What can I actually use my NDIS funding on?

Quick read: Your NDIS funding is split across three categories — Core (day-to-day support), Capital (one-off bigger items) and Capacity Building (skills, therapy and capacity-development). What you can buy with each depends on what your plan says — some money is flexible within a category, some is "stated" and locked to specific uses. Since October 2024 there's also an official Supports Lists framework that says what's in vs out of the scheme entirely. This article walks through each category, the most common questions, and how to check whether something specific is claimable.

The three categories — at a glance

Every NDIS plan splits funding across up to three big buckets. Not every plan has all three — your plan only has what the NDIA decided was reasonable and necessary for your situation.

Category	What it's for	Typical examples
Core Supports	Day-to-day help that keeps you living the life you want	Support worker hours, consumables, transport, social and community participation
Capital Supports	Higher-cost one-off items and modifications	Wheelchairs, communication devices, home modifications, specialist accommodation
Capacity Building	Supports that build your skills, capacity or independence	Therapy, support coordination, employment supports, skill development

Within each category there are sub-categories. The level of detail in your plan depends on whether your funding is "flexible" or "stated."

• Flexible funding — you can move money around within the category to suit your needs week-to-week
• Stated funding — the amount is locked to a specific support type and can't be moved

Core Supports are usually mostly flexible. Capital Supports and Capacity Building items are usually stated.

Core Supports — the day-to-day bucket

Core Supports is what most participants use most often. It covers four sub-categories:

1. Assistance with Daily Life

Support worker time for things you need help with at home or in the community:

• Personal care (showering, dressing, toileting)
• Help with cooking, cleaning, laundry
• Help with medication, mealtime support
• Overnight supports
• Specialist behaviour support workers
• Supported Independent Living (SIL) if you live in shared accommodation

2. Consumables

Disability-related items you use up and need to replace:

• Continence products
• Wound care supplies
• Low-cost assistive technology under $1,500 per item — grab rails, shower chairs, weighted cutlery, basic communication boards
• PPE specifically related to disability supports

3. Assistance with Social, Economic and Community Participation

Support to do things outside the home:

• A worker who comes with you to social activities or community events
• Help getting to and from medical appointments, classes, or other things you'd struggle to do alone
• Support to participate in volunteering or interest-based groups
• Group programs

4. Transport

A separate funded amount for transport you can't reasonably manage independently. Includes:

• Taxi/rideshare costs to access community activities, work or appointments
• Vehicle expenses where you have your own vehicle but disability-related additional costs

Most participants who need it get Transport in their plan as a stated amount with periodic payments to their bank account.

Capital Supports — the bigger one-offs

Capital Supports cover higher-cost items that aren't an ongoing service. These are stated supports — locked to specific items.

Assistive Technology (AT)

Anything from a $50 jar opener to a $40,000 power wheelchair. The NDIS splits AT into three cost tiers:

• Low cost (under $1,500) — usually no professional assessment required, you can buy directly
• Mid cost ($1,500–$15,000) — needs cost estimate and advice from an AT advisor (usually an OT or other allied health professional)
• High cost (over $15,000) — full AT assessment by a qualified professional plus a detailed quote, submitted at planning

If your plan says "AT" with a stated amount, that's specifically for the items the NDIA approved — not a piggy bank for anything you'd like to buy.

Home Modifications

Changes to your home that make it more accessible — ramps, rails, bathroom modifications, widened doorways. Minor mods (under a certain threshold) are simpler; major mods (structural changes, complex bathroom rebuilds) involve formal quotes and sometimes planning approval.

You generally need to either own the home or have explicit written permission from the landlord. Disposable rented accommodation is rarely modified.

Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA)

Funding for a specialist-built dwelling for participants with extreme functional impairment. Different from SIL — SDA is the dwelling, SIL is the daily support that happens in the dwelling. Many people who have SDA also have SIL, but they're separate fundings.

Capacity Building — the skill-building bucket

Capacity Building supports build your independence over time. Eight sub-categories. The most commonly funded:

Improved Daily Living (Therapy)

Allied health therapy — occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech pathology, psychology, dietetics, exercise physiology. Either short courses (for a specific goal like fitting equipment) or ongoing programs (for slow-improvement conditions). Mostly delivered 1:1, sometimes in groups.

Improved Relationships (Behaviour Support)

Specialist Positive Behaviour Support. For participants with behaviours of concern — work with a registered Behaviour Support Practitioner to develop and implement a Behaviour Support Plan that reduces restrictive practices and builds alternative strategies.

Improved Living Arrangements

Help to find and keep suitable housing — exploration of accommodation options, transition support, sometimes Individualised Living Options (ILO) design work.

Improved Health and Wellbeing

Disability-related health supports — dietary advice for swallowing disorders, exercise programs designed around your disability, etc.

Finding and Keeping a Job

Employment-focused supports — career planning, job-search assistance, on-the-job support during the first months of work. School Leaver Employment Supports (SLES) sits here for young people transitioning from school.

Improved Learning

Support to engage in study — tutoring, learning supports, accommodations work.

Improved Life Choices (Support Coordination + Plan Management)

Support Coordination and Plan Management are funded under this sub-category. Both are about helping you manage your plan and your services.

Increased Social and Community Participation

Skill development for social participation — group programs that help you build communication, social, or community-engagement skills.

What the NDIS doesn't fund

Just as important as knowing what's in: knowing what's out. The NDIS doesn't fund:

• Day-to-day living costs everyone has — rent, groceries, bills, mortgage, household utilities (with very specific exceptions in SIL/SDA contexts)
• Medical and clinical treatment — that's the health system's job. Hospital admissions, surgery, GP appointments, prescription medication, psychiatrist appointments
• Things that aren't related to your disability — a treadmill because exercise is good for everyone, a holiday because it would be nice, a new wardrobe
• Income or income replacement — that's Centrelink (Disability Support Pension, JobSeeker, etc.)
• Aged-care-style services if you're under 65 and on the NDIS — there's a separate path for over-65 transitions
• School staff and standard schooling — that's the education system
• Drugs of dependency and recreational substances
• Anything that breaks the reasonable and necessary tests

If you're not sure whether something falls in or out, check the NDIA's official Supports Lists at ndis.gov.au — the framework introduced in October 2024 that lists what's an NDIS support and what isn't.

Common questions

Can I use NDIS money on gym membership?

Generally no, with very specific exceptions. Gym membership for general fitness is everyone's responsibility, not NDIS. Specific disability-related exercise programs delivered by an exercise physiologist or trained allied health professional are claimable as therapy — but that's not a generic gym membership.

Can I pay a family member to be my support worker?

Generally no. The NDIA wants paid supports to be independent. Family members can be paid in very limited circumstances (when no other suitable workers are available, or for specific kinds of personal care for participants with specific needs) but it's the exception, not the rule.

What about driving lessons?

If you have a disability that affects how you learn to drive (e.g., cognitive disability) and you need adapted lessons, that can sometimes be funded under Capacity Building. Generic driving school for general purposes is not.

Can I use my Core funding on a holiday?

No — accommodation costs and recreational travel aren't NDIS supports. The support worker hours you'd need to participate in something while you're away on holiday might be claimable from your existing support hours, if the activity itself is something that connects to your goals. But the holiday itself, the flights, the hotel — no.

What's "low cost AT" and how do I buy it?

Low cost AT is items under $1,500 each that are reasonably necessary because of your disability. Things like commode chairs, kettle tippers, large-key keyboards, weighted cutlery, basic communication boards. Most of these you can buy yourself and either claim back (if self-managed) or have your plan manager pay the supplier (if plan-managed). Always check before assuming an item is claimable.

Can I split a budget across two providers?

Yes, generally. Within a category, your funding can go to multiple providers. The exception is stated supports, which are locked to specific items.

What happens if I don't use all my funding by the end of my plan?

Unused funding lapses. It doesn't roll over to your next plan. And the NDIA may take significant underspending as evidence that your next plan should have less funding. If you find yourself underspending, talk to your support coordinator (if you have one) about reactivating supports or repurposing funding before plan end.

How to check if something specific is claimable

When you're not sure whether a particular item or service can be funded:

1. Check your plan first. Some things are "stated" to a specific support — they can only be used for that, even if the item you want is in the same broad category. Stated funding can't be repurposed.
2. Check the NDIA's Supports Lists at ndis.gov.au — the authoritative reference on what's in vs out of the scheme.
3. Check the Pricing Arrangements (PAPL) for line item rules — some supports have specific eligibility rules, frequency caps, or claim restrictions.
4. Ask your plan manager (if plan-managed). Plan managers process thousands of claims and have a good feel for what gets approved and what gets queried.
5. Phone the NDIA contact line (1800 800 110). Ask plainly and write down what you're told.

If a support is fundable in principle but isn't in your plan — that's a plan variation conversation. You can ask for a s 47A variation or wait for your next reassessment.

Sources

This guide draws on section 34 of the NDIS Act 2013, the current Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2025-26, and the NDIA's published Supports Lists framework. All linked at the top.

For your specific plan, your plan document and the NDIA contact line (1800 800 110) are the authoritative answers — this article gives you the general framework but your individual plan may have specific rules layered on top.

Sources & last verified

Last verified 24 May 2026 against:

• NDIS Act 2013 — Section 34 (Reasonable and necessary supports)
• NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2025-26
• NDIS Supports Lists (Supports In and Supports Out)

Next review scheduled 24 August 2026.