Last updated: 16 October 2026. Prices and rules come from official NDIS publications, linked throughout.
NDIS assistance with daily life is funding that helps you with everyday tasks at home, such as cooking, cleaning and personal care, so you can live as independently as possible. On the NDIA’s home and living options guide it is Option 1 (Assistance with daily life, or ADL). It usually sits in the Core Supports budget, suits people who need targeted or part-time help rather than continuous onsite support, and can include self-directed arrangements where you roster your own workers.
This guide is for participants, families and carers in Western Sydney and across NSW. It covers what ADL includes, how it differs from SIL and ILO, 2026-27 price limits, and how to get funding into your plan.
Key takeaways
- Assistance with daily life (ADL) is Option 1 in the NDIA’s guide to home and living options. It means help with everyday home tasks so you can live more independently.
- It is often funded for targeted or part-time help (drop-in style), not a worker with you 24 hours a day.
- Self-directed supports (where you direct, plan and roster your own workers) can sit within your ADL budget.
- ADL sits in Core Supports and is flexible with other Core categories, within the NDIS supports rules and your plan.
- Under the Pricing Schedule 2026-27, standard weekday daytime self-care (01_011_0107_1_1) is $73.58/hr; personal domestic activities $61.16/hr; house cleaning $60.10/hr.
What NDIS assistance with daily life is
The NDIA describes Assistance with daily life (ADL) as help with everyday tasks in your home so you can live as independently as possible, for example cooking and cleaning, or personal care support. Unlike some other home and living options, funding for other supports can be added to your ADL budget, and ADL funding is flexible with other core supports.
Help with daily activities is usually provided in your home. The NDIA says it is often included if you only need very targeted support, or if you don’t need support all the time. That pattern of scheduled or as-needed visits is what many people mean by NDIS drop-in support.
ADL is not rent or day-to-day living costs. Participants remain responsible for rent, groceries, utilities and ordinary household items in most cases. The NDIS can fund disability-related supports that help you do those tasks, not the bills themselves.
What assistance with daily life covers
ADL funding in Core Supports is used to hire support workers for everyday tasks linked to your disability and goals. The NDIA lists examples such as cleaning, yard maintenance, cooking and personal care. Related line items in the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 include assistance with self-care, personal domestic activities and house cleaning.
| Area | Examples of support | Typical Pricing Schedule items |
|---|---|---|
| Personal care / self-care | Showering, dressing, toileting, mealtimes, mobility and transfers | Assistance With Self-Care Activities (e.g. 01_011_0107_1_1) |
| Personal domestic activities | Cooking, meal prep, laundry and other domestic tasks done with or for you | Assistance with Personal Domestic Activities (01_004_0107_1_1) |
| Household tasks | House cleaning and other household activities | House Cleaning And Other Household Activities (01_020_0120_1_1) |
| Skill building (related) | Learning to do more of these tasks yourself over time | Often Capacity Building, such as daily living and life skills |
Personal care and cleaning can sit inside ADL, but they are not the whole topic. For those angles see NDIS personal care and does NDIS pay for cleaning. This article focuses on ADL as a home-and-living option.
Drop-in and self-directed support vs continuous support
People often confuse ADL with continuous home support. The difference is how much time a worker is with you, and how the support is organised.
- Targeted or drop-in style ADL. A worker visits for set shifts (say, mornings for personal care and meal prep, or a few hours a week for domestic tasks) and you manage most of the day between visits.
- Self-directed supports within ADL. You may direct, plan and roster your own support workers. The NDIA says that arrangement sits within your ADL budget.
- Continuous support (SIL). Supported Independent Living funds a worker to help or supervise you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including overnight.
If you only need part-day help or want to roster your own workers, ADL is often a better fit than SIL. The SIL page notes other options may suit you better if you live alone, live with people who are not NDIS participants, or want a self-directed arrangement.
ADL vs SIL vs ILO
The NDIA lists ADL, ILO and SIL as separate home and living options. Use this as a starting point, then talk with your my NDIS contact or support coordinator.
| Assistance with daily life (ADL) | Individualised living options (ILO) | Supported independent living (SIL) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official home-and-living option | Option 1 | Option 2 | Option 3 |
| Typical support pattern | Targeted or part-time help at home; can be self-directed | Package designed around where and how you live, with primary and supplementary supports | Paid support or supervision 24/7, including overnight |
| Who it often suits | People who need help with specific tasks, or who don’t need support all the time | Adults exploring a tailored living arrangement (host or housemate plus other supports) | People who need a worker with them all day and overnight, with substantial daily assistance |
| Budget flexibility | ADL funding is flexible with other Core supports | ILO is a multi-stage package (design, then ongoing supports) | SIL is specific home-and-living support funding; SIL providers must be registered to deliver SIL |
| Rent and groceries | Not paid by NDIS | Not paid by NDIS | Not paid by NDIS |
ILO is different again: primary support often comes from a host or housemate, with supplementary paid or unpaid supports around that. Paid drop-in help can appear inside an ILO package, but ILO itself is a designed living arrangement, not the same as Core ADL visits. See the NDIA page on what ILO is.
2026-27 price limits for ADL supports
The NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 (effective 24 September 2026; prices from 1 July 2026) sets national maximums for common ADL-related items. Providers can charge less; agree the price in your service agreement.
| Support | Support item | National price limit |
|---|---|---|
| Assistance with self-care,weekday daytime | 01_011_0107_1_1 | $73.58 per hour |
| Assistance with self-care,weekday evening | 01_015_0107_1_1 | $81.07 per hour |
| Assistance with self-care,weekday night | 01_002_0107_1_1 | $82.57 per hour |
| Assistance with self-care,Saturday | 01_013_0107_1_1 | $103.54 per hour |
| Assistance with self-care,Sunday | 01_014_0107_1_1 | $133.50 per hour |
| Assistance with self-care,public holiday | 01_012_0107_1_1 | $163.46 per hour |
| Night-time sleepover | 01_010_0107_1_1 | $311.79 each |
| High intensity self-care,weekday daytime | 01_400_0104_1_1 | $79.60 per hour |
| Assistance with personal domestic activities | 01_004_0107_1_1 | $61.16 per hour |
| House cleaning and other household activities | 01_020_0120_1_1 | $60.10 per hour |
Remote and very remote areas have higher limits. Check the schedule and your service agreement, and see the NDIA’s pricing arrangements page for how time bands work.
How ADL sits in Core Supports and flexibility
Assistance with daily life is one of the categories inside Core Supports, alongside Consumables and Assistance with social and community participation. The NDIA says Core funding is flexible across those categories, so you can buy NDIS supports that fit your goals and plan.
Flexibility still has limits. Supports must meet the reasonable and necessary rules, and NDIS funds cannot pay for things that are not NDIS supports, including rent, groceries and clinical health treatment. See the NDIA lists of supports that are NDIS supports and supports that are not.
If you want to build independence as well as get hands-on help, ask about capacity building such as Skillwise’s daily living and life skills support. For domestic help in Core, see our household tasks page.
How to get or increase ADL in your plan
The NDIA needs to be satisfied the support helps your goals and meets the criteria in Our Guideline: Reasonable and necessary supports. Practical steps:
- Map a typical week:tasks, how long, how often, and what goes wrong without help.
- Be clear on the pattern:scheduled drop-in visits, self-directed workers, or 24/7 support. Mixing those stories makes decisions harder.
- Collect evidence:functional assessment (often OT), GP or specialist letters, and carer statements.
- Link support to goals and risks:for example falls, missed meals or unsafe hygiene.
- Ask for a plan change when needs change, using the NDIA’s guide to changing your plan.
Talk to your my NDIS contact or support coordinator if you need ADL or a different home and living option.
Choosing a provider in Western Sydney
The NDIA publishes guidance on how to find and choose a provider. Ask about coverage for evenings and weekends, whether you will usually see the same workers, support for self-directed arrangements, prices against the Pricing Schedule time bands, and how cancellations and complaints are handled.
If your plan is NDIA-managed, or you need a registered provider for a support type, check the NDIS Commission’s Provider Register. Registration rules differ by support. For example, SIL providers must be registered to deliver SIL.
ADL support with Skillwise in Western Sydney
Skillwise Disability Services is based at 93 Beames Avenue, Rooty Hill NSW 2766, and supports participants across Western Sydney and NSW with daily living and life skills, household tasks, personal care and community participation, including scheduled in-home support.
Talk to us about assistance with daily life
If you’d like to talk through ADL, drop-in support or what your Core budget can cover, call Skillwise on 0474 151 264, email info@skillwisedisability.com.au or send us a message.
Frequently asked questions
Is NDIS assistance with daily life the same as SIL?
No. ADL (Option 1) is targeted help with everyday home tasks and can be part-time or self-directed. SIL (Option 3) is funding for support or supervision 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including overnight. They are different home and living options on the NDIA guide.
What is NDIS drop-in support?
People usually mean scheduled or as-needed visits for personal care, domestic tasks or household help, rather than a worker staying with you all day. That pattern matches how the NDIA describes ADL for people who need targeted support or who don’t need support all the time. “Drop-in” is everyday language; the official home-and-living label is Assistance with daily life.
Can I use Core funding flexibly for ADL?
Yes, within the rules. The NDIA says Core supports funding is flexible across Core categories, so you can buy NDIS supports that fit your goals and plan. You still can’t use NDIS funds for things that are not NDIS supports, such as rent or groceries.
What does assistance with daily life cost per hour in 2026-27?
It depends on the support item and time of day. National limits in the Pricing Schedule 2026-27 include $73.58 an hour for standard weekday daytime self-care, $61.16 an hour for personal domestic activities, and $60.10 an hour for house cleaning. Weekend, night and public holiday rates are higher.
This article is general information, not advice about your individual plan. Check current details at ndis.gov.au or with the NDIA on 1800 800 110.
Support near you in Western Sydney
Skillwise is based in Rooty Hill and supports NDIS participants across the region. Read about our NDIS support in Blacktown, NDIS support in Mount Druitt, NDIS support in Rooty Hill and NDIS support in St Marys, or see all the areas we cover.
