It’s just a certain kind of feeling good when you enter a house that’s calm, clean and manageable. However, for many Australians living with a disability, the vacuuming that never ends, the washing, the cooking- all these tasks that are considered chores can become a real struggle in everyday life.
It’s hardly ever a question of effort or motivation. There is a point at which a person’s body or mind just can’t keep up with what a home requires, and that’s the point where the right support comes into play.
This is where Assistance With Personal Domestic Activities comes into the picture. This support is available through the NDIS for people to have assistance or support to help them manage everyday household tasks without them leading to stress, safety risks or embarrassment.
If you’re new to the NDIS, or you’ve had a plan in place for years and are just curious if this type of support is available, this guide will tell you what it is, who it’s intended for and how it can be put into practice.
What this Support Looks Like in Real Life, but With the Buzzwords
When discussing “support categories” and “funding line items,” washing the dishes can seem like an unnecessarily complicated process. Remove the jargon, however, and all you’re left with is a support worker who is showing up in your home to assist you with what keeps your home running.
That can be done in practice, by means of:
- Vacuuming/mopping/dusting and overall tidying of living spaces
- Washing, drying, folding and hanging up clothes
- Changing and making beds
- Helping to prepare meals or meal planning around your needs
- Cleaning up the kitchen and the kitchen area
- Taking out the rubbish and recycling
- Cluttered spaces, cupboards or wardrobes organised with light organisation
The exact proportions are up to you!
A few hours a week are enough for some people to handle the more strenuous tasks such as vacuuming and mopping. Others require more frequent assistance in cooking, cleaning and laundry.
A good support worker won’t do the task for you either; instead, they will be working alongside you, building your confidence and skills over time and possibly teaching you techniques and/or adapting routines.
More than a Diagnosis: Who This Support is really For?
There is no longer one definitive type of person who benefits from domestic support. It may be a person who has suffered a spinal injury and is unable to safely bend, lift or stand for extended periods of time. It could be a person with a long term condition such as MS or Parkinson’s Disease, who may need to conserve energy throughout the day.
It could be a person with an intellectual disability who actually has difficulty planning and moving through a cooking sequence, or a person with a psychosocial disability who, during more challenging times, is overwhelmed by household tasks. The common denominator of these various scenarios is not diagnosis; it’s functional capacity.
The NDIS considers what you can and cannot do safely and reasonably as a result of your disability – not what label is on your disability. When household activities become hard or unsafe and/or fatiguing to the extent that your health, hygiene or home environment is compromised, then this help is legitimate to consider.
The funding of the book-and-film The Help
You will cover the cost of Assistance With Personal Domestic Activities through your Core Supports budget, which is part of the category Assistance with Daily Life. Core Supports funding is typically not a specific type of funding, and could be allocated to a variety of ongoing supports, but your plan will likely include the supports that were agreed to as reasonable and necessary when you planned.
For this support to be included, the NDIA must understand how you are finding the household activities difficult because of your disability. This can be backed up with an occupational therapist’s report or other evidence of functional limitations; for many, it is sufficient to simply discuss this in the planning meeting or plan review.
In the current NDIS Pricing Arrangements, workers who are providing support for domestic tasks are likely to be paid somewhere around mid-fifty to mid-sixty dollars an hour on weekdays, and more than that on evenings, weekends and in regional and remote areas. These prices are subject to change, and it is advisable to refer to the most recent NDIS price guide.
Understand the difference between household help and personal care
Know the difference between household help and personal care. Domestic assistance and personal care are often confused because they are both included in the assistance with daily life category, but they’re actually quite different. Personal care is a care activity that involves your body directly, such as bathing, dressing, grooming, using the toilet, eating or drinking.
This sort of support, by contrast, is in relation to your natural environment, not the body. Cleaning, cooking, laundry and tidying keep your living area safe and functional.
Most participants are provided with both kinds of support, and may be provided by the same worker, or by different workers based on the skills they have or your preferences. It can be important when planning your NDIS budget as it enables you and your planner to plan for funding for each area instead of thinking they will all be covered under one umbrella.
When making a choice about someone that you can actually trust within your home
Having a support worker come into your home is intimate. You’re not just getting a clean; you’re adding a person to your life, your environment and sometimes your week. There are a number of factors to consider when selecting a domestic help service provider. Make sure they are registered on the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission; they are held to specific safety, conduct and quality standards.
Find out how they match support workers to participants – providers find out what your preferences, communication style and daily rhythm are and then send whoever they can that matches this.
There are also reliability issues; if one worker is inconsistent in arriving and departing or cancelling, they can be an underlying cause of the lack of stability that this support is supposed to bring.
Also consider if the provider would welcome your participation. Some participants want a worker who works quietly and effectively without any fuss; others want to be taught techniques so they can develop their skills over time. Both of these are not bad, but it’s good to know beforehand which style a provider provides.
Why the Right Support is More than Just a Change in the House
The idea of this help is to just have someone show up and clean the house, and that’s it. In fact, the effect is much more pronounced. A tidy home helps minimise trip hazards, mould and pest problems, and overall safety issues, which is especially crucial for individuals with mobility or respiratory issues.
There’s a psychological aspect to this as well. The well-established connection between clutter and increased stress and overwhelm, as well as home environments that are more orderly, helps to keep the mind more calm and settled.
Having this support available to them can often bring a sense of relief for family members and carers, and it can reduce the burden of having one more thing to manage in addition to work, caring for others and their lives. Participants also have dignity in having a home that is built as they want to live in and not as they are able to move independently within.
Starting the ball rolling: Your first steps to support
Sometimes this conversation begins with an NDIS plan review if you already have an NDIS plan, but it does not contain this type of support.
Be ready to explain, without embellishment, how you struggle or are unsafe doing household chores, and the impact it has on your life, health or safety. This can be discussed at a planning meeting with your Local Area Coordinator or NDIA planner, if you’re new to the NDIS.
If you have a Support Coordinator, they can assist you in obtaining evidence that is appropriate and appropriate providers once funding is approved. From there, it’s just a selection of providers, talking about your routine and preferences, and determining the service schedule that works for you, not your week.
A House that Works for You, not Against You
A home should help you, not be a source of stress and anxiety for you during the week. Assistance With Personal Domestic Activities is designed to ensure that domestic activities do not become a hindrance to living comfortably and safely. It could be a few hours a week of assistance in cleaning and laundry or more frequent deep cleaning, cooking, and other support – the right kind of help can subtly change the experience of everyday life.
Discuss this type of support if you believe it may benefit you or a loved one at your next planning session or review. A well-organised, well-managed and calm home should not be beyond reach due to disability, and with the right support on your side, it shouldn’t be.
FAQ’s
1. Assistance With Personal Domestic Activities (APDA) – what is it?
Personal Domestic Activities assistance is NDIS-funded support for participants who have a disability and are unable to safely and independently complete activities of daily living, such as at home. This is usually provided in the Core Supports budget in the Assistance with Daily Life category and is usually used for cleaning, laundry, meal preparation and general tidying.
2. What household activities does this support include?
These include vacuuming, mopping and dusting, washing and drying laundry, preparing meals, washing dishes, making beds and doing household chores. Specific activities that are funded will vary according to your needs and what is identified as reasonable and necessary in your NDIS plan.
3. Who will benefit from this kind of assistance?
There is no specific diagnostic criteria for eligibility; it is based on functional capacity. You may be allowed to receive support which is reasonable and necessary to help you to manage the home environment safely and effectively if your disability makes it difficult, unsafe or tiring to do things on your own.
4. What is the difference between domestic assistance and personal care?
Personal care refers to activities that relate to the care of the self, for example showering, dressing and grooming. Domestic assistance is instead for your living environment, such as cleaning, preparing food and washing dishes. They are funded and delivered separately, but fall under the category of Assistance with Daily Life.
5. What level of support will this cost in the NDIS?
Support will be funded through your Core Supports budget at the rate per hour as outlined in the current NDIS Pricing Arrangements, which is around mid-50s to mid-60s dollars per hour on weekdays, with increased rates on evenings, weekends and in remote areas. For precise amounts, refer to the most recent price guide.
6. Do I have options in who offers me domestic help?
Yes. NDIS participants have a choice and control over providers and support workers. Depending on whether your plan is registered or unregistered, and if it’s right for you, you can request a different worker or choose a registered or unregistered provider.
7. How do I begin to get Assistance With Personal Domestic Activities?
During the NDIS planning meeting or a plan review, discuss the activities of daily living that you find challenging or unsafe to perform in your home and the reasons for this. Occupational therapists’ reports can bolster your request for support. Once accepted, you can select a provider and establish a timetable for their services.
