Short-Term Accommodation: What you need to know

December 12, 2023myAutonomy NDIS

At myAutonomy, we’re often asked about Short-Term Accommodation (STA). Typically, participants want to know what STA is, what’s covered, and what’s not.

STA has changed significantly over the past few years. What was previously known as respite is now STA and STA is much more limited than it was previously.

We’ve created this guide as a helpful reminder about what is and isn’t funded.

For more information about STA, you can also visit the NDIS website.

What’s STA?

STA is designed to give a participant’s usual carers a break while providing new opportunities for participants.

This means the participant is out of their usual surroundings, staying in a separate accommodation for some time.

What’s important to recognise about STA is, the NDIS only provides funding in limited circumstances.

So, what is funded under STA?

While many get them mixed up, STA is very different from going on holiday or taking a trip. To be considered STA by the NDIS there are a few key requirements that must be met:

personal care
accommodation
food
activities
transport

Importantly, these must all be provided during the stay as part of a bundled rate for a participant.

Not just that, other considerations are taken into account too. These include:

The NDIS ‘reasonable and necessary’ test still applies to STA.
Funding provided for STA must relate specifically to a participant’s disability.
Like other supports, STA must be in line with a goal in a participant’s plan.
STA is also typically held in a group setting where 24-hour support is provided. There are some exceptions to this where there’s an important reason for care to be individualised.

What’s STA and what isn’t?

It can be challenging to decipher what is and isn’t covered, so to help you we’ve used a few examples to illustrate the key differences.

Some examples that could be covered by the NDIS as STA include:

A participant attends a Disney-themed trip organised by an experience company. All travel, accommodation, activities and meals are covered and listed in the plan goals.

A participant attends a group home facility for a week that offers 24-hour care, meals, accommodation, and group activities.

Accommodation for a participant, including transport, meals and a support worker for around-the-clock support is presented in a single invoice as an all-inclusive cost.

In each of the examples above, services are invoiced as a daily total OR bundled rate.

Some examples of a holiday (not STA) include:

A participant goes on holiday with their family. They stay in a hotel for Airbnb during that time.

A participant stays in a hotel for a long weekend –– they do not require a support worker, meals or activities.