Short Term Accommodation (STA) unpacked

At My Plan Manager, we get lots of questions about Short Term Accommodation (STA) – what it is, how to access it, and when you can and can’t use it. Here’s our STA guide to help explain what it's all about.

What's STA?

STA is accommodation at a different place to your usual home and is typically provided in a centre or group residence. You can access STA funding (in the right circumstances) for up to 14 days at a time, for a total of 28 days per year.

STA can be used to build your independence (e.g. develop new skills) or strengthen your informal supports by offering you and them respite – the opportunity to take a break, with the aim of maintaining your current living arrangements.

In this article we cover:

• what STA includes and what it can look like
• when you can and can't use it
• how you can get it
• how to find an STA provider

You can find more information about STA here.

What STA includes

Despite the name, STA isn’t just about the accommodation, it also involves the support you receive while staying there, including personal care, food and activities you and the STA provider agree to. The activities will vary from provider to provider, so it's important to check that out.

Examples of STA could be:

• Providing respite to someone who lives with informal supports (like a family member), so everyone gets a break (respite care). This helps to sustain the informal supports.
• Supporting someone who wants to build their independence by taking time away from their usual support network to work on their skills in a new environment.

If you believe your disability means you require non-traditional STA (from a provider offering individual support), the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) will need evidence to support your request before funding can be approved (in writing).

Importantly, STA isn’t a ‘holiday’ – and that means you can’t use your NDIS funding for things like cruises, holiday packages, hotels, airfares, passports, visas, or excursions, activities, and experiences.

When you can and can't use STA

The NDIS may fund STA if it:

• means your family or informal supports can support you for longer
• means you may not need as much support in the future
• helps you maintain functional capacity
• helps you increase independence

The NDIS doesn’t typically fund STA if it:

• exceeds 14 days in a row, or a total of 28 days per year
• isn’t for the purposes STA is meant for

How to get STA funded

If STA isn’t stated in your NDIS plan, but you have enough funding available in your Core Supports budget to ensure your approved supports aren’t affected by spending on STA, you may be able to use it. There are standard rates for STA in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits.

Again, the NDIS can fund up to 28 days of STA per calendar year, which can be used flexibly – but you can’t claim more than 14 days in a row. If you want to access more than that, you’ll need approval from the NDIA.

How to find an STA provider

There are lots of specialised STA providers and the services and supports they offer can be very different, so it’s important you take your time to research what’s available and which STA providers meet your support needs.

If you have a plan manager, you can use non-registered STA providers, but often these options don’t deliver the value you’re after because they don’t include supports – meaning you’ll need to pay extra for those. Be sure you take this into account when you’re comparing prices.

The best and easiest way to use your NDIS funding for STA is with a specialist provider that provides all your accommodation, personal care, meals, and activities. However, you can claim these items separately for the period you’re staying in STA (so, you can source them from more than one provider) if they’re within the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits.

Accommodation for support workers can also be covered under STA, but you can't claim accommodation for your informal supports.

STA is not intended for holidays and accessing it with NDIS funding means it must relate to your disability. If you believe the support will help you to achieve your goals, it’s a good idea to have some supporting information that backs that up, just in case you need to show the NDIA why you spent your funds that way.

We’re here to help

If you’re not sure what’s funded under STA, or if you can access it, just ask us. You can email us at [email protected] or call us on 1800 861 272 from 8am-6pm (SA time), Monday to Friday.

Updated 31 October 2024