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A break · STA and MTA

Respite & short stays

A night, a weekend, or a few weeks somewhere else. A proper holiday for the person staying, and a genuine rest for the family at home.

Make a referral Call 0414 851 688
A young woman with Down syndrome resting on a yellow bench in a lush green garden.

What it is

Respite should be something you look forward to.

Respite has a bad reputation, and often it has earned it: a strange building, unfamiliar staff, a weekend of waiting to go home. That is not what we are trying to build.

A good short stay is a break in both directions. The person staying gets to do things they enjoy with people they like, in a house that feels like a house. The family at home gets to sleep, or go away, or simply have a weekend that is not organised around care. Both of those matter, and one does not have to be sacrificed for the other.

We plan every stay around the individual: what they eat, when they sleep, what settles them, what they want to do. Most people come back to the same house with the same staff, which is what turns a respite booking into something familiar.

What a stay includes

  • A planned stay. Built around the person's routine, food, sleep, medication and interests, agreed before arrival.
  • Familiar staff. Where we can, the same workers each time, so nobody arrives to a room full of strangers.
  • Personal care. All the daily support the person needs, at the same level they get at home.
  • Meals. Cooked in the house, to the person's own dietary, cultural and texture requirements.
  • Things to do. Outings, activities and downtime, planned with the person rather than imposed on them.
  • Medication and health. Administered and recorded to your plan, with on-call clinical backup.
  • Transport. Pick-up and drop-off, plus getting around during the stay.
  • A written handover. What happened, what worked, anything you should know. Every single stay.

Not sure this is the right support? That is a normal place to start. Ring us on 0414 851 688 and describe an ordinary week. We will tell you which supports fit, including when the answer is a different provider.

A young man relaxing at home with headphones and a handheld game.

Types of short stay

Three different things, often confused.

  1. Short Term Accommodation (STA)

    Up to 14 days at a time, and commonly funded as around 28 days a year. This is what most people mean by respite: a weekend, a week in the school holidays, or a regular monthly stay. Includes accommodation, meals, personal care and activities in one price.

  2. Medium Term Accommodation (MTA)

    Up to 90 days when you have somewhere long-term to go but cannot move in yet, such as waiting on home modifications, a hospital discharge, or an SDA vacancy. Funds the accommodation and support, not an indefinite stay.

  3. Emergency and unplanned respite

    When a carer is admitted to hospital, or a situation at home becomes unsafe. Ring us on 0414 851 688 and we will tell you honestly and quickly whether we have capacity, and help you find an alternative if we do not.

Getting started

How it works

  1. You get in touch

    Call, email or send the referral form. Participants, families, support coordinators and allied health are all welcome. You do not need anyone's permission to contact us.

  2. We talk it through, free of charge

    What you need, when you need it, and what your plan funds. In person, on the phone or over video. We will be straight with you about what we can and cannot do.

  3. You meet your worker

    We shortlist support workers who suit your needs, your interests and your household. You meet them before anything is locked in.

  4. Support starts, and keeps adjusting

    We put it in writing, then check in at four weeks and quarterly after that. Change the hours, the days or the worker whenever you need to.

Paying for it

Where this sits in your NDIS plan

Core: Assistance with Daily Life (STA) Short Term Accommodation, usually funded as a number of days per year. Priced per day and inclusive of support, meals and accommodation.
Core: Assistance with Daily Life (MTA) Medium Term Accommodation for up to 90 days, where a long-term home is confirmed.
Core: Transport Getting to and from the stay, and out and about during it.

STA is claimed as a daily rate that already includes support, meals and accommodation, so there is no separate hourly bill to reconcile. If respite is not in your plan yet, we can help you gather the evidence for your next review.

Questions

Things people ask us

For school holidays and long weekends, as early as you can. Those fill months out. For an ordinary weekend, a few weeks is usually enough. For emergencies, ring us and we will give you a straight answer the same day.

Legally it sits in the participant's plan, and the NDIS funds it because the participant benefits from it. In practice a good stay gives the family a break too. Both things are true and neither is something to feel awkward about.

Please do. We would much rather you came and looked, met the staff and asked awkward questions before you book than found out on the first night. We can also arrange a short day visit or a single overnight as a trial.

We plan for it. Before the stay we ask what distress looks like for that person, what helps, and what makes it worse, and we write it into the support plan. Staff are trained in positive behaviour support. If a stay genuinely is not working we ring you straight away rather than pushing through.

Often, but not always, and it depends on whether we can staff the specific need safely on those dates. Ring us with the detail and we will give you a clear yes or no rather than a maybe.

The NDIS funds support for the participant only, so a sibling without their own plan cannot be part of a funded stay. Where siblings both have plans we will do our best to book them together, because for a lot of families that is the whole point.

Clothes for the weather, medication in its original packaging with a current chart, any comfort items, and the things that make the person feel at home: a particular pillow, a tablet, a specific mug. We will send you a checklist once the stay is confirmed.

Something not answered here? Call 0414 851 688 or send us a message. We would rather you asked.

You may also need

Other supports we provide

In-home support

Daily living, personal care, and building skills at home.

Learn more

Ready when you are

Let's plan a break that works for everyone.

No obligation, no sales pitch, and no charge for the conversation. If we are not the right provider we will say so.

Make a referral Call 0414 851 688