the provider offers one
- → Predictable draw-down on your STA days
Emergency respite
Arranged at short notice when a carer is hospitalised, becomes unwell, or their circumstances change suddenly. The NDIS has no separate emergency respite budget — urgent stays are normally paid from flexible Core Supports funding.
- → Depends on provider availability on the day
- → Draws on flexible Core Supports funding
- → May justify an urgent plan reassessment
Prepare before a crisis: the single most useful thing a carer can do is have a one-page profile ready — medications, routines, communication preferences, triggers, and emergency contacts. It is what allows any provider to say yes at short notice rather than no. It also helps to have talked to a provider in advance, so you are not making first contact on your worst day.
If your NDIS funding will not stretch to cover an emergency stay, you can ask the NDIA for an urgent plan reassessment on the grounds of a change of circumstances. Carers can also contact Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737, the national carer support line, which can help with emergency respite outside the NDIS.
STA vs MTA: What's the Difference?
These two acronyms are regularly confused. They fund very different things: one is a break, the other is a bridge.
Short-Term Accommodation (STA)
A planned break for carers
- › Generally up to 28 days a year
- › Usually taken in blocks of up to 14 days
- › Since 1 July 2026, support is claimed hourly — $73.58 weekday daytime to $163.46 public holiday — not as a bundled daily rate
- › Purpose: relieve the primary carer and give the participant new experiences
- › Funded from Core Supports
Medium-Term Accommodation (MTA)
A bridge to permanent housing
- › Funded for up to 90 days
- › One continuous stay, not a recurring break
- › Covers the accommodation cost only — daily supports are funded separately
- › Purpose: somewhere to live while a long-term home is finalised or modified
- › Requires evidence that a confirmed long-term home is on the way
If you find you need respite more often than STA can reasonably cover, that usually points to a different support altogether — most often Supported Independent Living (SIL) or a longer-term option such as Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA). We are happy to talk through which one fits.
Why Regular Respite Matters
For Carers
Regular respite prevents carer burnout, supports physical and mental health, maintains relationships, and makes it possible to sustain long-term caring. The NDIS funds supports for the participant rather than a break for the carer as such, but Short-Term Accommodation and in-home support hours are exactly what make that break possible.
For Participants
Respite is not just about giving carers a break. For participants, respite periods offer new social experiences, independence-building opportunities, and a chance to engage with a wider support network — all in a safe, supported environment.
One Team Across Your Supports
Alongside respite support, Help Alliance delivers support coordination, self-care assistance, community participation, and SIL across Perth's northern suburbs — and our Support Coordinators can help you connect with SDA housing providers, so families have one trusted partner at every stage.
Flexible & Planned
We work with families to plan respite well in advance, ensuring smooth transitions and participant comfort. We also do our best to accommodate urgent requests — contact us to discuss your situation.
Our Full Range of NDIS Services:
Assistance with Self-Care
- Personal hygiene assistance
- Dressing and grooming
- Meal preparation support
- Medication management
Community Participation
- Social group activities
- Assistance with volunteering
- Recreational outings
- Skill-building workshops
Travel and Transport
- Safe travel assistance
- Accompanied appointments
- Transport to community events
- Assistance with public transport
Our Respite Support Workers in Perth
Sally
Sally supports families planning a short-term accommodation stay, helping them work out how it fits alongside their in-home respite hours, and delivers in-home respite with warmth and consistency.
Nigel
Nigel provides reliable in-home respite support, offering carers peace of mind with his calm, attentive approach to personal care and daily routines.
Paul
Paul supports participants during community respite activities, facilitating social outings and recreational programs that participants genuinely look forward to.
Sandeep
Sandeep brings warmth and consistency to every respite shift, building trust with participants and giving carers full confidence when they step away.
Frequently Asked Questions — NDIS Respite Care Perth
Plan Your Respite Care in Perth Today
Don't wait until carer burnout sets in. Help Alliance is currently accepting new participants for in-home and community respite across Perth's northern suburbs. If you are planning a Short-Term Accommodation (STA) stay, contact us to talk through how it fits with the rest of your supports — no obligation, just genuine support.