NDIS Support Types: What You Can Ask For (Plain English)

Support types 101: the big buckets (and what they mean)

In the NDIS, support is grouped into “support types” so you can understand what you’re buying and how it’s delivered. The main buckets usually include things like daily living support, transport, support to build independence, therapy and behaviour supports, help to get the right assistive technology, and home and living supports. Your plan doesn’t need every bucket—only the supports you reasonably need to work toward your goals.

Here’s the practical way to think about it: if you need help to do everyday tasks (like personal care, household tasks, or community participation), that often sits in daily living. If you need getting to appointments, work, or activities, look at transport supports. If you’re working on skills like budgeting, cooking safely, learning to use supports, or building routines, that’s often capacity building (sometimes called “learning life skills”). Therapy supports (like occupational therapy, speech therapy, or physiotherapy) focus on improving or maintaining functional abilities.

Some supports are about your environment and independence at home—think home and living or assistance with daily activities within your living situation. Assistive technology covers equipment and upgrades that help you do things you otherwise couldn’t, and behaviour support is for managing behaviour in a planned, safe way. When you’re comparing providers, My Care Finders can help you check what different providers offer and how they match your needs, so you’re not guessing.

Key takeaway: “Support type” tells you what category the help falls under, while your goals and reasonable needs determine what you can ask for and fund.

• Plan management matters: If you use MyMoney NDIS (www.planmanager.net.au), you may have more flexibility to coordinate services, invoices, and payments (depending on your plan setup).
• Ask specific questions: What support type is being proposed, how often, how it’s delivered, and who provides it?
• Link to your goals: Explain how each support type helps you reach a goal—this makes decisions clearer.