STA NDIS funding pays for a short stay with support, so you and the family or carers who usually support you can have time apart. This guide explains where short term accommodation (STA) sits in your plan and what it pays for. It also covers who may get it, how many days are usually funded, how it is claimed, and how it differs from medium term accommodation and SIL.
If you are already thinking about a stay, see our page on respite care and short stays with Goaldis.
STA NDIS funding: quick summary
- STA is an NDIS support that gives you time apart from your usual care arrangements, like family, friends or carers.
- It sits in your plan as flexible funding in your Core budget.
- It pays for support and standard accommodation, not food, meals or the activities themselves.
- The NDIA usually funds up to 28 days a year, for up to 14 days at a time.
- Eligibility starts with more than 6 hours a day of disability-related support from family or carers.
- In October 2025 the NDIA announced that STA is now called short term respite.
- STA is not on the NDIA’s list of supports that always need a registered provider.
What STA is in the NDIS
The NDIA describes short-term accommodation as an NDIS support that gives you time apart from your usual care arrangements. It supports you while the people who usually help you take a short break. According to the NDIA, this helps them keep caring for you afterwards.
The NDIA’s guideline calls these people your primary informal supports: the family and friends who give you most of your unpaid, active, disability-related support. A stay can be as short as one night.
The support also has a new name. In October 2025 the NDIA announced that short term accommodation is now called short term respite. The main NDIA page, the guideline and the pricing schedule still say “short term accommodation”, so you will see both names.
Where STA NDIS funding sits in your plan
Every NDIS plan has 4 support budgets: core, capacity building, capital and recurring supports. The STA guideline says short term accommodation is included as flexible funding in your Core budget. The NDIA’s 2025-26 pricing arrangements list it under Assistance with Daily Life.
The official list of supports that are NDIS supports also files it under daily life. Its category “Assistance with daily life tasks in a group or shared living arrangement” includes supports for short term accommodation and respite. Our guide to everyday support at home covers the other help in that part of your plan.
Flexible funding still has limits. You can use it across categories within the Core budget, but not for other budgets. You also need to spend your STA NDIS funding in line with your plan, so it lasts the whole plan.
What STA pays for, and what it doesn’t
The NDIA lists what STA NDIS funding can and can’t be used for.
| STA funding can pay for | STA funding can’t pay for |
|---|---|
| Support with everyday activities, like showering, cooking and toileting | Food or meals |
| Standard accommodation, like a hotel, motel, short stay rental, cabin, cottage, hostel or respite accommodation | Cruises, holiday packages, holiday accommodation and airfares |
| Support in your own home or a homestay, if you usually need overnight support | Theme parks, music, theatre, cinema, sporting events and conferences |
| A support worker’s accommodation, if they need to stay with you | Accommodation or travel for family or support workers who support you on holiday |
Standard accommodation means a clean, comfortable place with a bed, a bathroom and the accessibility features you need, with no extra inclusions. In your own home or a homestay, the NDIA funds only the supports, not the accommodation.
Meals are your cost, because food is a day-to-day living cost. However, if your plan already funds help to prepare or eat food, you can still use it while you are away. Activities work the same way: you pay the entry fee, and STA can fund the support you need to join in.
Travel is separate as well. If your plan has transport funding in its own budget, you can use it to get to and from your stay.
Who STA NDIS funding may suit
The NDIA needs to know two things. First, you live with, or get daily drop-in support from, your primary informal supports. Second, they give you disability-related support for more than 6 hours a day, on a long-term basis.
The guideline adds that at least one of these must also apply:
- you receive high intensity supports, such as enteral feeding or ventilator management
- you need intensive or complex positive behaviour support, or specialist behavioural intervention support
- other in-home supports aren’t widely available where you live
- your carers’ wellbeing or ability to keep caring is at risk, for example because they are ageing or unwell
- your carers have other caring responsibilities, such as young children.
The NDIA won’t fund STA if you live alone without drop-in supports, or get more than 18 hours of paid support at home each day. Nor will it fund STA if you live in a supported independent living arrangement. Usually, it considers other supports first, such as personal care at home.
STA can also be funded for children in some situations, for example when their disability-related support needs are more than what is typical for their age. In NSW, the Office of the Children’s Guardian calls care arranged between a parent and an organisation for a child for 3 or more nights in any 7-day period, for respite or behaviour support or funded by the NDIS, specialised substitute residential care (SSRC).
How many days of STA the NDIS funds
The NDIA usually funds up to 28 days of STA a year, for up to 14 days at a time. You choose how to use it, for example as one longer block or one weekend a month.
More than 28 days may be funded in exceptional circumstances. If you need longer-term accommodation, the NDIA also looks at other options, such as medium term accommodation or SIL. For children at risk of not being able to stay in the family home, the guideline says it may fund more than 28 days, but generally not more than 60 days a year.
The amount is based on the level of support you usually need. The NDIA looks at your daily hours of informal and paid support, and whether you need extra help at some times, such as 2 people to help you out of bed. If you usually have shared support in the day, your STA NDIS funding is set to match.
How STA is booked and claimed
To get STA in your plan, talk to your my NDIS contact or raise it at your check-in. You can also ask for a plan change if your situation has changed.
Once it is funded, you choose a provider and agree the support you need within your STA NDIS budget. The NDIA recommends a service agreement, so you both understand how you will work together.
The way STA is priced has also changed. The 2025-26 pricing arrangements described the main STA items as daily prices covering all expenses, including food and negotiated activities. The 2026-27 pricing schedule, effective 24 September 2026, has no all-in daily item. Instead, it lists STA in two parts:
- Support. Hourly items for help with self-care or community access during a stay, priced by time and day, with standard and high intensity rates and a sleepover item.
- Accommodation. A daily item for standard accommodation for each overnight stay, plus one for a support worker’s accommodation.
The schedule sets maximum prices for NDIA-managed and plan-managed participants, and providers can’t charge more. The NDIA also says you should only pay for the supports you actually use.
Provider registration rules for STA
If your funding is NDIA-managed, you must use a registered provider. If it is self-managed or plan-managed, you can usually choose a registered or unregistered provider.
The NDIA’s page on how to find and choose a provider lists when only registered providers can be used. The list names specialist behaviour supports, plan management, SDA and SIL, but not STA.
Some rules still apply during a stay. Providers of intensive and complex behaviour supports must be registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Providers caring for children must follow state and territory laws, such as Working with Children Checks.
STA, medium term accommodation and SIL compared
| Support | What it is for | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Short term accommodation (STA) | Time apart from your primary informal supports, with support and standard accommodation | Up to 14 days at a time, usually up to 28 days a year |
| Medium term accommodation (MTA) | Somewhere to live for a short time, for example when your home isn’t ready or you are leaving hospital; accommodation only | Up to 3 months, or 90 days, as a one-off |
| Supported independent living (SIL) | Funding for a support worker to help or supervise you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week | A longer-term option |
The guideline links them. If you are waiting for home modifications, the NDIA may fund MTA instead of STA. If you live in a SIL arrangement, STA isn’t funded. Our guide to SIL vs SDA explains SIL in more detail.
STA NDIS funding and the October 2026 budget changes
On 1 October 2026 the NDIA announced changes to support budgets. Budgets for two categories will be reduced: Social, Economic and Community Participation, and Improved Daily Living Skills. The reductions apply as plans are created or reassessed from 1 October 2026, or renewed from 1 February 2027.
The news item doesn’t mention STA, and STA is listed under Assistance with Daily Life, which is neither category. For the wider picture, our NDIS help page explains how NDIS plans work.
How to check this yourself
- Open your plan, find the Core budget and look for your STA NDIS funding.
- Read the NDIA’s What is short-term accommodation page and its short-term accommodation guideline (PDF).
- For support items, see Appendix 2 of the pricing schedule.
- If anything is unclear, ask your my NDIS contact or call the NDIA on 1800 800 110.
Frequently asked questions
What does STA mean in the NDIS?
STA stands for short term accommodation: funding for a short stay with support, so you and your primary informal supports can have time apart. The NDIA now also calls it short term respite.
How many days of STA can I get?
The NDIA usually funds up to 28 days a year, for up to 14 days at a time. Your plan sets what you have.
Does STA NDIS funding pay for food?
No. You buy or provide your own meals during a stay.
Is STA the same as respite?
In the NDIS, yes. The NDIA announced in October 2025 that short term accommodation is now called short term respite.
Can I get STA if I live in SIL?
No. The guideline says the NDIA won’t fund STA if you live in a supported independent living arrangement.
Do I need a registered provider for STA?
If your funding is NDIA-managed, yes. Self-managed and plan-managed participants can usually choose either, but providers of intensive and complex behaviour supports must be registered.
Can children get STA NDIS funding?
Sometimes, when their disability-related support needs are more than what is typical for their age. It doesn’t replace normal parenting, like babysitting.
How Goaldis can help
Goaldis Community Services is a registered NDIS provider. If your plan has STA NDIS funding, our respite care and short term accommodation service can support a break. That can be an agreed overnight or weekend stay, with help with personal care, meals, daily routines and activities. We can also support you one-on-one at home or in the community while your carers take a break. Before support begins, we confirm the place, the length of stay, the staffing and your support needs with you.
We support people in Greater Western Sydney, Ryde and Macquarie Park, and The Hills. Call 1300 212 035, send us a message, or ask your support coordinator to refer you.
Related reading
- NDIS Assistance with Daily Life: what it covers in your plan
- SIL vs SDA: the difference between support and housing in your NDIS plan
- NDIS help: how the NDIS works
Disclaimer: This article is general information only and is not personal, financial or legal advice. It is current as at 21 October 2026. It reflects these official sources as they read that day: What is short-term accommodation (current as of 1 July 2026), the short-term accommodation guideline (27 July 2026), NDIA news of 20 October 2025 and 1 October 2026, the guide to NDIS support budgets (9 June 2026), What are NDIS supports (24 August 2026), the 2025-26 pricing arrangements (version 1.1), the 2026-27 pricing schedule and pricing page (24 September 2026), how to find and choose a provider (1 October 2026), MTA (1 July 2026), SIL (1 October 2026), my NDIS contact (10 June 2026) and the Office of the Children’s Guardian SSRC page (6 October 2026). Examples are illustrative, not entitlements. NDIS rules change, so always confirm with the NDIA at ndis.gov.au or on 1800 800 110.